We’re all weary and exhausted from grieving him, but not writing about the loss of Robin Williams just seems…wrong.
Robin Williams was brave in the most dangerous way: he felt things deeply, and expressed every emotion fully. Bravery, of course, requires one conquer fear. This ability of his: to be so fearless emotionally, gave us some of the fullest laughs and widest smiles a film can give. For me, though, when his bravery was shown best was when he let out the darker emotions: his work in Awakenings made me weep. In fact, I’ve only been able to see that film once: the story (based on the work of Dr. Oliver Sacks) hurts me too much. His work in The Fisher King is stunning, and looking in his eyes in Good Will Hunting when he tells Will, “You took one look at my painting and ripped my [...] life apart” is to look at the face of abject sadness. (Parental caveat: linked videos contain adult language.)
It’s one thing to feel joy deeply, and Robin’s ability to express unbridled joy was unmatched, but the other end of that spectrum is a black ocean, and it’s cold, deep, and dark. To be a person of deep feeling is hard enough; to be one brave enough to express those feelings is a rarity. It always has struck me as odd when people are surprised by a comedian turning in a moving dramatic performance. Depth of feeling runs the whole width of the emotional spectrum: funny people are still people, and if they can express humor and joy in a way that moves us to laughter, they can probably also move us to tears.
Sometimes the height and breadth and width and depth and weight of the ocean of human emotion makes it impossible to stay afloat, much less breathe. We were blessed to have Robin Williams with us as long as we did. I will miss him.
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“You’re only given a spark of madness. You must not lose it.”
Some people have been confused by the outpouring of public grief for Robin Williams. “He was just an actor” and “Why are you sad? You didn’t even know him” are common themes, as well as, “Why isn’t this country grieving the loss of Major General Greene like they’re grieving Robin Williams?” But, we did know Robin-not the intimate details of his life, of course-but we knew him through the stories he helped tell us, and his ability to connect with our humanity through the movies in which he acted was a very moving thing.
Two pieces I saw about Robin this week touched me deeply:
This article by Russell Brand in which he wondered, “Is it melancholy to think that a world that Robin Williams can’t live in must be broken?”
And this, which is the message I want to give to you all: Live. Love. Be as brave as you can. Make your life spectacular, like he did.