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Robin Williams tribute.
Earthninja
WandererWest Australia Veteran
Here's a short heart warming clip of Robin Williams and Koko the sign language gorilla!
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Comments
I heard about this today. Of course I've had problems getting on NewBuddhist all day...
It's always sad when, from our perspective, someone is rich and famous and popular; and then you find out they have substance abuse problems and depression, and have likely ended their own lives. Robin Williams ruled the world, and the world will miss him.
Sad news.
:bawl: .
I heard about it yesterday, i grew up watching his movies, my favorite films by him that i watch many times when i was a kid was Jumanji and Hook.
I have spent the day being called odd because I have no idea who he was. I look forward with some sadness to whatever film they show as a tribute this weekend.
Try:
Dead Poets Society
Patch Adams
Good Morning Vietnam
Some of his films are available free on youtube.
Depression is a disease that prevents people from seeking treatment. It masquerades as 'I am seeing reality for what it is'. There was an Eastern Indian woman on the psych unit I worked on years ago. She was beautiful, newly married to a nice man, but was having trouble getting pregnant -- this triggered depression which she already had. She was my patient for a few days and it took everything in my power to sit with her and TAKE it, that bottomless despair where she's sit up and laugh at me (no laughing in the eyes of course) for being so pathetic as to encourage her. Her depression/worldview was intact and impenetrable.
She underwent shock treatments (modern version, under anesthesia as it is still quite brutal) and within a couple of weeks her face was different, she moved differently. She went home and I didn't get to see her 'cured'. I remember the doctor saying some people do not respond to antidepressants or meds of any sort, not to mention counseling. Those who do respond to electroshock will likely need it again, and the problem is convincing them of that -- depression is so seductive in 'proving' itself to the depressed person. Severely depressed people don't feel 'blue' or even sad. They feel nothing, and are most of the time unaware of that as being abnormal. It's such a closed system that we are going to lose some people
and Robin Williams, losing him, I am so so sad. What a beautiful human being, with all his warts and wens 
.
I have a friend who undergoes shock treatments every once in a while. Not sure what her diagnosis is, but before one is needed she begins to get more and more ditzy, shakes some, almost seems to fall asleep. After the treatments, seems perfectly well. On heavy meds, too. Such a nice person.
@Dakini Don't forget Hook! That was my favorite. And Mrs. Doubtfire... and Jumanji... the list goes on and on.
Poor lady
If mental illesses were better money spinners, like weight loss gimmicks, there might have been better interventions by now. Even today why electroshock therapy 'works' is unknown, except that it does.
Drugs like MDMA, Schedule I (believed to have no medical use) were studied mid 20th century on people with depression and anxiety. The research was promising. However, MDMA ("ecstasy") can't be patented, thus no big revenue generation for big pharma. Other Schedule I drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine are similarly exempt from 'patenting', it was explained to me but I don't have a great grasp on patent laws.
Even if small doses relieved anxiety without addictive side effects (the research), it's not even worth developing for the money it will make AND the ignorance and superstition around it would be hell to penetrate!
I'd recommend "Good will hunting", IMO his best performance.
I agree. And whar about the Fisher king? Another very good film. Poignant - and some may say, extremely pertinent.
He was a great guy.
Seems like he had everything, money success fame popularity.
Guess it wasnt enough to keep him alive.
You dont need a reason to be depressed.
Awakenings is another good movie. He plays a doctor. But it is quite serious.
The World According to Garp. Blends the genius of John Irving, the author, and Robin Williams.
The death of Robin Williams and what suicide isn't:
http://www.blogher.com/what-suicide-isn-t-rip-robin-williams?page=0,1
I'm not particularly enamored with the early part of her blog, @Jeffrey. To me there is a big difference between "passing away" and "committing suicide"; one just happens, the other is done intentionally. I also don't think that you can "deride a man" who is dead.
The latter part of her blog is pretty good.
BTW, I agree with you about "The World According To Garp".
You know, I didn't like "Mrs. Doubtfire". It seemed like an obvious response to Dustin Hoffman's "Tootsie". And I've never heard of "Hook"! I remember Jumanji. It looks like I'll have my video-watching cut out for me, for the next few evenings. There are some intriguing suggestions, here.
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@Dakini Never heard of Hook? Never heard of HOOK!? Egads!
It's Robin Williams as an older Peter Pan that has forgotten he's Peter Pan, until he gets dragged back to Neverland with his two children. Legendary.
Dustin Hoffman's portrayal of Captain Hook is also brilliant (I didn't even know it was him).
You've watched Popeye at least right? That wasn't a great movie, but Robin Williams sure made a convincing Popeye.
I do think it's hard to 'get' that depression is a disease. Robin did choose to commit suicide. I think the author makes a great point 'there go I but for the grace of God'. We in our armchair quarterback mode do not see the darkness that had afflicted Robin Williams. (not sure what you reacted to so this could be off topic with regards to what you said). Sure he chose his death. But the depression itself was just a disease like diabetes.
Here is some art, a song by the Smiths, that evokes a lot of emotions in me. I really was a danger of suicide at certain times in my life. Now I feel an indomitable will to live, but at one time I understood the hurt.
I can relate to there for the grace of god go I @Jeffrey. I came pretty close to succeeding twice in the depths of psychosis, paranoia and associated depression. Looking at my mind lately and how calm and clear it is now as a result of meditation I to want to live if only to further my understanding of Dharma.
Having been faced with the suffering of Samsara I see the only solution is to walk this path to the end.
Robin Williams was a very funny man - The Fisher King is one of my all time favourite films and his stand up was up there with Bill Hicks as pure brilliance, but he was obviously tortured by his demons. As you say there for the grace of god go I....
Depression is a peculiar thing. There may be no external cause at all. All of a sudden, it comes like an avalanche and you feel trapped. And confused. You don't even know why you're depressed. It is hard to get out of it. It is not a logical process .... you can't look for reasons and eliminate them etc. because there may be no reason. It is just there, and it doesn't go away. For some people, meditation may help. For others, the sheer force of will. It varies from person to person.
You quoted exactly what I reacted to.
I liked this:
In the blog @Jeffrey linked to, I liked how the author 'corrected' the insensitive and misunderstood reasoning that would give one permission to say "what a waste, how selfish of him".
I deeply disagree though that the decision to suicide is a decision made out of strength or courage. That is romanticizing suicide in a dangerous way (or at least polluting it with solipsism). The decision to end your own life CAN be courageous, for instance to die in place of someone else, take their bullet. To end your life because there is 'nothing else' is less courageous than calling for help, even if it is the fifty ninth time you've had to do it. It's not a cowardly decision either. It's a tragic decision that I wish our best professionals would make unnecessary.
Excellent description. The worst part of that is you are trying to 'get through to yourself' with a mind that is already 'sick' and partly deluded. It's like going to the psychotic homeless guy on your street corner and asking him what you ought to do about your relationship problems. The depressed mind trying to wrestle with its own depression must be why suicide seems like the 'only' logical solution
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In a very limited way, the actual physical act does take a few moments of courage. But I am not at all equating that courage with a "good" connotation.
Well, yeah. True dat
. I can't help but get hung up on what a fine line there is between courage and desperation born of despair.
The mother that lifts the car off of her child (whether urban myth or not) doesn't have a very clearly defined 'courage and strength' versus 'desperation born of despair'.
There are some really scary things one had to just DO, so you don't think about them too much before you do them. Not having ever been suicidal I shouldn't try and guess.
I was never suicidal, but at one point in my life something happened that made me contemplate suicide as one possible path...albeit not very seriously. But I did spend some time thinking about how I would do it, and could I actually do it.
Kia Ora @vinlyn,
Thanks for posting this...Such a simple statement yet so powerful... It would seem that at times we can get caught up in our own world of thoughts, oblivious to the suffering that others might be going through...
Metta Shoshin .
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Kia Ora,
Robin Williams provided many people with many moments of laughter and happiness...
May wholesome karma provide safe passage through the afterlife to rebirth....
Metta Shoshin .
..
Perhaps odd in a way, but the option of suicide gave me strength at one point in my life. Every day I would promise myself that if tomorrow, I still wanted to do so, I could it then. It gave me a sense of power in an otherwise powerless situation - and that gave me the strength to persevere.
I didn't know Mr. Williams, but I did/do know people who knew him well. By all accounts, he was a very kind and caring person.
What a gentle soul. What a good soul.
Gone. :bawl: .
Last night as a tribute, I watched, never having seen it, 'Good Morning Vietnam'. Many issues around conflict explored.
Now perhaps we understand why those who work with personal demons are so inspiring. They are on a hard path. :bowdown: .
It's on UK TV tonight, BBC1 at 22:35
Saw this posted by my uncle on FB this morning, from Peter Coyote who is a Zen Buddhist and also a friend of Robin's. Buddhist thoughts on Robin's challenges. It's a nice read. Though the focus was on his depression I have often heard Robin was actually bipolar but would not seek treatment for the mania because it helped drive his comedy and his success. I don't know if that is true or not, of course. But for him, it doesn't seem like one can just pick up meditation as a way to solve such challenges as he faced. As part of a comprehensive plan, yes, and perhaps if he had meditating earlier in life it would have prevented the depth of the fall. Or maybe not. I am not a big celebrity follower. I may react with a "damn, that sucks" when someone dies, like Philip Seymore Hoffman and others. I was at the airport waiting to pick up my kids from a vacation when my husband texted me about Robin Williams, and I cried. I couldn't even tell you why. His passing and the cause, though not necessarily much different than so many other celebrities was very, very sad to me. It doesn't seem that he ODd like many, but I think many of those who do OD are suffering in much the same way as Robin did, and masking their pain like he did when he was using and drinking.
Anyhow, here is the thing written by Peter Coyote
Robin William’s Last Gift
Robin and I were friends. Not intimate, because he was very shy when he was not performing. Still, I spent many birthdays and holidays at his home with Marsha and the children, and he showed up at my 70th birthday to say “Hello” and wound up mesmerizing my relatives with a fifteen minute set that pulverized the audience.
When I heard that he had died, I put my own sorrow aside for a later time. I’m a Zen Buddhist priest and my vows instruct me to try to help others. So this little letter is meant in that spirit.
Normally when you are gifted with a huge talent of some kind, it’s like having a magnificent bicep. People will say, “Wow, that’s fantastic” and they tell you, truthfully, that it can change your life, take you to unimaginable realms. It can and often does. The Zen perspective is a little different. We might say, “Well, that’s a great bicep, you don’t have to do anything to it. Let’s work at bringing the rest of your body up to that level.”
Robin’s gift could be likened to fastest thoroughbred race-horse on earth. It had unbeatable endurance, nimbleness, and a huge heart. However, it had never been fully trained. Sometimes Robin would ride it like a kayaker tearing down white-water, skimming on the edge of control. We would marvel at his courage, his daring, and his brilliance. But at other times, the horse went where he wanted, and Robin could only hang on for dear life.
In the final analysis, what failed Robin was his greatest gift---his imagination. Clutching the horse he could no longer think of a single thing to do to change his life or make himself feel better, and he stepped off the edge of the saddle. Had the horse been trained, it might have reminded him that there is always something we can do. We can take a walk until the feeling passes. We can find someone else suffering and help them, taking the attention off our own. Or, finally, we can learn to muster our courage and simply sit still with what we are thinking are insoluble problems, becoming as intimate with them as we can, facing them until we get over our fear. They may even be insoluble, but that does not mean that there is nothing we can do.
Our great-hearted friend will be back as the rain, as the cry of a Raven as the wind. He, you and I have never for one moment not been a part of all it. But we would be doing his life and memory a dis-service if we did not extract some wisdom from his choice, which, if we ponder deeply enough, will turn out to be his last gift. He would beg us to pay attention if he could.
There wasn't a 'button' appropriate to quickly acknowledge your post the way I felt. So I'm quoting it to say "yeah." It must have been a terrible time
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The numbers of people who contemplate suicide like you did is enormous. How most of us pull out and find meaning again is what makes successful suicides like Robin Williams SO tragic. I am 99.9% sure that suicide need not be the only option. Then again, I wouldn't dream of judging William's inner experience
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He was one of my favorite comedic geniuses. Not just funny and generous to many non profit organizations but a real educator on many subjects that might otherwise be shuffled under the social carpet.
I was sorry to hear that on top of his usual demons, he had also just started to suffer from and was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
Blessings Robin & thanks for all the grace that you offered me.
It always makes me sad when I hear someone so young has died, and even more so when it's from suicide. All I can think about is how fucking bad he must have been hurting inside to do something so extreme.
Severe depression is a peculiar thing. It's a kind of pain you can't see, so it's hard to know who's suffering from it. It's hard to describe, so it's hard for them to talk about it with anyone who hasn't suffered through the same internal torments. And worst of all, it's hard to cope with.
I think many people just end up giving out because they're tired—tired of always feeling that way; tired of constantly fighting it and trying to get other people to understand what their world is like. They're simply worn out. Day after day of feeling this way and fighting to keep sane, to keep smiling and trying to act normal despite it all, just eventually wears you down until you don't have any energy left to fight back anymore.
I grew up watching Mork & Mindy and Good Morning Vietnam and so many others things, many of which helped lift my spirits when I was feeling down. He was a talented and funny guy, which makes the tragic circumstances of his death all the more more jarring and heartbreaking.
Such a sad end to a rather remarkable life. Hopefully some good will come out of this, though, and his untimely death will help to remove some of the stigma that still surrounds depression and other mental health issues.
@Jason Young? Are we still talking about Robin Williams? He was getting up there. I just heard from a family member that he has a number of movies that will be coming out... maybe he planned it this way (get a lot of work that will be rolling out when he's gone, and leave before the Parkinson's did to him what it did to Michael J. Fox).
He was diagnosed with Parkinson's? I hadn't heard that before. That must have been scary, especially for someone already struggling with depression. With a diagnosis like that, he must have felt, "Why go on"?
Yes, glad you think that's young, Jason! I'm only a year or so older...but I sure don't feel very young!
@Dakini No one had heard it. He hadn't come out with it publicly, it's just surfacing now from his wife after his death. Very sad.
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Inadvertently poor choice of words there....
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Been there, felt that.....
The amount of stuff Robin Williams had gone through in his life, I am convinced the thought process regarding suicide may well have crossed his mind before, who knows how many times? He was an immensely gifted, intelligent perceptive man, with more talent and gift than anyone has a right to have on their own. Yet with all of the life-knowledge at his fingertips, with all his experiences, with all the most amazing lines and scripts he learnt, recited, and at times improvised - with all that wisdom under his belt, he STILL felt the only way to go, was to go.
THAT'S the real tragedy. I have no doubt whatsoever that he absolutely knew, already, that suicide wasn't the only course of action open to him - but that's what he did anyway, and probably in the deepest darkest place he had ever been. Because no matter how much light his rationale and common sense shone on the problem, he still saw black. And that is why whatever depth of depression we go into, we need to hold onto that spark, that glimmer. Because at that point, it's all that will keep us going.
It's phenomenal how many people suffer from depression.
I can only wish that one day I can help people out of their depression. It's horrible, self torture.
This is half the reason I practice this path!
Yes. Robin Williams was only 63, which is relatively young in my book. Also, when I said young, I primarily meant dead before his time.
age is just a number, if you determine you feel old, then you will. My dad is 62 and still lives like he did 25 years ago. He just got back from taking my kids on vacation where they were body surfing and rock climbing. He refuses to get "old" so he doesn't. It's amazing how much our mindset about such things affects how our body feels. 63 for Robin wasn't old but it is sad to realize how much of his life he spent suffering and attempting to reach a balance. It does seem likely the Parkinson's diagnosis was just the last straw.
In thinking about Robin's death and other celebrities, it dawned on me that for him, we feel much sympathy for his suffering, how horrible it must have been. But when we think about other celebrities who died of overdose and addiction, we tend to be more critical of them. They weren't all that different than Robin, just perhaps their deaths weren't quite as purpose-driven as Robin's was. It always seems to me those who are drug addicted are suffering a lack of balance and mental illness in many ways, too, and are self-medicating. It's interesting how much less compassion we tend to have for them than someone who suffered the same demons but purposely took his own life as opposed to accidentally.
And I hate to throw a purler, but has anyone mentioned Lauren Bacall? One of the great Hollywood true stars of our time, and she died the day after Robin Williams - a magnificent woman, who had more character in her little finger than an awful lot of current starlets put together. What a loss to the industry....
Thanks for that @federica. As the icons pass what remains seems at best a pale shadow.
Although I didn't mention her, I agree with you about Lauren Bacall. Quite a remarkable woman and actress. I couldn't help but think how weird it was that her most famous husband died as long ago as 1957!
I was also thinking this morning about how the mind works. I was planning a little day trip up into the mountains today. Went to bed at 10:30 last night (instead of my usual 1-2 a.m.)...and had insomnia until almost 5 a.m. I know I get stressed out about traveling, but knowing that doesn't make it any less of a problem.