There was once a boy who discovered a forest whose initial presence
felt unlike anything to which he was accustomed, and was immediately told by others not to enter therein  –  so soon he did  --  and in fact,
his life quickly became devoted to the full exploration thereof;
and after some years had passed and he was fairly well acquainted with
the outer areas of the woods, his aim became to lay down a trail of bread crumbs
into its deepest reaches and not be able to ever find his way back out.
 
 

If your mental activity mainly consists of thinking about things others have said,
then non physically you display all the signs of submission indicative of
a completely passive prisoner.
All talk of a promised-land-of-freedom is but noise in the wind
until you have a continuing personal realization that man is born in captivity,
and such is his natural state.
Staying busy swatting at intangible termites keeps boys from venturing too far
into the uncommon forest.
(And a man suddenly recalled hearing the mind’s effort to understand itself
described as: A tree trying to climb itself.)
 
 

There was once a king who had two armies:
one was in charge of planning, and the other in charge of doing;
thus one was completely concerned with ideas, and the other with action,
but they were barracked so close together that they commonly forgot about
the resolute difference of their responsibilities, with only the king keeping this distinction in mind.............which as it turned out  –  he didn’t either.
 
 

If you try to explain why you did a particular thing,
even if you were satisfied therewith at the time of its execution,
it begins to smell funny;
figure out why and doze in the woods no more.
 
 

Contrary to what life has their congenital thoughts claim:
men do not tolerate  –  and even apparently at times enjoy  –
the many minor tragedies which continually occur in their lives because of the: “valuable lessons they learn therefrom,”  but rather because they provide them with
a constant supply of something new to yak about.
Hell for a model man would not require that he be thrown into a lake of fire,
but only he still have humans’ routine problems  -- but being made mute.
 
 

Conversation.
“A dying man  --  if he has any insight  -- doesn’t think about his dying.”
    “So you’re saying that a sleeping man shouldn’t  think about his being asleep?”
“I didn’t say that.”
    “But you didn’t not say it.”
“I didn’t say a lot of things.”

After describing his symptoms, a man was given two bottles of pills
whose appearance was the same, but one batch was larger in number than the other,
and when he asked what the difference was in the two medications
the dispenser replied: “There's more of one batch than the other.”
 
 

There is a certain type of sailor whose unconventional vessel is at its most stable
when the seas are at their worst.
 
 

Humor attempted by making yourself appear superior to another is funny  –
but not in the way the jokester intends.
 
 

On days when he (for no observable reason) felt okay,
one man would put a stone in his right shoe and then by god  –   he didn’t feel so hot.
(His left foot, on more than one occasion wanted to ask the purpose of this  –
but always decided it should probably leave well enough alone.)
 
 

Local conditions said to one man: “Why do you constantly attack and make fun of me?” and the man, pulling himself up to the full height of mortal stature,
tried to kick him in the ankle.
 
 

Only the man differently smart can outsmart  his self (which is to say):
his own genetic determined nervous system.
 
 

On The Field: Off The Chart.
“Compromise!  Moderation!  Middle of the way!”  –
all cries of the buddha sliced in half;
“Push ‘em back, push ‘em back –  yea team!”  –
the pittsburg sufis take the day.
On The Money: Off The Dime.
Everyone who can say: “I don’t get it”  –   say it!
“Sleepers can’t see and walkers can’t trip -- Q.T.  Q.T.  – up against the wall!”
 
 

A son asked a father:
“Do any of the ordinary people who employ only their congenital mental activity,
and who say that their life’s aim is to know themselves
ever see the humor therein?”
 
 

One man whose doctor said his symptoms suggested he was dying,
disconnected his phone so that the diagnostician could not reach him with any
further details regarding his ostensible condition.
The Ultimate Test.
When you read the above:
did your thoughts automatically take it as metaphor  --  or symbolism?  –
did you take it to mean what it appears to mean AND something else,
or that it means something other than it seems to?
Normal men with distracted consciousness naturally confuse and commingle the two;