*image by Ben Harubin

Two soldiers in a tank were conversing and one of them said, "It's important to 'cling to life.'"
"Ah, so," replied his cohort, "but knowing which part to cling to, being the secret."
And the first fighter was suddenly stunned by an enlightenment, having never realized
that indeed there was a "secret" regarding survival, lurking unseen within him.
It's important to cling to life, but even more profitable to know exactly which part requires clinging.
And a boy said, "The Romanoffs are not all dead, my cat buried them in the yard."

Referring to the voice he continually heard in his head, one man said:
"Just who are you that I accept as being me?"
"Never mind questions regarding being
more conscious and enlightened,
here's the immediate mystery that must be solved!"

Some creatures in one solar system were given a particular talent,
but for some reason they adopted the belief that to properly exercise same
they needed to plan and practice it before putting it into action.
Many of these poor creatures ended up not only with bad skin conditions,
but unpredictable glimpses of sunlight as well.

Back on this planet, one day, some hippos were "taking the waters" at a local spa,
and as he reached for a fresh heated towel, one of them said to his friends,
"There is a strange theory being floated over where my brother lives,
which claims that our health would be demonstratively improved
if we would but 'think more about it.'"
And as they all enjoyed a rollicking good laugh over this, one of them said, "What is 'more'?"
You know, it's way, way easy to spoil the hobby of "being lost."

Talking to that voice in his head that he'd always taken to be him, one man said,
"You call this a me?"

There was once a man who went into the high mountains of a faraway land
to study at certain schools devoted to the discovery of The Great Secret.
The first school he attended was called "How Amazing."
The next one was known as "I Can't Believe It."
Then he went to one named "The Hell You Say."
And next he attended one called "Oh Yeah?"
And lastly he studied with a group known as "Why Ask Us? –
You're High Mountains and Faraway Lands --
Look Where It Will Do You Some Good."