As we all know one of the greatest entertainers of our time passed away yesterday. He was someone who through his brilliance and wonderfully divergent, crazily active mind, made us look at our world, our humanity in whole new, insanely funny light. He shone a spotlight on our foibles and hypocrisies making us think about things in completely different ways. Though in his final moments he sought not to entertain but rather find relief. In doing so It seems that in his dramatic exit stage left, he has made us look at life again. There wont be many among us who are not shocked and saddened by the circumstances of Mr Williams passing. The thought that someone whom we might have imagined had had it all, having been depressed and actually choosing to end his own suffering in such a desperate way, is almost unspeakable and deeply disturbing. I do not think I exaggerate when I say it pretty much touches us all. I saw him in person once in a real life setting. At a computer trade show. Robin was by himself, standing in line to get in just like the rest of us. I wondered why he didnt act like a VIP? It impressed me a lot. He kept to himself, shy almost, looking around just taking in the throngs of people. We made eye contact for a moment. I thought I saw him thinking to himself has he figured out who I am yet? I had. I was just trying to be really cool about it the way it tells you to be in the Being a Canadian hand book under the chapter heading - What to do if you spot a celebrity. Because of that chance encounter and given yesterdays news, I for one feel as though somehow I personally let him down. Not that I knew him or have any other connection to him besides having been entertained by a lot of his performances, be they movies, TV shows, radio clips or what have you. But I feel that way because I would have wanted to help him. I like to think that I would have put down everything in my life and concentrated only on him to help him overcome the horrible pain he must have been in. I wonder if there are any of us who would not have volunteered to do the same? So then, what makes Robin Williams any different than the hundreds of thousands of individuals who each day consider the same thoughts of desperate self harm and longing to end it all? Aside from celebrity and maybe the financial resources to get private help I would venture to say nothing. There is no difference between Robin and all those depression sufferers who need help right now. In his book The Tipping Point, the author Malcom Gladwell talks about the disturbing effects of high profile celebrity suicides on suicide rates in the week following. It turns out that a suicide by someone famous or popular tends to act as a form of permission for people who are right on the edge of wanting to leave this world behind. Robin Williams is gone and I wish desperately that it was not so but the horrible truth of the way he passed is that there are people out there right now who think that if he can do it that way so can they. That person may be some one we know, It might be you. So I say no! It is not OK for anyone to go that way. There are people who want to help. There is help. If you are in pain please reach out for help. Please do not hurt yourself. For those of you who know someone with depression or even suspect someone you know might be a depressive, please, just touch base with them. Tell them you were thinking about them and wondered how they are doing? Just make contact. Let the people around you know that you care about them and that they are important in your life. How hard would that be to do? If you do find someone in a bad way, what thing in your life could be more important than helping them get the help they need? I always liked knowing there was a Robin Williams. A huge talent that never disappointed me with his zany outlook. It was so easy to let him slip through our fingers. Even when almost all of us would have had his back if we could, we still lost him. These next few days are crucial. Lets try to not loose any more of our friends and family. Lets just stay in touch a little more for a little while. Peace and love Brad
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 21:31:24 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015