The Path of Dudeism

[cckeiser]

I too was following the path in my twenties. Then I got distracted by the need to provide for a family. Now that they're nearly grown up, and with the help of the Church of the Latter-Day Dude, I'm once again embracing  my dudeness.

I wonder how much of a common story this is?

woah... I'm in my mid 20-s, working hard and trying to provide for the family. no kids yet, but still. does this mean I can't embrace my dudeness yet?

Sorry to necro this thread but I wanted to respond to this idea.

Through my teens and into my early twenties I was heading down what many consider a Dudelike path. And like many I had to confront the reality of providing for myself and then others, something the lifestyle that I saw at that time as being Dudelike just did not allow. I joined the military and transformed overnight into Walter and remained that way for 22 years. Six years ago I left the military but nothing really changed in how I approached life. It took those six years for me to realize that I hadn't really understood what the Stranger was trying to tell me. Now I firmly believe the Stranger's tale included all of the important characters for different reasons, but The Dude, Walter and Donny represent a trinity of personality characteristics that taken in moderation at any point in anyone's life can make embracing your Dudeness achievable. I strongly believe that those are; Tolerance, Conviction and Naivete. Once we recognize that we do not know it all, dedicate ourselves to earning our wisdom rather than simply learning knowledge and develop the tolerance needed to abide the things we just can't change, then we start down a path to a happier more fulfilled existence.

But you know that's just my opinion man and I am not always right, except when I am.

Ron

Mark it 8 dude!
Welcome to the forum. 10 posts before you become "dude" and can post links.
Stick around dude....I like your style.

[DigitalBuddha]

I too was following the path in my twenties. Then I got distracted by the need to provide for a family. Now that they're nearly grown up, and with the help of the Church of the Latter-Day Dude, I'm once again embracing  my dudeness.

I wonder how much of a common story this is?

woah... I'm in my mid 20-s, working hard and trying to provide for the family. no kids yet, but still. does this mean I can't embrace my dudeness yet?

Sorry to necro this thread but I wanted to respond to this idea.

Through my teens and into my early twenties I was heading down what many consider a Dudelike path. And like many I had to confront the reality of providing for myself and then others, something the lifestyle that I saw at that time as being Dudelike just did not allow. I joined the military and transformed overnight into Walter and remained that way for 22 years. Six years ago I left the military but nothing really changed in how I approached life. It took those six years for me to realize that I hadn't really understood what the Stranger was trying to tell me. Now I firmly believe the Stranger's tale included all of the important characters for different reasons, but The Dude, Walter and Donny represent a trinity of personality characteristics that taken in moderation at any point in anyone's life can make embracing your Dudeness achievable. I strongly believe that those are; Tolerance, Conviction and Naivete. Once we recognize that we do not know it all, dedicate ourselves to earning our wisdom rather than simply learning knowledge and develop the tolerance needed to abide the things we just can't change, then we start down a path to a happier more fulfilled existence.

But you know that's just my opinion man and I am not always right, except when I am.

Ron

Good words, Ron dude. Nice to have you in our beach community, mang. Grab a place on the rug and abide, dude! Bars' over there.

[Yeti]

I too was following the path in my twenties. Then I got distracted by the need to provide for a family. Now that they're nearly grown up, and with the help of the Church of the Latter-Day Dude, I'm once again embracing  my dudeness.

I wonder how much of a common story this is?

woah... I'm in my mid 20-s, working hard and trying to provide for the family. no kids yet, but still. does this mean I can't embrace my dudeness yet?

Sorry to necro this thread but I wanted to respond to this idea.

Through my teens and into my early twenties I was heading down what many consider a Dudelike path. And like many I had to confront the reality of providing for myself and then others, something the lifestyle that I saw at that time as being Dudelike just did not allow. I joined the military and transformed overnight into Walter and remained that way for 22 years. Six years ago I left the military but nothing really changed in how I approached life. It took those six years for me to realize that I hadn't really understood what the Stranger was trying to tell me. Now I firmly believe the Stranger's tale included all of the important characters for different reasons, but The Dude, Walter and Donny represent a trinity of personality characteristics that taken in moderation at any point in anyone's life can make embracing your Dudeness achievable. I strongly believe that those are; Tolerance, Conviction and Naivete. Once we recognize that we do not know it all, dedicate ourselves to earning our wisdom rather than simply learning knowledge and develop the tolerance needed to abide the things we just can't change, then we start down a path to a happier more fulfilled existence.

But you know that's just my opinion man and I am not always right, except when I am.

Ron

I don't think anyone is advocating the "turn on, tune in, drop out" philosophy here. That shit died out with the old communes from the 60s.

One thing that a lot of Lebowski fans seem to miss is that as of the events of the movie, the Dude is on the verge of homelessness. He's unemployed and appears to be having trouble paying his rent. He's writing a post-dated check for half and half. By the end of the movie, no one has provided him any sort of payout for his troubles and I don't see a reason to be optimistic about his future condition. You can certainly emulate the Dude in this way, but you're not going to end up in a good place. It's very hard to abide when you're sleeping or shitting behind a dumpster, especially in a town like L.A. The Big Lebowski made one good suggestion throughout the entire film: "Get a job, sir!" Of course he was a giant fucking hypocrite, but that doesn't negate the value of his suggestion.

The two Dudes who were the real-life basis for The Dude, Jeff Dowd and Peter Exline, were/are successful members of the film industry, and Exline is a college professor. Jeff Bridges? He's a multi-millionaire and Academy Award-winning actor, artist and musician who's been married to the same woman for almost 40 years and has three kids. I think it's a gigantic mistake to look at the character that is a blend of these three men and assume that the lessons to take away are primarily ones of hedonism, selfishness and sloth.

(After checking out Exline's website, I think it's safe to say that he won't be making appearances at any future Lebowski Fests or Coen Brothers Fan Club meetings. Also, note Jeff Bridges' slight irritation anytime an interviewer asks, "How are you and The Dude different?" "I would say I'm a bit more motivated.", is usually his answer.)

In reality, unless we've won the lottery, were born or married into Lebowski money, or found a briefcase with a million dollars in it under an overpass, we all have to work, pay bills, support others, etc. I try to be frugal so I'm not as dependent on a particular job or income level, but I still have to work.

I'm not saying we should all become mindless little Republican achievers, or compromise ourselves for a job. What I'm saying is, Dudeism should be an outlet for avoiding or dealing with many of the unnecessary stresses that come with those responsibilities and your general outlook on life, not an excuse to turn your back on those responsibilities and the people who depend on you.

[Ron]

Right on man.

[Bullett00th]

Sorry to necro this thread but I wanted to respond to this idea.

Through my teens and into my early twenties I was heading down what many consider a Dudelike path. And like many I had to confront the reality of providing for myself and then others, something the lifestyle that I saw at that time as being Dudelike just did not allow. I joined the military and transformed overnight into Walter and remained that way for 22 years. Six years ago I left the military but nothing really changed in how I approached life. It took those six years for me to realize that I hadn't really understood what the Stranger was trying to tell me. Now I firmly believe the Stranger's tale included all of the important characters for different reasons, but The Dude, Walter and Donny represent a trinity of personality characteristics that taken in moderation at any point in anyone's life can make embracing your Dudeness achievable. I strongly believe that those are; Tolerance, Conviction and Naivete. Once we recognize that we do not know it all, dedicate ourselves to earning our wisdom rather than simply learning knowledge and develop the tolerance needed to abide the things we just can't change, then we start down a path to a happier more fulfilled existence.

But you know that's just my opinion man and I am not always right, except when I am.

Ron

wow, that is deep! pretty good point I say. makes me wonder if the movie tried to tell us to stop being naive and marry our tolerance with conviction.

I don't think anyone is advocating the "turn on, tune in, drop out" philosophy here. That shit died out with the old communes from the 60s.

One thing that a lot of Lebowski fans seem to miss is that as of the events of the movie, the Dude is on the verge of homelessness. He's unemployed and appears to be having trouble paying his rent. He's writing a post-dated check for half and half. By the end of the movie, no one has provided him any sort of payout for his troubles and I don't see a reason to be optimistic about his future condition. You can certainly emulate the Dude in this way, but you're not going to end up in a good place. It's very hard to abide when you're sleeping or shitting behind a dumpster, especially in a town like L.A. The Big Lebowski made one good suggestion throughout the entire film: "Get a job, sir!" Of course he was a giant fucking hypocrite, but that doesn't negate the value of his suggestion.

The two Dudes who were the real-life basis for The Dude, Jeff Dowd and Peter Exline, were/are successful members of the film industry, and Exline is a college professor. Jeff Bridges? He's a multi-millionaire and Academy Award-winning actor, artist and musician who's been married to the same woman for almost 40 years and has three kids. I think it's a gigantic mistake to look at the character that is a blend of these three men and assume that the lessons to take away are primarily ones of hedonism, selfishness and sloth.

(After checking out Exline's website, I think it's safe to say that he won't be making appearances at any future Lebowski Fests or Coen Brothers Fan Club meetings. Also, note Jeff Bridges' slight irritation anytime an interviewer asks, "How are you and The Dude different?" "I would say I'm a bit more motivated.", is usually his answer.)

In reality, unless we've won the lottery, were born or married into Lebowski money, or found a briefcase with a million dollars in it under an overpass, we all have to work, pay bills, support others, etc. I try to be frugal so I'm not as dependent on a particular job or income level, but I still have to work.

I'm not saying we should all become mindless little Republican achievers, or compromise ourselves for a job. What I'm saying is, Dudeism should be an outlet for avoiding or dealing with many of the unnecessary stresses that come with those responsibilities and your general outlook on life, not an excuse to turn your back on those responsibilities and the people who depend on you.

all true, but in time I came to the conclusion that we are asking too many questions about the Dude's finances. There's plenty of situations where his attitude is not affected by his material status, and that's something to consider

[Yeti]

all true, but in time I came to the conclusion that we are asking too many questions about the Dude's finances. There's plenty of situations where his attitude is not affected by his material status, and that's something to consider

I think everyone should strive to be free of the urge to covet thy neighbor's speedboat and McMansion and lead a blissful life void of excessive material attachments, but that's totally different than assuming that you should follow the (fictional) Dude's lead of dropping out of any sort of responsibility in life. I'm not aware of any apartments in Venice that are free, or free bowling alleys with bars that serve free caucasians. I mean, I guess you could make a career out of living off of various forms of welfare, but that's not much of a life either.

[Ron]

Sorry to necro this thread but I wanted to respond to this idea.

Through my teens and into my early twenties I was heading down what many consider a Dudelike path. And like many I had to confront the reality of providing for myself and then others, something the lifestyle that I saw at that time as being Dudelike just did not allow. I joined the military and transformed overnight into Walter and remained that way for 22 years. Six years ago I left the military but nothing really changed in how I approached life. It took those six years for me to realize that I hadn't really understood what the Stranger was trying to tell me. Now I firmly believe the Stranger's tale included all of the important characters for different reasons, but The Dude, Walter and Donny represent a trinity of personality characteristics that taken in moderation at any point in anyone's life can make embracing your Dudeness achievable. I strongly believe that those are; Tolerance, Conviction and Naivete. Once we recognize that we do not know it all, dedicate ourselves to earning our wisdom rather than simply learning knowledge and develop the tolerance needed to abide the things we just can't change, then we start down a path to a happier more fulfilled existence.

But you know that's just my opinion man and I am not always right, except when I am.

Ron

wow, that is deep! pretty good point I say. makes me wonder if the movie tried to tell us to stop being naive and marry our tolerance with conviction.

I don't think anyone is advocating the "turn on, tune in, drop out" philosophy here. That shit died out with the old communes from the 60s.

One thing that a lot of Lebowski fans seem to miss is that as of the events of the movie, the Dude is on the verge of homelessness. He's unemployed and appears to be having trouble paying his rent. He's writing a post-dated check for half and half. By the end of the movie, no one has provided him any sort of payout for his troubles and I don't see a reason to be optimistic about his future condition. You can certainly emulate the Dude in this way, but you're not going to end up in a good place. It's very hard to abide when you're sleeping or shitting behind a dumpster, especially in a town like L.A. The Big Lebowski made one good suggestion throughout the entire film: "Get a job, sir!" Of course he was a giant fucking hypocrite, but that doesn't negate the value of his suggestion.

The two Dudes who were the real-life basis for The Dude, Jeff Dowd and Peter Exline, were/are successful members of the film industry, and Exline is a college professor. Jeff Bridges? He's a multi-millionaire and Academy Award-winning actor, artist and musician who's been married to the same woman for almost 40 years and has three kids. I think it's a gigantic mistake to look at the character that is a blend of these three men and assume that the lessons to take away are primarily ones of hedonism, selfishness and sloth.

(After checking out Exline's website, I think it's safe to say that he won't be making appearances at any future Lebowski Fests or Coen Brothers Fan Club meetings. Also, note Jeff Bridges' slight irritation anytime an interviewer asks, "How are you and The Dude different?" "I would say I'm a bit more motivated.", is usually his answer.)

In reality, unless we've won the lottery, were born or married into Lebowski money, or found a briefcase with a million dollars in it under an overpass, we all have to work, pay bills, support others, etc. I try to be frugal so I'm not as dependent on a particular job or income level, but I still have to work.

I'm not saying we should all become mindless little Republican achievers, or compromise ourselves for a job. What I'm saying is, Dudeism should be an outlet for avoiding or dealing with many of the unnecessary stresses that come with those responsibilities and your general outlook on life, not an excuse to turn your back on those responsibilities and the people who depend on you.

all true, but in time I came to the conclusion that we are asking too many questions about the Dude's finances. There's plenty of situations where his attitude is not affected by his material status, and that's something to consider

Well I was going for simple rather than deep but I will take the compliment.

I think that naivete is important not for its essence but for what it should induce and that is curiosity. There are two ways to overcome your naivete and both are valuable. We can learn knowledge from what others have experienced or we can earn wisdom by experiencing those things for ourselves. Obviously there is a place for both, but I think we only learn something about ourselves when we experience things and therefore any earned wisdom is greater than learned knowledge of the same subject. Does that get you any closer to dudeness? Fucked if I know.

I like to think that there really isn't just one path or formula to dudeness.  Sartre could have written in Existentialism is a Humanism: "...Dudes first of all exist, encounter themselves, surge up in the world--and define themselves afterwards."  We can chose to abide, and to be a dude instead of an asshole. But since Dudes can choose to be either assholes or not, they are, in fact, neither of these things essentially.

Again, that's just like my opinion man.

Ron

[jgiffin]

I read that, in an early script, the Cohens explained the Dude's apparent non-concern with finances by saying he was the sole heir to the Rubik's Cube fortune since it was created by his uncle. Not sure what that means, purports to mean, or doesn't mean. I doubt many of us have that cushion to fall back on. Therefore, moderation in our dude-ness would appear the best course.

[Dudov]

Ron, nice one  about the Dude, Walter and Donny Trinity. I dig your style dude. To me, Dudeism definitely isn't exclusively embodied by the Dude, but by the balance between the different characters of the movie. 

I also think that the opposite of being Dude is trying too hard to be like him. Everyone has to try to be his own Dude, even if your style will be completely different from that of THE Dude. Digging that path can be a bit of a bummer but I think with enough bowling rounds and caucasians, it's doable.

[ProudDogWeather]

I think we all start out following the Dude Way because it's a natural way to be but then society fucks us up as we grow older. We are never taught that the Dude Way is the right way and so we end up on the wrong path at some point. For us Dudeists, we found the right path once again while others may have not. But hey, that's just like, uh, my opinion man.

Fuckin eh far fucking out man I completely agree fuck scosiety

[The Guro]

My path to Dudeism also rekindled post military. My wife loved my dude-like approach to life and watched it get uptight with business and then military... Dudeism was a wake-up call to get back on the path of Abiding. But I think this is one dude that will take listen to "the Stranger" and work on my path from a different angle...

I find it funny how while there are lots of Taoist tendencies and references for the movie... but people miss the meaning of the the Stranger.

That some kind of Eastern thing?

Far from it.

The Christian Dude Abides is Christ