Sentence:  These values give direction to the <WSD>life</WSD> of the middle-class man or woman , dictating the methods of child rearing , determining the pattern of community participation , setting the style for the psychiatric treatment of middle-class illness , and informing the congregational life of the major denominations . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities