Robin Williams lived out loud as a messenger. Robin’s movies are filled with life lessons and profound wisdom. They made our hearts skip a few beats. They made us think. And even though he was just an actor playing his part, each one of us felt as if he was speaking directly to us when he delivered his lines. His words came from the depths of his soul, jumped out of the screen and went straight into our souls. His roles were unforgettable like memories from a family scrapbook. Although he was here on this planet for too short a time, he was here to teach us. Why was he so powerful making us cry from laughing so hard or crying so hard? Maybe it’s because we knew that he wasn’t acting at all.
1. Popeye
“Even though you’re bigger than me, you can’t win, ’cause you’re bad, and the good always wins over the bad.” Lesson: Believe in goodness. It can conquer over anything.
2. The World According to Garp
Remember, Helen.
What, my love?
Everything.
Lesson: Too often, you focus only on the bad and forget the good times. Remember everything.
3. Moscow on the Hudson
“This is a free country, welcome to almost anyone. Yes, in America almost anything is possible.
” Lesson: Appreciate your freedom.
4. Awakenings
“What we do know is that, as the chemical window closed, another awakening took place; that the human spirit is more powerful than any drug – and THAT is what needs to be nourished: with work, play, friendship, family. THESE are the things that matter. This is what we’d forgotten – the simplest things.
Lesson: The human spirit should not be forgotten. Simple things matter the most.
5. Good Morning Vietnam
Good Morning Vietnam: Goooooood morning, Vietnam! Hey, this is not a test. This is rock and roll. Time to rock it from the delta to the DMZ.
Lesson: In the midst of scariest times (even war); a positive attitude, humor, and sharing laughter can get you through the day.
6. The Adventures of Baron Munchausan
“Because I’m tired of the world and the world is evidently tired of me. Why! Because it’s all logic and reason now. Science, progress, laws of hydraulics, laws of social dynamics, laws of this, that, and the other. No place for three-legged cyclops in the South Seas. No place for cucumber trees and oceans of wine. No place for me.”
Lesson: Everyone doesn’t fit into the same mold. You must find a place for your creativity to run free.
7. Dead Poet’s Society (This entire movie is one huge life lesson.)
“They’re not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they’re destined for great things, just like many of you, their eyes are full of hope, just like you…. Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? – – Carpe – – hear it? – – Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.” And the human race is filled with passion… O me, O life?” Answer. That you are here – that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play *goes on* and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?”
Lesson: Every person has the potential for greatness. Be extraordinary. Make an impact on the world. Do something meaningful. Leave your mark.
8. Good Will Hunting
“But you’ve never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable. Known someone that could level you with her eyes. Feelin’ 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 there forever. You don’t know about real loss, ’cause that only occurs when you love something more than you love yourself.
Lesson: True love is being vulnerable enough to love someone more than you love yourself.
9. Dead Again
“You take what you’ve learned from this life and use it in the next. That’s karma.”
Lesson: Learn from your mistakes. What you give out, comes back to you.
10. Aladdin
“But oh, to be free. Not to have to go “Poof! What do you need, “Poof! What do you need?” To be my own master. Such a thing would be greater than all the magic and all the treasures in all the world.
Lesson: Freedom comes from living your truth. Be your own master.
11. The Fisher King
One day a fool wandered into the castle and found the king alone. And being a simple-minded fool, he didn’t see a king. He only saw a man alone in pain. He asked the king, “What ails you friend?” The king replied, “I’m thirsty. I need some water to cool my throat”. So the fool took a cup from beside his bed, filled it with water and handed it to the king. As the king began to drink, he realized his wound was healed. He looked in his hands and there was the Holy Grail which he sought all of his life. And he turned to the fool and said with amazement, “How can you find that which my brightest and bravest could not?” The fool replied, “I don’t know. I only knew that you were thirsty.”
Lesson: See a person as another human being without judgment. Do not treat people according to their job or role in life.
12. Hook
Granny Wendy: So… your adventures are over. Peter: Oh, no. To live… to live would be an awfully big adventure.
Lesson: Life is an adventure. Live it to the fullest.
13. Toys
In the words of Mahatma Gandhi: “We are toys of tolerance, but there’s only so much that a toy can tolerate.”
Lesson: Accept that life becomes intolerable sometimes but continue to push through it.
14. Mrs. Doubtfire
There are all sorts of different families, Katie. But if there’s love, dear… those are the ties that bind, and you’ll have a family in your heart, forever. All my love to you, poppet, you’re going to be all right… bye-bye.
Lesson: No matter what type of family you come from as long as there is love, everything will eventually turn out alright.
15. Being Human
There’s never enough time. No time to stop and think, “What have I learned?” Try to stay in control. It’s not as easy as it sounds. Is this the same for everyone? Are we all doing this to one another? This bickering and mocking? Can it be better than this? We’re all in it together, making the same mistakes, getting into the same jams, having lousy Fridays over and over and over and over and over…
Lesson: Everyone is struggling to get through life. Become compassionate. Stop fighting and start learning how to make life better.
16. Jumanji
“Twenty-six years buried in the deepest darkest jungle, and I still became my father.”
Lesson: Free yourself from the pain of your past or you may become a person you don’t want to be.
17. The Birdcage
“Yes, I wear foundation. Yes, I live with a man. Yes, I’m a middle-aged fag. But I know who I am, Val. It took me twenty years to get here, and I’m not gonna let some idiot senator destroy that.”
Lesson: Be yourself and don’t let anyone take that from you.
18. Jack
“Have you ever seen a shooting star, Jack? It’s wonderful. It passes quickly, but while it’s here it just lights up the whole sky – it’s the most beautiful thing you’d ever want to see. So beautiful that the other stars stop and watch. You almost never see one. Because they’re very rare. But I saw one. I did. Jack: I just want to be a regular star. Lawrence: Jack, you’ll never be regular. You’re spectacular. Jack: What do I want to be when I grow up? Alive.”
Lesson: Light up the sky. Be your spectacular self. Live your life to the fullest.
19. Father’s Day
“For years I’ve thought about killing myself. It’s the only thing that kept me going.”
Lesson: Sometimes you become attached to your sadness, that it becomes all you think about.
20. Deconstructing Harry
“All people know the same truth. Our lives consist of how we choose to distort it.”
Lesson: You have the power to choose your perspective.
21. What Dreams May Come
“That’s when I realized I’m part of the problem. Not because I remind you. But because I couldn’t join you. So I left you alone. Don’t give up, okay?”
Lesson: It’s easy to become part of someone else’s problems, fearing that if you leave them, they might give up.
22. 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
Lesson: If you treat a person as a human being and not focus on their problems, flaws, burdens, or illness, even if things don’t turn out great, you made an impact on someone else’s soul.
23. Jakob the Liar
“Hunger for hope may be worse than hunger for food.”
Lesson: There is nothing worse than living without hope.
24. Bicentennial Man
“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.”
Lesson: Every person has a purpose. Find yours.
25. A.I.
“Come away O human child / To the waters and the wild / With a fairy hand in hand / For the world’s more full of weeping / Than you can understand.”
Lesson: Don’t be afraid to experience all of life. Lessons, clarity and understanding come from pain.
26. One Hour Photo
“The shutter is clicked. The flash goes off and they’ve stopped time, as if just for the blink of an eye.” Lesson: Memories stop the clock. In a split second, moments last a lifetime.
27. Insomnia
“You’re a good man. I know that. Even if you’ve forgotten it.”
Lesson: Other people can see the good that you can not see in yourself.
28. Night at the Museum
“Some men are born great; others have greatness thrust upon them.”
Lesson: Some people are born with special talents, gifts, and abilities. Even if you are not born with greatness, great things can happen to you.
29. Death to Smoochy
Friends come in all sizes/ One might say grasp while the other says snatch/Size doesn’t matter/ When you want some friendly patter/ From a pal who is true/ And will lift you up when you’re blue/ You can count on him/ He can count on you/ It’s true/Friends come in all sizes!/Yes, they do!
Lesson: A true friend is someone you can count on. Nothing else matters.
30. August Rush
“What do you want to be in the world? I mean the whole world. What do you want to be? Close your eyes and think about that.”
Lesson: What do you want to be? Think about that. Become it.
31. World’s Greatest Dad
“I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It’s not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people that make you feel all alone.”
Lesson: Reach deeper into someone’s soul. Connect with them. Let them feel your presence. Tell them you love them and show them how much you care.
Not only were there profound lessons in his roles but ironically, they were all too prophetic. Robin Williams left us with messages, memories, and movies that will live on. He will be there for us whenever we feel dark and alone. All we have to do is just turn on movie and listen to the lessons he wanted us to learn.
