What would Keith Richards do_ - Jessica Pallington West [10]
When the Stones were auditioning new guitarists in the 1960s and 1970s, if the auditioner didn’t know a Max Miller routine, his application was trashed.
It is like giving a religious nod to the Marx Brothers. Humor will always save you. As Andrew Carnegie said, “There is little success where there is little laughter.” Or from Victor Frankl, in Man’s Search for Meaning: “The attempt to develop a sense of humor and to see things in a humorous light is some kind of a trick learned while mastering the art of living."
“Even … when the cops are waking you up again, you somehow have to laugh.”
Laughter is addictive. It’s the best sort of addiction. Snort it in, and let it out. And tell a stupid joke or two every now and then.
22. EXPERIENCE IS “THE PRICE OF AN EDUCATION.”
“Whatever happened—even if it was a drag—I learned lessons from it. And I got something from it … I never worried about who took who from where. I figure it’s the price of an education.”
Pay the toll. And keep going. Don’t look in the rearview mirror if you can help it. Press on the gas and motor forward. (Just don’t crash the car again when taking off.)
The price of an education. It is a mantra to be repeated. It’s money well spent. It may not always feel like it at the time, but trust the laws of fairyland economics. You’ll get the money back at the other end of the trip as you come out of the tunnel. And probably in a larger amount, and with a tip.
“Keith Richards does everything once.”
23. LIVE AND LET LIVE.
It’s really a hell of a lot easier to go through life obeying this maxim. And it’s also one of those lines that can look prettier in print than it is easy to put into action. After all, there are tons of morons and crapheads out there. But even the morons and the crapheads get to have their spot on the planet. It’s all along the lines of acceptance. Just as you have essentially to accept yourself, you have to accept that those other people are out there too. Just like the Inner/Outer Mick. One easy way to put Commandment 23 into actual practice is first to master Commandment 21, i.e., Accepting Max Miller into Your Life. If you can find a joke in it, it’s not nearly as bad. And if that doesn’t work, remind yourself that it’s just like when you see a pile of dogshit on the sidewalk. Nothing you can do about it. Might as well accept it. Live, and let the shit on the sidewalk live. Which brings us to the next tenet:
24. SHIT HAPPENS.
Mutter these two words, and it’s like taking five milligrams of Valium. Acceptance calms you down. And like so many of the Keith Commandments, here’s another one based on this notion.
Accept that shit happens. It’s all a part of life. And if you think that shit is not going to happen, you might as well accept the fact right now that you’re screwed. Shit does happen, and then it happens again, and then it happens a little more. So say the two words, out loud, under your breath, or silently, whenever something creepy goes down. It’s like brushing away a fly. It’s as easy as turning on a light switch or lighting the fiftieth Marlboro of the day. Click. Flick. Light. Shit happens.
25. WHEN YOU DESPAIR, REMEMBER:
THERE’S ALWAYS THE FUTURE.
Things aren’t always going to be as bad as they might seem at the moment. Sure, the moment might suck. So you fall out of a coconut tree. So you set a hotel room on fire. But time does move on, and there is—well, “always the future.” The future will