After decades of drug and alcohol abuse, Ronnie Wood got clean in 2010 and has been in recovery for 10 years. “It’s like having a second chance at life,” the Rolling Stones guitarist said last year. “Seeing everything with clarity, gratitude; it’s unbelievable. I feel so good. And to have these little blessings is the icing on the cake.”
But with many countries and communities on lockdown due to the coronavirus, Wood has spoken out in support of people who can’t make it to their meetings. Holding up “one of my books that help me get through every day” (it appears to be Keep It Simple: Daily Meditations for Twelve-Step Beginnings and Renewal), Wood reads one of his favorite passages.
This reading on hope has helped me get through tough days, I hope it helps you too🙏#CoronavirusLockdown pic.twitter.com/9UympYFgXm
— Ronnie Wood (@ronniewood) March 24, 2020
“I will share my hope for the future with myself, my higher power, and my friends,” Wood said. “I will also share this with someone who has lost hope. Now, if anything, we have tended to be people who have wanted it all now. To hope is not to demand. Maybe we were a bit demanding. Maybe we were a bit impatient. Maybe that’s why we had such little hope. Hope is believing good will come, even in bad times; hope is knowing that ‘this too shall pass.’ Hope is knowing that no matter how afraid we are, our higher power will be with us. Hope is knowing we never have to be alone again. It is knowing that time is on our side. Hope is giving up control. Hope is knowing we never had control in the first place. I hope this helps you get through another day.”
Wood was set to hit the road with the Rolling Stones on their second straight U.S. summer tour, beginning in May. But those plans are off due to the spread of COVID-19. “We’re hugely disappointed to have to postpone the tour,” the band said in a statement. “We are sorry to all the fans who were looking forward to it as much as we were, but the health and safety of everyone has to take priority. We will all get through this together — and we’ll see you very soon.”
Prior to the pandemic, Wood had been playing solo gigs in support of Mad Lad, a live Chuck Berry tribute album.
