The Dude Testament

6. You’re like a child who wanders into the middle of a movie.

It turns out the thugs mistook the Dude for another Jeffrey Lebowski, a millionaire, whose wife owed money to their boss, a porn mogul named Jackie Treehorn. The next day, the Dude tells the story of the rug to his belligerent Vietnam vet best friend, Walter, who suggests he try to get compensation from the guy whose rug was meant to be pissed on in the first place. You know, just like in the Bible. Rugcompense. A wee for a wee.[10]

As they’re arguing about this, their bowling teammate Donny keeps asking what they’re talking about. Walter scolds him that he’s out of his element. “You’re like a child who wanders into the middle of a movie!” he says, refusing to fill him in. There is no reason why Walter should be so impatient, other than the fact that he’s desperate to fix immediately what he considers to be a matter of critical importance. In other words, he is an action hero in the classic sense of the word. No time to argue. Chop chop!

Only problem is, it’s not a matter of critical importance. It’s only pee stains on a rug.

We are all like children who wander into the middle of a movie—every moment of our lives. Our lives are stories of unending complexity. Far too often, the best thing to do is to just say, “Fuck it, let’s go bowling” instead of drawing a line in the sand and laying down the law. Had Walter and the Dude just acknowledged this from the start, none of the troubles that follow would have happened. If there’s one thing we learned in The Big Lebowski…when the world kicks you, don’t kick back. In most cases, it’s a better idea to kick-back and try to enjoy the cycle.