James King - Be More Keanu

We all need to #bemorekeanu.

Authenticity. Freedom. No BS. In a film industry not known for any of those things, Keanu is a truth-seeking, bike-riding, kind-hearted (yet still ass-whooping) breath of fresh air. Hes an innovator, an instigator and a long-haired lover. A guru on a surfboard. A rock n roll philosopher. All we are is dust in the wind, dude his Ted Logan tells us in Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure. The guys like a sexy Yoda.

All we are is dust in the wind, dude.

TED LOGAN, BILL & TEDS EXCELLENT ADVENTURE

As Bill and Teds friend Socrates (or indeed So-craytes) himself once said, wisdom begins with wonder and that makes Keanu Reeves our most triumphant mentor. Mixing martial arts with melancholy, butt-kicking with Buddhism, Keanu is an actor who follows his own script and a seeker who follows his own path; equal parts idol and vagabond, the ultimate badass bohemian searching for sense and serenity. Hes wonder-full.

Its there in his private life, todays middle-aged Keanu continuing to do the same thing hes always done when not in the spotlight: climbing onto his 1973 Norton Commando motorbike and riding the roads of California, looking for answers; part petrolhead, part pilgrim.

Its there in his films: John Wick, The Matrix, Little Buddha (where naturally he plays the actual Buddha) and even in Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure, a story entirely about the joy of experience and open-mindedness, rather than tediously memorising dates from a textbook. Whether its through surfing or suffering, philosophy or a phone box, Keanus always learning something. Plus, in turn, teaching us things too.

And its in that famously blank expression a face as stony as a Michelangelo yet also really absorbed in the moment, especially when mechanically delivering dialogue. Its a focus that shows diligence and industry. Someone painstakingly dealing with ideas and ideologies. Someone honest.

Yet theres always been something otherworldly about Keanu too. His background is diverse (born in Beirut to a British mother and Chinese/Hawaiian father, then raised in Toronto), his personal life unusually sad (the loss of family and friends is well documented).

When you truly understand karma then you realise you are responsible for everything in your life.

KEANU

He makes statements like: When you truly understand karma then you realise you are responsible for everything in your life. While we latch onto some celebrities because they seem similar to us, perfect to share a couple of wines with in the bar, others are attractive because theyre the complete opposite, like Keanu. Theyve got a special aura.

Teacher, thinker, alien. But somehow Keanu still manages to be down-to-earth: the mystic and adventurer who can still sit on a bench and look sad. He cemented his cinematic status as the perennially restless scholar by learning how to battle demons in Dracula and The Devils Advocate and becoming a saviour for the digital age in Johnny Mnemonic and The Matrix. He became an internet sensation, though, by just being normal.

Keanu cuddles puppies. He eats his sandwich on a park bench. He gets melancholy. And whilst Sad Keanu is a little upsetting to see all across Twitter, its weirdly reassuring too. Seekers like him arent meant to easily settle. As the man himself said: He who loves fifty people has fifty woes; he who loves no one has no woes.

Or maybe that was the Buddha? Oh well, you know theyre kind of the same thing. Its nice that people enjoy your work he has said in typically modest fashion about The Cult of Keanu. Did he really give twenty thousand dollars to a hard-up set builder? Does he genuinely use the subway? Is he actually a mythical being who never ages? We might never get a straight answer but thats what makes Keanu great in the first place. Hes not bothered by people thinking hes great.

Which only makes him more great.

When Keanus suited and booted assassin John Wick growled Im thinking Im back! in 2014, it didnt just work for the character, pulled out of retirement to avenge the murder of his pet beagle (obviously). After several years of soso movies, it was also Keanu the fallen idol declaring his resurrection. And that emphasis on Im thinking Im back Did ever a verb sum up someone so well? The badass Wick, all lank locks and dejection, is as meditative as he is murderous, the thinking mans mass killer. I mean, not only was of the franchise subtitled in Latin (Parabellum meaning prepare for war, as all you Plato fans will know), it also featured a scene where wily Wick picks off baddies using actual books in the hallowed New York Public Library.

Keanus comeback has been as inspirational as the messages in his movies hes like a living, breathing affrmation (Yes I Can-ada! to quote Toy Story 4s mighty Duke Caboom).

And as both he and his characters continue to wonder and wander searching for edification, his legendary Zen-like blankness finds a new wave of popularity in a confused world where were all desperately searching for answers. Perhaps the answer is, there is no answer? To once again quote the great Ted (quoting the great Socrates): The only true wisdom consists in knowing that you know nothing. Thats us, dude!

Who needs Kant and Kierkegaard when weve got Keanu?

The only true wisdom consists in knowing that you know nothing. Thats us, dude!

TED LOGAN, BILL & TEDS EXCELLENT ADVENTURE

So here, then, are the teachings of Johns Constantine and Wick, Johnnys Utah and Mnemonic; the musings of Kind Keanu, Kooky Keanu and Kick-Ass Keanu. His movies, moods and mantras have inspired and crossed generations and now its time to celebrate. Following things picked up from Keanu movies quips, quotes and attitudes will hopefully help you to move forward along your own happiness path. In Neuro-Linguistic Programming its known as modelling essentially imagining yourself in his size tens and asking What would Keanu do?

Nows the chance to find out. Prepare for whoa!

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