Robin Williams: Depression is Real and Riches are False

This past week we lost a comedian great, Academy Award winning, Robin Williams.  Rather you were a fan of his comedy or not, you have to admit that the man was successful at what he did.  When I first heard the news, the first movie I thought of was Nine Months.  Williams played the eccentric foreign doctor, Dr. Kosevich who had only assisted monkey births.  Even though I was nine when I first saw this movie (and probably shouldn't have been watching it) I knew then he was a genius at what he did.  And don't even get me started on Aladdin.  You can't call yourself a 90's kid unless you had the VHS where Robin Williams played one of the top 10 best Disney characters ever.

Aside from his untimely death, I was shock by the alleged cause of his death: suicide.  Who knew that one of film's funniest leading men was tackling inner demons such as depression and alcoholism so much so that he felt the only way out was to take his own life? It blows my mind how he could make millions of people laugh but only saw darkness in his own world.  It breaks my heart to know this man didn't know how much he touched people, young and old, with his talents.

Source: elephantjournal.com 

Williams' situation makes me think of two things.  First, as my mother use to say, "You never know what's going on behind close doors."  We see people everyday on our way to work, at work, at a worship service, at the store, dining with friends and family and never truly know what that person is going through.  A lot of times we ask the question "How are you doing?" but mostly out of social norms and out of social norms the answer is usually "Fine".  End of conversation.   With so many anxieties that we all experience everyday, we forget to stop and ask our friends and families how they are really doing.  And something I'm guilty of and others probably are too is not telling the truth about how we are doing.  We must learn to let our loved ones help us.  This is one way we can stop our troubles from building inside causing sadness and despair.

Second, if we haven't learned yet we need to learn now: Money does not buy happiness.  We are constantly bombarded with the riches of celebrities.  We see the fancy clothes they wear and the big houses they occupy.  We at times start to think that if we had the money they had, our lives we would be a little easier.  However, with instances like Robin's we are reminded that money at times only complicates things (Remember the song, Mo' Money, Mo' Problems?).  What money doesn't do is help us get to the root of our problems.  Money doesn't get rid of depression.  Money doesn't mend broken marriages.  Money doesn't make our children act right.  One scripture I keep in mind is Hebrews 13:5:

"Let your way of life be free of the love of money, while you are content with the present things.  For he has said: 'I will never leave you, and I will never abandon you.'"

I'm not saying that Robin Williams was a person of greed but I'm speaking more to our desires to have what the rich have.  As the scripture says "be content with the present things."  Chasing after riches and material things can cause also depression.  Some of us will never get the white picket fence so that means we have to be content with having a roof at all.  So to look at yourself as a failure or disappointment for not having these grand things is pointless.  As we have seen over and over, riches do not bring joy, peace, or love.

I can't say enough that if you are experiencing a sadness that will not go away reach out to someone and get the help you need.  It's better to talk with someone than to decide upon a permanent solution to a temporary problem.