Robin Williams was an incredibly talented and ridiculously funny man. Facebook and Twitter are aglow with memories of a talent gone too soon. The funniest people are sometimes that way because they get rid of their pain that way. They find light in dark places and make it work for them. It is almost a survival technique. Laughing and making others laugh makes them forget about their demons for a moment. A moment that eventually fades.
I have a challenge for myself and everyone I know and the readers of my blog that I do not know. Be kind because in life there is no rewind. How many times has someone walked by you and flashed you a smile that was simply saying “hello” and you looked the other way and ignored them. How often are we rude, sarcastic, cruel, or disrespectful to someone and think its okay or they will just suck it up? The truth is that most of the time we have no clue what is going on in someones head. Friendships are disposable. Family is disposable. People are….do you get my point? I know that we live time starved lives and sometimes it is easier to ignore people, be curt with them, and become self-absorbed in the fact that we think we don’t have time to be friendly to others. It is easy to think you are the only person that has a problem, you are the only over worked one, you are the only one that has image issues, money problems, life issues in general and when someone else enters your personal space they are not important enough to you to just take a second and be kind.
How many lives could be saved if we took a second out of our day to talk to an elderly person in the grocery store that just wanted to be reminded that they are valuable. How many kids could be saved by just listening to them and letting them vent without judgement. How easy is it to be nice? I am not naïve and I do not believe that by being nice we cure suicide but if we remember that a ripple we create can cause a soothing gentle wave that makes someone feel human or a tidal wave that just makes that person suffocate under their own self-hatred then we become more aware of each other. If we are aware we may notice when someone is hurting.
About twenty years ago I had thoughts of suicide. I felt that I contributed to nothing. I felt I was going nowhere and that I was more of a problem for others than a worthy person. Every word someone spent on me was analyzed poorly by my broken soul. I decided I loved myself and that there was no way that I was leaving this world at my hand. I changed the things in my life that were not positive. I became much more self-aware and with that self-awareness I chose to laugh and find the bright side of things. I choose to turn the other cheek but to also not put that cheek out their to be struck. I am a million miles away from the man who I was but then Robin Williams dies and I am reminded to make sure to leave everyone I touch with a smile. I remind myself that when I was in that dark place it would have been nice to have someone listen to me without judgement. We are all equally important in the scope of life. I love you all and I hope you all sleep without nightmares. I promise to be that person that will make time to listen. I promise myself to remember to smile and not assume I know what guides others in their day-to-day life. For suicide there is not a cure but if we remember that we all are valuable and all make a difference we might just save someone from making a mistake that is so unthinkable. Sleep well, laugh, listen, and be kind. Again…I love you all. Mr. Williams I hope you have peace and as for your family we all pray.
Sunshine Dreams and Hopes 