One week after his death, it appears that the quote Robin Williams is destined to be best remembered for is his “carpe diem” line from the 1989 movie, “Dead Poets Society.”
Here’s another quote, which I think also speaks to his situation — and ours:
“When a trout rising to a fly gets hooked on a line and finds himself unable to swim about freely, he begins with a fight which results in struggles and splashes and sometimes an escape. Often, of course, the situation is too tough for him.
In the same way the human being struggles with his environment and with the hooks that catch him. Sometimes he masters his difficulties; sometimes they are too much for him. His struggles are all that the world sees and it naturally misunderstands them. It is hard for a free fish to understand what is happening to a hooked one.”
—Karl A. Menninger
Except in the case of Mr. Williams, thankfully, his inner struggles were not “all the world saw”; it also witnessed his great courage, humor, and compassion.
