"You're only given one little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it." -Robin Williams
As I think about this quote that my friend gave me after I heard about this unbelievably saddening tragedy, I also think not only about all the great movies he starred in- Aladdin, Ferngully, The Final Cut, Flubber, Good Will Hunting, Hook, Jumanji, Mrs. Doubtfire, Robots- but WHY the characters he created have endured for so long in peoples' memories.
I think Robin Williams, more than a lot of other actors, lived the one life he got out loud and told us that it was OK to be ourselves, no matter how odd or zany or even hated we are.
Learning that lesson through the magic of the laughter he brought throughout my childhood helped me overcome a lot of the fear, isolation, and loneliness I felt as a child struggling with autism. But that's not the important part. The important part is that he did that for SO many other children. And not only that, but in doing so, he made this crapsack of a world a much better place to live in, even if it was just for a couple of hours watching Genie's antics.
It's a sad but true fact that many comedians struggle with depression, and that this was probably so hard to admit to himself and to anyone else that he decided to exit stage right, as it were. A lot of this may be due to the fact that mental illness is such a taboo subject to really, honestly talk about in this country, surrounded by pain and stigma.
But whatever the case, I hope people who are also struggling with- well ANY issues that are giving them "dark nights of the soul" can focus on how he lived rather than how he died, so that they can see how much anyone can accomplish if they believe in themselves. I know this sounds unrelated, but in the recent The Rock movie Hercules, The Rock (as Hercules of course) says, "You all have it within yourselves to create your own legends."
And boy, did Robin Williams do that. He took the spark of madness that he was given, the only life that all of us know we have, and turned it into a beautiful fireworks show for us all, and hopefully can inspire us to do the same. The great thing in service of that is, even though he's gone we can repeat a small part of what he did for our own children and grandchildren, and in that way he and his magical characters can live on. It's like one commenter on the below picture from imgur said, "Robin Williams isn't really dead, he's just waiting for someone to roll a 5 or 8" (referring, of course, to his wonderful performance in Jumanji.)
![[Image: ZgQpnvT.jpg]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=i.imgur.com%2FZgQpnvT.jpg)
As I think about this quote that my friend gave me after I heard about this unbelievably saddening tragedy, I also think not only about all the great movies he starred in- Aladdin, Ferngully, The Final Cut, Flubber, Good Will Hunting, Hook, Jumanji, Mrs. Doubtfire, Robots- but WHY the characters he created have endured for so long in peoples' memories.
I think Robin Williams, more than a lot of other actors, lived the one life he got out loud and told us that it was OK to be ourselves, no matter how odd or zany or even hated we are.
Learning that lesson through the magic of the laughter he brought throughout my childhood helped me overcome a lot of the fear, isolation, and loneliness I felt as a child struggling with autism. But that's not the important part. The important part is that he did that for SO many other children. And not only that, but in doing so, he made this crapsack of a world a much better place to live in, even if it was just for a couple of hours watching Genie's antics.
It's a sad but true fact that many comedians struggle with depression, and that this was probably so hard to admit to himself and to anyone else that he decided to exit stage right, as it were. A lot of this may be due to the fact that mental illness is such a taboo subject to really, honestly talk about in this country, surrounded by pain and stigma.
But whatever the case, I hope people who are also struggling with- well ANY issues that are giving them "dark nights of the soul" can focus on how he lived rather than how he died, so that they can see how much anyone can accomplish if they believe in themselves. I know this sounds unrelated, but in the recent The Rock movie Hercules, The Rock (as Hercules of course) says, "You all have it within yourselves to create your own legends."
And boy, did Robin Williams do that. He took the spark of madness that he was given, the only life that all of us know we have, and turned it into a beautiful fireworks show for us all, and hopefully can inspire us to do the same. The great thing in service of that is, even though he's gone we can repeat a small part of what he did for our own children and grandchildren, and in that way he and his magical characters can live on. It's like one commenter on the below picture from imgur said, "Robin Williams isn't really dead, he's just waiting for someone to roll a 5 or 8" (referring, of course, to his wonderful performance in Jumanji.)
Luke: You don't believe in the Force, do you?
Han Solo: Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other, and I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen *anything* to make me believe that there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. 'Cause no mystical energy field controls *my* destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense.
Han Solo: Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other, and I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen *anything* to make me believe that there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. 'Cause no mystical energy field controls *my* destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense.
