Just Be Yourself, Man: Advice from a Dudeist Priest

In Vedanta and Buddhism, they call the trip maya, which means, “Play.” That’s why the OG Dude Alan Watts said, “The meaning of life is play,” man. Just play around. Now there was a guy who was all about being original, being true to himself. He had no dogmas, and he didn’t care if something he said was said before or whether it was new. He just lived and wrote, enjoyed the trip, and let himself change over time.

 

By Lee Glazier

A friend said, “You should write another article, it’s been awhile.”

But, ya know, I don’t usually have much say, man. They gave the Dude a FB page, but I hardly ever post anything on it. I have a blog, thing, lying around somewhere, I think. Doing nothing takes up a lot of time. Now that it’s getting warmer out, I’d rather smoke a jay, head outside and listen to the birds than be stuck behind a computer.

My friend was right though, it’s about time I wrote something. What, uh, what do you want me to write about? Oh yeah, you can’t answer me right now because that’s not how articles work. So, yeah, I’m kind of on the spot here, Dudes. It’s like when I was a radio broadcaster for awhile and totally forgot how to pronounce, “Gubernatorial,” on air.

Oh, fuck yeah! Let’s talk about Ikkyu. Wait, no, a bunch of other writers have already talked about Ikkyu around here. Does that really matter though, man? I mean, what’s the, uh, allure behind being original anyway? Ever since I was kid, “Stand out! Do what’s never been done before!” has been a running dogma in life, ya know what I mean?

We’re always pushed, and pushed and pushed.

But fuck that, Dudes. I dig originality, but I don’t think it’s about doing what’s never been done, necessarily. I’d say it’s about just, ya know, coming to things naturally. Meeting life on its own terms, and seeing what happens. Then I think we start to live the life that’s in us, instead of trying to fabricate ourselves or the world to meet some kind of abstract idea.

When I look at my cat, man, she doesn’t have any of these problems. She just lives her life, she isn’t worried about whether her string grabbing skills are groundbreaking or not. I don’t even know where she is right now; probably sleeping inside the couch. Reminds me of Diogenes the Cynic who used to sleep in barrels and bark at people as a form of, uh, social commentary.

For some people, sleeping in a barrel might be original, ya know? For others, it might be something forced.

I’m not gonna sleep in a barrel unless I have to. I don’t think we can force who we are, man. We just… are. The only difference between me and my cat is that I’m tripping way harder than she is. I’m tripping so hard that I’m able to think and communicate with symbols, tripping so hard that I can imagine the future.

This is all kind of trip, man. If reality is 100% molecular, than all this is like a vivid hallucination.

I don’t know about you, but I think that’s pretty fuckin’ cool. It means that all this is pretty much impossible, which makes it… significant. And we’re not trippin’ alone. Life is the trip we take together, it’s a shared vision. Far out, Dudes.

You won’t hear most physicists and neuroscientists say shit like that, but it’s the logical conclusion of all their work. I’m guessing they don’t want to go down that road, because then all their work is part of the trip too. In Vedanta and Buddhism, they call the trip maya, which means, “Play.” That’s why the OG Dude Alan Watts said, “The meaning of life is play,” man. Just play around.

Now there was a guy who was all about being original, being true to himself. He had no dogmas, and he didn’t care if something he said was said before or whether it was new. He just lived and wrote, enjoyed the trip, and let himself change over time. In some ways, he was one of the last great American philosophers, a tradition going all the back to Emerson and Thoreau. All people who just, ya know, lived the life that was in them and wrote about their journeys.

And we love ’em because they’re real, Dudes. They’re not sanctified.

The second someone becomes a holy man, they kind of lose a little bit of credibility. But that’s just, uh, my opinion. That’s why Ikkyu was cool—he wasn’t a holy man. He burned his ordination certificate. He was an enlightened ordinary person trying his best to take it easy and enjoy life.

Ha, see that? We got to Ikkyu after all. I had no idea if we were gonna circle back around or not, I’m literally just writing whatever pops into my head, Dudes. I’m like a half-naked drunk talking to a street sign at four in the morning.

The point is, uh, well shit, I’m not entirely sure. I’m guessing that the point is, we don’t have to try to be an Ikkyu, a Watts, or a Thoreau. If we try, then we’re being unoriginal, we’re not being true to ourselves. We don’t have to try to be anyone, man. That always ends up causing a whole fuck ton of anxiety and depression. We’re already who we are, already ourselves beneath all the…trying to be otherwise.

So, yeah, now I don’t know how to end this. It’s usually good to wrap it up on some kind of satisfying line that really ties the room together. But, I’ve got nothing. Here, I’ll just put in a blank and let you imagine a snappy closing:

“In the end, it’s always been about ____________.”

 

The second someone becomes a holy man, they kind of lose a little bit of credibility. ~ Dude Lee Share on X

 

“Dude” Lee Glazier is a Dudeist Priest, Zen adherent and Taoist enthusiast from Golden, Colorado. He likes reading, writing, hiking, taking baths, listening to classic rock, drinking White Russians, smoking, and having the occasional acid flashback. The only thing he truly believes is that everyone needs to slow down, mellow out, and unwad their underpants. He feels that that would solve all the world’s problems in a heartbeat. “Do you have the patience to let the mud settle and the water clear?” If you like his writing, feel free to check out his Patreon/blog

 

Photo: Pixabay

Editor: Dana Gornall

 

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