Final Resting Place of Professor Joseph Carter Corbin Discovered

The final resting place of Professor Joseph Carter Corbin, State Superintendent of public
education in Arkansas during Reconstruction and founder of the University of Arkansas
at Pine Bluff, seemed lost to history until now.

Professor Corbin died January 9, 1911 in Pine Bluff. The Pine Bluff Daily Graphics and
Pine Bluff Commercial reported he was "to be buried in Chicago," but did not identify
place of interment.

A death certificate would normally provide this information but was non-existent for
Corbin because he died before statewide registration of deaths in Arkansas.

For four years, I have been pursuing Corbin's final resting place until
I changed my focus to Corbin's wife, Mary Jane Corbin, and was successful.

Mary Jane Corbin died in Chicago March 28, 1910 and was buried at Waldheim
(German Cemetery, now Forest Home), Forest Park, Illinois. Professor Corbin grave-
site is also there, along with John W. Corbin and Will Corbin. Professor Corbin was
interred January 14, 1911.

My goal is to have a headstone and historical marker placed at the
gravesite to commemorate this extraordinaire educator.


Footnote  My thanks to the following contributors to this research: Linda McDowell,
                Tony Burroughs, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, Frank Coben, Elveria Goolsby.

Keys to a Happy Life, Part II, Keys 6-10

Key #6 is Friendship. People with friends are happier. Social relationships are important.
My friends are gifts from God. They rejoice with me during good times and help me with
love, prayer, and emotional support during bad times. A true friend cannot be bought with
money. To have a friend one must be a friend. My friends have offered pearls of wisdom
and a listening ear. They have spoken truth to me in love, melted denial and resistance,
and enabled my personal growth.

Key #7 is Marriage. Married people are happier than singles. A good marriage can have
permanent positive effect. And, people who are less happy to begin with can get a
bigger boost from marriage. According to the Bible, he who finds a mate finds a
good thing. From the creation of Adam, God declared it was not good for man to
live alone. And for such, a man shall leave his mother, a woman leave her home, and
the two become as one. In this miraculous unity, the giving of their lives and love to
each other, is manifest. I have found marriage to be a process of becoming, not of
completion or perfection.

Key # 8 is Faith. Faith is linked to happiness because faith gives meaning and purpose
to life. How can I live without faith? It was my rural, ancestral Baptist Church, in
Arkansas, that impregnated me with the concept of faith in God. This faith helped me
survive the caste system of segregation in the south. This body of believers was the
first to believe in me, along with my family, that I could achieve and succeed. They
had faith in me. The Bible teaches that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen, And, without faith, it is impossible to please God,
through Jesus Christ who is the author and finisher of our faith. My faith has been
an anchor amidst the storms of life, bringing comfort in times of grief, encourgagement
when discouraged, and patience out of impatience. When my parents died, I relied
on God's pre-assurance that those who mourned shall be comforted. And so it was.

Key # 9 is Charity. People who give to others are happier because giving makes
you feel good and happy people are more likely to give. Kahlil Gibran, the Lebanese
poet, wrote you give but little when you give of your money; it's when you give of
yourself you truly give. Giving of myself and money produces happy feelings within
me.When I volunteer at the nursing home or perform a random act of kindness
God smiles upon the world.

Key #10 is Age. Older people are happier because they worry about less and set
goals within their limits. Worrying less and setting attainable goals is a lesson all
ages in our society can learn and benefit from. While stress is a normal part of
life, flexibility in the face of change and challenge leads to creative control.

Since I have only one brief life, it would be good to get it right, to discern
my purpose. Rick Warren in the Purpose Driven Life leaves no doubt. I am not here
to pursue happiness or ego-satisfaction in terms of the ten keys cited in the Reader's
Digest's article. But to live a life of intention in relationship to God. Without God,
writes Warren, life has no purpose and without purpose life has no meaning.
Without meaning, life has no significance or hope. We are messengers of God's
love and purpose in the world.

Another way of discerning our purpose is put forth in the Road Less Traveled by
M. Scott Peck: As new life forms of God, we are able to influence the world
through our conscious decisions and become agents of God's grace, working
on  his behalf, and creating love.

The seed for my purpose was planted, while a child, visiting the sick and dying
with my mother. The seed would germinate into a career as a medical social worker.
The life of service to others, especially working with the terminally ill, in Hospice,
has brought the most fufillment as God's agent.  It is this experience that taught me
how to be a  compassionate servant, walking each day with the person in their
stages of approaching death, their grief, physical and psychological pain, without
losing hope. But steadfast that death is just a door into eternity.

Psychologist Abraham Maslow speaks to our hierarchy of needs and tie our purpose
into meeting these needs from basic security to self-actualization. Erik Erikson
writes about developmental tasks to be mastered during each psycho-social stage
of growth. Maslow and Erikson are not in conflict in helping us understand
ourselves as individuals. But when it comes to seeking personal meaning and
purpose, the difference between them and Rick Warren is in the starting place.
The psychologists start with the ego or self and our self-worth. Rick Warren
starts with God as the meaning and purpose of our life, and the premise it is
not about us.

My personal computer banner is Participate in the Great Symphony of life. That
says a lot about my desire to participate in the expansiveness and synchronous
of life. As I write the final chapter of my life, I should like to look back, according
to Erikson with a sense of integrity versus despair of a life well-lived and well-done.
I do not want to stand in the face of death and despair for the things I have done
or not done. Aristotle said an unexamined life is not worth living.

So back to my beginning question. Is a happy life, a meaningful life, a purposeful life
the same? Not necessarily. But it can be if we live a life of loving God and others.
It is not a life for self. But about doing good, ministering to the needs of others
as was the character of Jesus on the earth.

Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life has given me good directions for my
spiritual journey. The directions are believing through worship, belonging through
fellowship, and becoming more like Jesus through discipleship. I am no longer in
the fog about my purpose. I have a holy call without being a prophet, preacher,
teacher, spiritual healer. I am made for God's purpose. I have the gift of faith to
share, the gift of worship to glorify God. And, I chose the ministry
of Social Work.

Sources:

Erickson, Erik H., Joan and Kivnick, Helen G., Vital Involvement in Old Age.
New York: Norton, 1986.
Holmes, Bob, Kleiner, Kurt, Douglas, Kate, Bond, Michael, 10 Keys to True
Happiness, Reader Digest, March, 2004, pp.96-101.
Maslow, Abraham H. Toward A psychology of Being.
Miezejeski, Thomas J. The Meaning of Life, Brookside Books, Toms River,
New Jersey, 2002.
Peck, M. Scott, The Road Less Traveled-A New Psychology of Love, Traditional
Values and Spiritual Growth. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978.
Warren, Rick, The Purpose Driven Life, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Zondervan, 2002.

Keys to a Happy Life, Part I, Keys 1 to 5

The March 2004 Reader's Digest cover story caught my eye: New Research---10 Simple Keys
to a Happy Life. The subtitle promised happiness within the reach of us all.

Ask almost anyone and they will tell you they desire happiness. But what makes for a happy life?
At the time of the Reader's Digest article, I had just finished reading Thomas Miezejesk's book,
The Meaning of Life. Also, in March, I joined a study group at my church on Rick Warren's
highly acclaimed book, A Purpose Driven Life. A lot of questions came to mind. Is a happy life,
a meaningful life, a purposeful life all the same? Herein lies my personal journey to look at these.

Since the dawn of civilization human beings have perhaps asked the question, Why am I here
on earth? Philosophers, theologians, and sages of every age have pondered the meaning and
purpose of life. But when the question is personally applied, I am in a fog.

Knowing and fulfilling one's God given purpose must be awesome and life enhancing. I
believe Mother Teresa and Dr, Martin Luther King, Jr. were among those who discovered
and fulfilled their life purpose.

At the outset Miezejeski challenged me to think of life as a journey requiring good
directions and the importance of pondering life's meaning for an appreciation of the
gift of life. I was optimistic that spiritual growth, insight, and revelations were always
possible. Surely self-study, self-examination, reflections would help me see more
clearly my spiritual gifts and purpose.

The Reader's Digest article cites ten keys the experts found account for happiness. The
article framed the background for comparisons of a happy life, a meaningful life,
a purposeful life, and a look at my own personal life and beliefs.

Key #1 is Wealth. People with money are happier. But once basic needs are satisfied
money no longer boots happiness but status become more important. Money buys
status and status makes people feel better. I have applied the principles of wealth
building on a social worker's salary. I was taught by my parents to always live within
my means, avoid conspicuous consumption or "keeing up with the Joneses."
Money has a place in our lives but not to be our master. The Bible tells us
where your treasure is your heart will also be. It is God that giveth thee power
to get wealth. Money has enabled me to endow my charitable interest, a social work
scholarship and peace fund through the Dayton Foundation.

Key # 2 is Desire. Desire is linked to happiness because people aspire for the good life
and material possessions make them feel good. The question is how much do you have
to have to feel good? Less than we think. We are buffeted by advertisements, our own
insecurities, and other external factors toward consumption out of a desire for
the good life. I have heard people say what money can't buy I don't want.
That is immature thinking. I might have thought like that as a teenager. When I was
older and realized that I had more than I needed, it was easier to share my resources
with others. Do not sacrifice meaning for money. Learn before it is too late that our
relationship with God and our family is more important. Simple acts of kindness
count. Love is the greatest gift and time waits for no one.

Key # 3 is Intelligence. Brighter people tend to earn more. I think of intelligence as the
sum total of a sound mind, not limited to the intellectually normal or gifted but the
property of anyone who discerns beauty, truth, and right actions. All of us or endowed
by the Creator. It is what we do with our endowment that matters.

Key # 4 is Genetics. Our feeling of well being and happiness is largely determined by
our genes. Our DNA makes us divine originals, unique and matchless. We are fearfully
and wonderfully made in the image of God, No one else is like you or me. Our happiness
set point, I believe, functions more effectively when we walk humbly and delight and
meditate on the laws of God.

Key # 5 is Beauty. Good-looking people are happier because life is kinder to the beautiful.
John Keats wrote a thing of beauty is a joy forever.... He also penned this familiar quote
Beauty is truth, truth beauty, that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. We also
recognize that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Beauty in people can be appealing,
prideful and vain. But favor based on beauty can be deceitful. Trust not that which
is skin deep and superficial. True beauty resides within reflecting that which is honorable
and true.

Continued Keys to a Happy Life, Part II
Keys 6 to 10