"You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it."
A talented man and artist was lost yesterday. He was a part of my childhood, my teenage years, and my adulthood. Though I only knew him through the characters he portrayed, the roles he took on in many of his films spoke to me. Many of my favorite movies starred Robin Williams, including two of my all time favorites, Patch Adams and Dead Poet's Society.
His death has sparked a conversation about depression and suicide in our country and what is being done about it. Here is my assessment: there is a lack of mental health care in United States and there is a stigma of individuals who have mental health diagnoses. Working in a hospital whose focus is behavioral health, I see first hand how the system has failed so many and it is heartbreaking. Depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, addiction, bipolar disorder, and many other mental health diagnoses don't discriminate based on gender, race, or social status. We live in a country where cars are starting to drive themselves, machines are performing surgeries, iPads are available for children in many classrooms, but yet we can't find a way to help those who are suffering so badly they choose to end their own lives. Think about it. I leave you with a myriad of quotes from my favorite Robin Williams films.
"What's wrong with death sir? What are we so mortally afraid of? Why can't we treat death with a certain amount of humanity and dignity, and decency, and God forbid, maybe even humor. Death is not the enemy gentlemen. If we're going to fight a disease, let's fight one of the most terrible diseases of all, indifference."
-Patch Adams
"You treat a disease, you win, you lose. You treat a person, I guarantee you, you'll win, no matter what the outcome."
-Patch Adams
"I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straighforwardly without complexities or pride. I love you because I know no other way than this. So close tha tyour hand, on my chest, is my hand. So close, that when you close your eyes, I fall asleep."
-Patch Adams
" We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for."
-Dead Poet's Society
"Carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary."
Dead Poet's Society
"You ain't never had a friend like me."
-Aladdin
"To die would be a grand adventure"
-Hook
"You know what music is? God's little reminder that there's something else besides us in this universe, a harmonic connection between all living beings, every where, even the stars."
-August Rush
"I got it, Eric. I'm cool... I don't have very much time these days so I'll make it quick. Like my life. You know, as we come to the end of this phase of our life, we find ourselves trying to remember the good times and trying to forget the bad times, and we find ourselves thinking about the future. We start to worry , thinking, "What am I gonna do? Where am I gonna be in ten years?" But I say to you, "Hey, look at me!" Please, don't worry so much. Because in the end, none of us have very long on this Earth. Life is fleeting. And if you're ever distressed, cast your eyes to the summer sky when the stars are strung across the velvety night. And when a shooting star streaks through the blackness, turning night into day... make a wish and think of me. Make your life spectacular. I know I did. I made it, Mom. I'm a grown up."
-Jack
"I'd ask you about love, you'd probably quote me a sonnet. But you've never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable. Known someone that could level you with her eyes, feeling like God put an angel on earth just for you. Who could rescue you from the depths of hell. And you wouldn't know what it's like to be her angel, to have that love for her, be there forever, through anything, through cancer. And you wouldn't know about sleeping sitting up in the hospital room for two months, holding her hand, because the doctors could see in your eyes, that the terms "visiting hours" don't apply to you. You don't know about real loss, 'cause it only occurs when you've loved something more than you love yourself. And I doubt you've ever dared to love anybody that much."
-Good Will Hunting
"Oh, my dear Katie. You know, some parents, when they're angry, they get along much better when they don't live together. They don't fight all the time, and they can become better people, and much better mummies and daddies for you. And sometimes they get back together. And sometimes they don't, dear. And if they don't, don't blame yourself. Just because they don't love each other anymore, doesn't mean that they don't love you. There are all sorts of different families, Katie. Some families have one mommy, some families have one daddy, or two families. And some children live with their uncle or aunt. Some live with their grandparents, and some children live with foster parents. And some live in separate homes, in separate neighborhoods, in different areas of the country - and they may not see each other for days, or weeks, months... even years at a time. But if there's love, dear... those are the ties that bind, and you'll have a family in your heart, forever."
-Mrs. Doubtfire
"You think that mosquitos, monkeys, and lions are bad? That is just the beginning. I've seen things you've only seen in your nightmares. Things you can't even imagine. Things you can't even see. There are things that hunt you in the night. Then something screams. Then you hear them eating, and you hope to God that you're not dessert. Afraid? You don't even know what afraid is. You would not last five minutes without me."
-Jumanji
"I try to make sense of things. Which is why, I guess, I believe in destiny. There must be a reason that I am as I am. There must be."
-Bicentennial Man
"In a sense I have. I am growing old, my body is deteriorating, and like all of you, will eventually cease to function. As a robot, I could have lived forever. But I tell you all today, I would rather die a man, than live for all eternity a machine."
