I first stumbled across Dudeism about 3 years ago. The details of how I did so are lost on me know, but I remembered that I felt an instant connection. I had seen TBL many, many, many times over the years, and always felt that there was just something right about The Dude's style, his view on life, and how he actually lived it. I could help but be surprise that there was a following of others who not only thought the same way he did, but lived their lives like it too.

     A year before hand, both my roommate and I had lost our job, in the same week. He skipped town and I was left with all the bills. With no job, I was forced to move back in with my folks. My folks are good people, but have high Christian morals, something that sometimes conflicted with my own. I was forced to take on a low paying job to pay off the huge debt I was stuck with, in a job that treats their employees like shit. The next year brought with it many ups and downs, strikes and gutters. I felt lost in life, as if I was laying face down in the mud, so to speak.

     That all changed when I discovered Dudeism. I devoured every page on the site, and found a spark of hope. This was how I should live my life- to relax, to not let things get me down, to enjoy the small joys in life. I became an instant follower, and made sure all my friends knew about it. They were real cool about it, which made things so much easier for me.

    About a year after that, I was let go of my job, which was a real bummer man. Did I let it get to me? A little, but I still was able to mark it 8 and move on. It was around this time that 'The Dude de Ching' came out. I'm not gonna lie, that book helped me out a lot. Even though life had just rolled me another gutter ball, and was still able to be happy.

     It wasn't long before I got another job, and things started to look up. Then, something happened after being at this new job, and I was fired. I was catch completely off guard, as what had taken place had nothing to do with me, and the fact that I was being fast tracked by my district manager to become a manager. I couldn't believe it- everything I had worked so hard for for 6 months went down the drain in a matter of seconds. I became furious- a Walter.

    I spent the next few months feeling face down in the mud again- a very uncool time in my life. Things were turning sour at home, betrayal of friendships took place (against me), and bills were piling up again. I started to lose my way as a Dude. I had fallen off the rug.

     About a month ago my jets had finally cooled, and I realized that I was being very unDude. Not only was my toe over the line, my whole foot was past it. I reread 'The Dude de Ching' and 'The Abide Guide' (which I got when it came out) and started to follow The Way of The Dude again. I've never been happier.

     Once again I'm able to say, "Fuck It!" and move on. I may not have found a new job yet, but I'm not going to stress out about it. I'll get one, so until then I'm just sitting back and relaxing until that day. Is there still stress in my life? Sure, but when someone drops a live animal in the tub with me, I just get out of the tub- like today.

     Bad vibes were in the house tonight, so I went outside on the porch. I fired up the laptop, played some turns, and relaxed. I ended up on the forum, and felt like checking them out. I had signed up sometime before, but hadn't posted anything. I ended up reading a lot of topics on here, and decided I want to contribute. Like I said, I've had many strikes and gutters in my life, and I've learned from them. So I wanna share my wisdom, and learn some from others. I wanna share my thoughts, and partake of yours.

Mind if I smoke a Jay?

Oh I did Dude, I did.

Quote from: PhotoDude on August 09, 2012, 08:18:01 AM

Oh I did Dude, I did.

Far fucking out!

I abide :-)

Thanks Ceaser Dude. Glad I'm here.