2020: The Sh*t Hit the Fan, So Remember Who You Are, Man

I just wanted to share a different perspective on all the madness happening in 2020. Everybody’s so passionate and angry, but it’s okay to approach a problem without all that baggage. I know a lot of people might disagree with me, but I’m not going to debate with ya. Buddha criticized debate all the time because it clouds the mind. Also, the art of debate seems kinda lost on us these days. It’s just arguing, and even the littlest thing is enough to set somebody off.

By Lee Glazier

Ya know, I’m on the side of the good guys, Dudes, but it’s getting really hard to walk out the front door.

It’s gettin’ hard to hop on social media or do much of anything, isn’t it? Too many bad vibes, man. Ya just soak it all up and then you’ve got to find a way to wring yourself out.

It’s all the hate—that’s what’s getting to me. Too much hate from everywhere. Some old Zenny said, “Even if someone’s right, they’re still wrong if they, uh, well you get the idea.” It always amazes me how fast people, ya know, abandon their everyday principles when shit hits the fan. Those principles are for shit + fan moments. They don’t mean anything if we set ’em down when they’re inconvenient.

If we’re on a spiritual, moral, or philosophical path, then the whole point is to stick with it, ya know? Even when there are tigers, bears and all kinds a weird shit pressing in from the sides of the road, we stick with it. If ya don’t, ya wind up where I did: really fuckin’ angry, confused, and—more than anything—sad.

Just sad, man.

Oh, and stepping back, by the good guys I meant, ya know, the ones who don’t want to kill people because of their skin color, gender, sexual orientation, uniform, religion, and, ya know, stuff like that.

But even you Dudes, even the heroes are dragging me down and pushing me to be very un-Dude.

I usually don’t get into politics, I think it fucks with our state of mind too much so that we end up not being able to do anything well, including practicing Dudeism, Buddhism, and what-have-you. I really can’t imagine how someone can get involved and still, ya know, practice patience, non-hatred, abiding and whatnot.

This has gotta be harshing your meditation sessions; I know it fucks with mine, man.

I think I kinda learned my lesson. I think I’ll take a step back from it all and let the world figure itself out. And if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. I mean, come on, we’re all like bubbles, ya know? Floating around and doing bubble stuff. Mostly popping. We’re like lightning, FLASH! Here and gone before ya know it. A hundred years from now, nobody experiencing the present turbulence is even gonna be alive anymore, Dudes.

That’s just a hundred years. Then we’ve got a thousand, a million, a hundred billion… Just saying, even the horrendous shit isn’t really all that serious in the long run. For me, Dudeism is like a really laid back nihilism. That’s the funny part in the Big Lebowski. The nihilists, the dudes who said they didn’t believe in anything, were really uptight. Then we’ve got the Dude, who seems to believe in nothing to point of not even needing to say it, and he finds his peace—he abides.

I had to get really lost in the stew, get all uptight and breakdown, to remember that I don’t really believe in much either. I believe in being nice to people. I believe in keeping my mind free and easy and takin’ care of the environment. I believe in, uh—I guess my last belief is believing that most beliefs are kinda, ya know, un-chill. Most views in general, man.

And these days, these days we’ve got a kind of, “Pick a side! If you’re not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem!” thing going on. That’s not cool. “But people are being killed!” one person says, “But they’re destroying shit!” says another. “Masks on!” “Masks off!” Fuuuuuck, man. Just, ya know, take it easy. The diameter of the known universe is 93 billion light years. A light year is about six trillion miles. The Earth’s, uh, circumference is 24,901 miles, and an average person is between five and six feet all.

So, ya know, I think it’s helpful to be mindful of the big picture all the time. It helps me appreciate the lighter things, and shrug off the heavier shit.

What’s been hell for me and other sensitive sorts is that everybody’s so loud that it’s hard to remember this stuff in the heat of the moment. I mean, really, worrying about anything is just totally unnecessary, man. Feeling angry enough to hurt anyone over anything is unnecessary.

I just wanted to share a different perspective on all the madness happening in 2020.

Everybody’s so passionate and angry, but it’s okay to approach a problem without all that baggage. I know a lot of people might disagree with me, but I’m not going to debate with ya. Buddha criticized debate all the time because it clouds the mind. Also, the art of debate seems kinda lost on us these days. It’s just arguing, and even the littlest thing is enough to set somebody off.

Everybody’s trigger-happy.

So I really do urge all the Dudeists, Buddhists, Taoists, Pagans, mystical Christians, and contemplatives of all shapes and sizes to take a breath and, ya know, remember why you’re here: to let go. To enjoy and play, wander, and do things that make people smile and feel loved. Leave all the uptight global warrior stuff to the secular folk. There are few enough Taoists, Dudeists, Buddhists, etc. in the West that we can drop out of the whole thing without really affecting the outcome.

This isn’t our fight, man. Our job is, ya know, freeing minds and easing suffering. But that happens on the individual level, Dudes. Happens with a change of attitude, not the situation. What’s that line? “The only peace you’ll find on a mountaintop is the peace you bring there.” Something like that.

That’s my piece, Dudes. I didn’t want to say anything at all, because it’s all such a buzz kill, but I felt like I had to, ya know? We need calm. We need peace. We need to remember, ya know, who we are. I know I do, and I don’t think I’m alone.

“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?” 

Photo: Pixabay

Editor: Dana Gornall

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