13

The Dude said:

“Can’t be worried about that shit. Life goes on.”

The Stranger likes his style because he’s the man for his time and place.

The Stranger said:

“Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear, well, he eats you.”

The Dude likes his style because he’s got a whole cowboy thing going on.

He who regards himself as part of the whole durn human comedy,

Is able to abide the world.

He who asks the bartender for another Caucasian

Is still racially pretty cool.

If you take the good with the bad,

Life does not stop and start inconveniently.

This affects all of us: The Royal We,

Down through the generations.

I’m rambling again.

Tao Te Ching: 13

The sages say:

“Both praise and blame induce anxiety, for honors are fleeting and fickle.”

We indulge our anxieties because they safeguard the self.

It seems that consternation may be a condition of consciousness.

However,

For those who regard themselves as a part of a much greater whole,

Praise and blame no longer elicit unease.

Undivided from environment,

They care about the world as much as they care about themselves.

This is why it is only those who see themselves as ordinary

Who may be fit to influence the world,

And only those immune to honor

Who may actually deserve it.