Robin Williams

Every bright spark has their demons and that’s true for all of us. I could talk about how and why Robin Williams died but that’s not what I want to remember him for. Instead I want to remember him for the way he lived, the way he battled his demons and what he came to teach each of us.

           Whatever public persona we each choose to give we each have our demons buried underneath however deep they may be. There is nothing wrong with that, if anything it is part of what makes each of us human, the complexity and fluidity of human emotion. Like I said, I don’t want to remember William for how or why he died but for the joy he brought to millions be it on the big screen, the television or on stage. To me he will always be that boy who never grew up and the machine who found his humanity.

          If William’s death does anything it should make us think about how we see mental illness and how we each choose to live our lives. Despite his problems Williams chose to live his life bringing joy to millions teaching many a lesson along the way. He taught us that “to live will be an awfully big adventure” and to see time and death not as enemies but as companions who travel with us on the journey that is life.

          And in regard to depression and our deeply buried demons, these can haunt us for years and drive us to the brink without anyone else ever knowing. There is nothing I can say or do that will ever change that. It is only ourselves and those around us who can change that, the smallest things can change the way we see ourselves and the way we choose to live our lives. This makes me think of William’s relationship with Christopher Reeve, the actor turned activist who played Superman in the films but was later paralyzed in a horse riding accident and died some nine years later. The story goes that Williams was the first person to make Reeve laugh after his accident when Williams visited him in hospital and pretended to be an eccentric Russian doctor set to give Reeve a rectal exam. Williams then went on to promise that he would cover any of Reeve’s medical bills his medical insurance wouldn’t pay for, fulfilling a promise they made years earlier that they would always look after one another. It was friends like Williams that brought Reeve out of his darkest hour and shows us the type of man he was; kind, generous and the man who made the world laugh despite his demons.

          So what is the point in my writing this post, what is it I am setting out to say or do, the truth is I don’t know. Since I heard the news of William’s death it has forced me to think, to reflect and to wonder. So I guess I am just trying to make sense of my thoughts and what it is I am trying to take from it. All I can say is, life is short, so don’t judge or criticize as you can never be certain of the full story and treat life as a treasured gift and an adventure to be had. So here’s to Robin Williams, the boy who never grew up and the genie who is now free, let us hope he now finds his peace.

Thanks for reading,

Jason.