79

After a story is wrapped up,

Some strands in ol’ Duder’s head still remain—

What happened to the Dude’s rug?

Did Maude compensate the Dude with more bones and clams?

Was there ever any fucking money?

Did they make it to the finals?

How are you gonna keep ’em down on the farm?

Well, Dude, we just don’t know.

It don’t matter to the Dudeist.

All the Dude wanted was his rug back. Not greedy.

Where Walter sought comeuppance,

The Dude sought only compensation.

The Stranger said: “He’s the man for his time and place.

I won’t say a hee-ro, ’cause what’s a hee-ro?”

That done innerduced him enough.

The story is stupefying.

It is also ludicrous.

You have your story, I have mine.

It’s a pretty good one. Don’t you think?

Tao Te Ching: 79

After making peace with an adversary

There is usually some lingering enmity.

What can be done about this?

To expedite the accord,

The sage will honor his end of the agreement,

But not pressure the other side.

Whereas the sage focuses upon making amends,

The ignorant are concerned with assigning blame.

Tao itself is objective,

So it rewards those who see the bigger picture,

And penalizes those who pursue only personal interest.