To Be Or Whatever

A student of philosophy on a quest for the meaning of life trekked for weeks to seek out an elderly sage in the far reaches of the Himalayan mountains. When he finally found him he asked, "Master, what is life?" "Life,' said the ancient seer, his voice quavering, " is the smell of a fresh rose." "But," said the young man, "when I was in the Andes I sought out a wise man and he told me life is a slab of cold, hard granite. "Oh sure," the master answered, without hesitation, "that's his life."