Allow me to begin with some things you may or may not know.
Feb 27th, National Kahlua Day kicks off the 8 or 9 days (depending on a leap year) of Hangover, culminating on March 6th, Day of the Dude.
Day of the Dude is the date of the release of the movie, The Big Lebowski in the United States in 1998.
Now, with the basic ins and outs behind us, allow me to discuss Hangover a bit more, why it exists and what the hell we’re all doing here anyway.
Hangover happens to be timed well with Lent, and we’ve kinda piggybacked onto the whole holiday timing thing. I mean, if you want to get people in the groove man, catch them when they’re already doing something, am I right?
This isn’t Lent though; we don’t hold with you abiding without a J dude. We will not advocate thinking about how awful things are. We are Dudeists and we do not think that denying ourselves is a path to anything more than being uncomfortable.
What’s Hangover mean for us Dudes? The Big Lebowski came out and introduced us to the Dude. The Dude didn’t introduce anything new to us. His meditation, manifesting Tao through his Tai Chi practice, doin’ a J, or having a Caucasian to take the edge off – these things aren’t ground breaking.
You can reference all manner of historical scripts about philosophy and our place in the world which are clearly indicated in the movie. So, what’s the big deal?
The big deal, man, is that The Big Lebowski made it real. The Dude isn’t some leader of a new philosophy, he merely lives his life with this assortment of beliefs, then demonstrates them on screen for us. He’s still human, he even becomes unDude at several points. He comes to terms with that and finds a way to abide.
We’re all trying to find our way out here. The world, society and most everything else seems more determined to get in our way than help us out.
The Dude introduces these concepts to us sinners and gives us an opportunity to become Dude ourselves. In fact, most of us wouldn’t be in this place doing what we are right now if it weren’t for this movie.
Back to Hangover though – so we have a few days before the movie’s release anniversary, and how convenient it is to have a national holiday for the primary ingredient of the Dude’s favorite cocktail? Well Dude, I don’t know but who are we to ignore the way the universe just manages to put things together?
Ok so we get some Caucasians tonight, just a couple though, everything in moderation Dude. We don’t call it Hangover because you want to be hung over for the next week. I don’t know about you but having a hangover isn’t exactly a relaxing or chill time (more like requires it).
No Dude, we see these days leading up to Day of the Dude as a chance to chill out. Take more moments to meditate and contemplate how unimportant almost everything is. Worrying is pointless dude. The opportunity to look past worry comes every day, but in these few days of Hangover we can pay a little more attention, and just let it go.
Truly enjoy the simple pleasures of the senses. There’s a pleasurable experience for every one of your senses. The smell of a calming bath, the taste of a well-made Caucasian, the sound of a perfect strike, seeing how the run really brings the room together, or even the warmth of your special friend. These are all things to be indulged in, every day, especially during Hangover.
Finally, as the Day of the Dude approaches, reach out to your fellow Dudes. Share those tiny moments of Zen, how the sound of the ball striking the pins made you feel, and how you appreciated your rug.
Oh and Dude, don’t forget to set up your watch party with your friends on March 6th, or whenever your schedule allows.
Thanks for listening to this old Dude ramble. Keep on Abiding!
Hangover image Attribution https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
