Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Alexander Papaderos was once asked at a university lecture, “What is the meaning of life?” He fished out a small round mirror from his wallet and he began to tell a story from his childhood. He was a small child in a poor, remote village during World War II. One day while playing he discovered the pieces of a broken mirror from a German motorcycle. He attempted to put the mirror back together, but it was impossible. So he kept the largest piece. He went on to say:

“ I began to play with it as a boy and became fascinated by that fact that I could reflect light into dark places where the sun would never shine—in deep holes and crevices and dark closets. It became a game for me to get light into the most inaccessible places I could find. I kept the little mirror, and as I went about my growing up, I would take it out in idle moments and continue the challenge of the game. As I became a man, I grew to understand that this was not just a child’s game, but a metaphor for what I might do with my life. I came to understand that I am not the light or the source of the light. But light…is there, it will only shine in many dark places if I reflect it.”

What an amazing description of what we called to do!!