%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R 19 0 R ] /Count 2 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R /F5 12 0 R /F6 14 0 R >> /XObject << /I1 15 0 R /I2 16 0 R /I3 23 0 R /I4 24 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 17 0 R /GS2 18 0 R /GS3 21 0 R /GS4 22 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text /ImageC ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 1.0.2 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20241222211944+00'00') /ModDate (D:20241222211944+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1902 >> stream xXM8Wqp ٙf`& aZmNKCRx~F&W&E'vK-WE-$ ~=eV+koMAZ$t#_~^ٿT4f;yZWf- \݂үvq{*LD cUs(oʂTTՊD{c` ?Rh):O]DtT*ƖU$NVb"OCug'c; Н[K&vuNwyq"ˊԏq!nJjʑǺny1뫵(WY:Ly;XC9$Q3Dvd]}arNə-ZbuwJļ/SɒȪ?D <ɶ%5_ҫvObQ;3^LDV8{)$XqlSNy2NymzGDRl`jPt j.H,A8+ՎIK*NXҽpJ=ߵUV9Ay&/L08?D} b)]U #K5[@wt@V ^6PdTPV5C=;j4z!%CN{+VrpeLu 'ydOđsVx6f`/vfmxo .n:-cez"W]pAiɪVrçV`.1kYrH~X<@"tkArӡbOyn& 2[8Qy6/nh%PNЏQldc xI_GF&x:iv:yŢMϳVeg-$XhH7XQm w3p33? \P9 Q``ؑ:H}ЎŠQo'ƇV=p0 dqTs3WѼ `.אMC)$f=6|G\h;f /ad%I.EL_˙|1o9 6ܢQ[nm DбNYd\o$GZ|IﲫS\{n endstream endobj 8 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F1 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F5 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Oblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 13 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F6 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj 17 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.3 >> endobj 18 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 19 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 20 0 R >> endobj 20 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1399 >> stream xWM6ﯘc lMm r(zJĮ$*$3`o)ٵ\Dμy崧͛)3wXEt~-XKVkVt:8amwD|iJ?nIN^5}'mѫ@Jsi݁ZM l ^GA%{eɈknaљk5,K޶s5&gER@X$>Ң"Wb=b6, pbZn'ĴIOt"uB*5 Cv`sNw>dJO4Ixm; XDK5bO*Z_P#-_qEN&4pG+{Qn%}e`JR 27ݰbOFr#.֧)'\ۉ@:i]Dysg~ ԎKY,CS{ AB#Uv58oH5ڀʭ 㷭4 eEdN.\/ @7k[5x`+b ,7=5K^ybxeZ=za} =hNjސkPB#EiO6봰bZgK *Q!v*n4Kl%p,Uu J#,V![ POdZsOl&Kq JT.GŮYe@8ԈVC@p3u)ЙjD`݄2d-jV[N˲ߏ.,ۡC( ouJVW46emkJ^;>,I$8tA#odJ*^6&@hRP\xaCX?RgQM+j.;qh~U=Ƶ}& U-NTY5.1 ѺvJ&ɠijo TgUYHn,jy#h@}ޡmzD2,O_<_#gk$Bke7*: t#~D-*U_ zbz*wB s^e^CPh7p SsуVi:Fv>ۣéX7^_;aFXsBd+HѨ(OejGF9xۊjrȪky*Qޮה#nQ{Cx[g!:;6btpot0Fҕ9nfrhCg*rl';O.L.&sLufW78&jOWq1Iu7IR#K2cʎnfzɾ Ԓ#k󛛒k(xͿqTL-H,gmzYmPERYX|J}y{qO|[":|}Xr@/RFj endstream endobj 21 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 1 >> endobj 22 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj 23 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj xref 0 25 0000000000 65535 f 0000000009 00000 n 0000000074 00000 n 0000000120 00000 n 0000000461 00000 n 0000000498 00000 n 0000000647 00000 n 0000000750 00000 n 0000002725 00000 n 0000002832 00000 n 0000002940 00000 n 0000003050 00000 n 0000003163 00000 n 0000003279 00000 n 0000003308 00000 n 0000003418 00000 n 0000008993 00000 n 0000010124 00000 n 0000010183 00000 n 0000010242 00000 n 0000010347 00000 n 0000011820 00000 n 0000011877 00000 n 0000011934 00000 n 0000017509 00000 n trailer << /Size 25 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R /ID[] >> startxref 18640 %%EOF On the Corner | Caring Magazine

Vol. #28

Grace Uncovered

Read Issue

Latest Impact StoriesView All

Popular Topics

PopularView All

On the Corner

August 13, 1996
3 minute read
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
Listen to this article

By Robert Docter –

Have you ever noticed how many people there are who spend most of their time chasing the wind? Like those the teacher describes in Ecclesiastes, they struggle to assign some kind of meaning to life.

“What’s it all about, Alfie?” they ask. “Why are we here?”

These are unsettling questions we have all asked ourselves at one time or another. After all, we are meaning-seeking creatures. We simply must know the meaning of things in our life. If we are confronted with random stimuli, like dots on wallpaper or tile on a floor, we organize our perceptions until we are able to give them some kind of meaning. We keep trying to see the patterns in things–to organize events, information and ideas. Sometimes we do this to people and it leads to stereotyping. If, for some reason, we have difficulty fitting things into some kind of explanatory framework we feel tense, annoyed, dissatisfied. The situation sticks in our mind and we wrestle with it, gnaw on it, and can’t forget it.

We want to give our perceptions of the situation some kind of meaning. Finding the pattern allows us to label the event. Our anxiety is reduced. The tension diminishes, and comfort returns. All because we’ve made “sense” of something. We’ve been able to discover meaning.

We don’t have much trouble assigning meaning to concrete objects–we can touch, feel, smell, taste them. But the difficult meanings are those related to abstract ideas. For instance–what is the meaning of the term democracy–the foundational concept of our culture? What is the meaning of the term marriage? These are much more difficult for us.

With the establishment of common meanings a group of people can exist together, design rules, differentiate right action from wrong action, and determine what is desirable and undesirable. When this happens, we get values.

So–what is the meaning of life?

This is a cosmic question that involves everyone. It can only be answered in spiritual terms. There is no meaning in life without some sense of spirituality. Of equal importance is a microcosmic question–what is the meaning of my life? We cannot separate these questions, but, paradoxically, they must be explored independently.

To explore the latter question we are required to immerse ourselves fully in the stream of life. We must engage it. Life is not lived on the shoreline. The race is not won in the grandstands. To discover the meaning of my life, I must commit to action–I must make the leap of faith.

Exploration of historical figures whom others believed had established positive meaning in their lives revealed some common characteristics. These people were altruistic–giving to others without the expectation of anything in return. They were dedicated to a cause which they believed important and which involved others. They were creative and willing to express their creativity at great risk. They were able to find pleasure–they didn’t spend all their time working. They had self actualized –achieved their potential, but most of all, they had transcended self. When the theologian Martin Buber was asked: “What is the meaning of life?” he replied: “Not for my own sake.”

The teacher in Ecclesiastes helps us examine the cosmic question. He wrote:“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter. Fear God and keep his commandments.”

As Christians we believe that God revealed himself to us through his Son, Jesus. He gave us a concrete representation himself so we could give him meaning, and in the process, find meaning both for our own lives and for the meaning of life. The simplicity of the directive makes it difficult for us to grasp, but that’s where meaning is found.

Download this page as a PDF

You May Also Like