Wednesday, August 13, 2014

A tragic week

On Monday the entire world received the excruciating news that Robin Williams was dead. He committed suicide.
     It took me a couple of days to process this news. To go through the phases if you will. There was the shock, the disbelief, etc. Today I hit grief. I can't remember of another actor ever causing a response like this from me. Honestly I feel a little silly, crying over the death of someone I didn't even know personally.
     But then I think, maybe I did. Maybe everybody did. He was one of the most honest and human celebrities I've ever known of.  He was very open about the fact that he was human, both in his comedy and outside of it. He was bipolar, and he suffered from alcoholism. People say it amazes them that a man that so many people loved so much could be so depressed. That part of it surprises me the least. But why, if he was so open about his struggles, did this one still get him? That's what I have a hard time understanding.
     I have a very personal understanding of the place he was in. It is a feeling and mindset that anybody who has never been there cannot understand. It is a pain unlike any other pain. A loneliness and isolation you can't escape from. I've been in that place. Thank God I wasn't alone when I was.  I'm very sad that he was.
    I'm pretty sure that this was not his first fight with this demon. It's feels a little weird, but it gives me hope that he made it as long as he did, that he beat back the demon for as long as he did. It also scares me that he wasn't able to beat it this time. It makes me want to fight my own demon even harder. To try a little more.
     He has been called a comedic genius. I agree. I think he was a genius. Unfortunately genius seems to always come along with a host of other problems. You're just able to channel those problems to make something amazing come out of it. I think that's what he was able to do with his bipolar. He was able to channel the "mania" into the amazing comic that we all knew, and he was able to channel the dramatic roles from the other end of his bipolar spectrum.
     It makes me sad to know that such a great man's last moments consisted of such pain and depression and loneliness. It makes my heart hurt. I hope he is at peace now. He deserves it.

Rest In Peace Robin Williams

 I'm not sure if this link will work, but this is my favorite of his :)http://youtu.be/LSXMS8ABAAU

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