As I was growing up, I watched lots of Robin Williams movies. He was a funny actor, in the movies I was allowed to see. When I got older, I got to see some of his deeper movies, the ones that cast him not just as a comedian but as a character. And some in which he wasn't funny at all, in which he was a dark character, or a different kind of character.
But I remember him for his humor.
What is humor? Why is it important?
It's how we face the darkness inside ourselves. It's what gives us the strength to look beyond the moment, look past the night, and see the sunlight coming up over the edge of the day. It helps us face the worst of the world but makes it okay to do so; it's how we acknowledge that there is a lot of suck going on, and we're helpless against most of it--but that there is good, too, and we can still partake in the good. And it lets us think about dangerous things, dark things, brings us to the questions we couldn't bear to face otherwise, and helps us ask them, helps us think.
When confronted by darkness, we want to hide or fight. Humor gives us the chance to choose neither; to fix instead of run or destroy. It eats the fear and helps us see.
Humor alone doesn't fix the demons. It doesn't stop the night. And it can't bring back those who are lost.
But it's a sword in the hand, and a candle in the window.
I'll always remember how he made me smile. His life was a blessing, and I'm glad to have seen parts of it; it wasn't perfect, but it brought a lot of good for me and mine. He lit a lot of candles and gave us many hero's swords.
May he have peace.
But I remember him for his humor.What is humor? Why is it important?
It's how we face the darkness inside ourselves. It's what gives us the strength to look beyond the moment, look past the night, and see the sunlight coming up over the edge of the day. It helps us face the worst of the world but makes it okay to do so; it's how we acknowledge that there is a lot of suck going on, and we're helpless against most of it--but that there is good, too, and we can still partake in the good. And it lets us think about dangerous things, dark things, brings us to the questions we couldn't bear to face otherwise, and helps us ask them, helps us think.
When confronted by darkness, we want to hide or fight. Humor gives us the chance to choose neither; to fix instead of run or destroy. It eats the fear and helps us see.
Humor alone doesn't fix the demons. It doesn't stop the night. And it can't bring back those who are lost.
But it's a sword in the hand, and a candle in the window.
I'll always remember how he made me smile. His life was a blessing, and I'm glad to have seen parts of it; it wasn't perfect, but it brought a lot of good for me and mine. He lit a lot of candles and gave us many hero's swords.
May he have peace.
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