WE LOVED ROBIN WILLIAMS-AND HERE IS WHY
Just think about it, most of us didn't know him personally, yet we were profoundly affected by the death of Robin Williams. What are some of the reasons that his death affected us so greatly? Why? What effect did he have on us that caused our tears to shed and our hearts to break when we found out he had died? It seems to me that there are two major reasons he affected us so strongly:
1. He helped us bring out our own best emotions. After all, who among us wouldn't like to be more loving and spiritual and funny and caring and sometimes even angry, and all the other things he was? He was a living breathing example of the life of sharing of emotions, of not hiding them. What we saw was what we got, and usually we were enthralled by his personality, in no matter what situation he found himself. It was almost as if he was saying to us: you too can be like me. You too can show your emotions, there is nothing to afraid of. Watch me, I will show you.
2. He had secrets, just like us. He committed suicide, and we knew about his addictions and we knew about his therapies, but there were other secrets that we couldn't have known about. Deep, dark and dirty secrets that he shared with no one. Perhaps not even with himself. What pain he must have endured, sometimes knowing that he was out-of-control, and there was nothing he could do about it. How awful that must have felt...
The lesson to us should be obvious. We don't know what is going on inside anyone. Just as no one knows what is truly going on inside of us, so we are clueless about others. Sometimes we may think we know, but we don't. We looked at Robin Williams and saw a man with a manic personality, a man who made us laugh. What we did not see was the flip side of him, the depressive part of him, which eventually conquered him and ended his life.
What did we learn from our teacher Robin Williams? Never judge another human being, because what you see on the outside is like the proverbial iceberg. What you don't see is below the surface, often causing great pain and anguish.
Rest in peace, dear friend, we will miss you. And we love you.
