Last night, when I got home from teaching P90X at the studio, I sat down with Chris to eat dinner and in doing so, my phone buzzed with a notification from Twitter. Robin Williams, as in THE Robin Williams, had commit suicide in his home at the age of 63.
I pulled up my social media and sure enough, his face and the corresponding, stated fact article was there, proving the notification true.
“Actor Commits Suicide at Age 63.”
Anytime a celebrity dies, they become the trending topic. I suppose when our parents were kids, “trending” meant that it would appear on the cover of tomorrow’s newspaper. Nowadays it means it will be the hashtag and the focus of social conversation for days to come.
So as I scrolled through my News Feed I saw various versions of the same thing: a photo of Robin with a famous movie quote of his, along with commentary about how life is short, depression is real, and suicide is sickeningly devastating. My post, in the mix of thousands of others, was nearly identical.
I woke up this morning, opened my social media, and there it was. The same posts from the night before at the top of my News Feed, this time with more Likes and more Shares. I found myself closing my apps and readying myself for the day, thinking about the sadness of it all. I got dressed, brushed my teeth, ate my breakfast, and headed to the studio, where I was there surrounded by others for close to 2 hours. On my way home, everything that had been swirling around around me in the universe came together, and I had this thought. A thought I want to share with you today:
‘What am I going to do about it?’
It is so dang easy to search for a photo of Robin Williams on Google, save it to our Phone Library, and then post to Facebook with our words of remorse. To tell to the universe, though behind closed electronics, that we hope others will seek help if they need it.
But most of us, myself included, who are making these posts and sharing these thoughts are STILL oblivious to the world around us. To the PEOPLE that surround us hour-by-hour. My clients, the waitress at the restaurant, the members of my Team, my family who live 2+ hours away. We have become a small recluse, a hermit if you will, who feels free to share its opinions so long as we don’t have to answer to anyone. So long as we can hide behind a keyboard.
You know what must be really dang hard?
Telling people they’re beautiful.
Telling people they make us smile.
Telling people they mean something.
Telling people we love them.
I have a client who is constantly talking about her body image. In those moments, when she reveals to me her insecurities, I tell her I think she’s beautiful just the way she is, and that she’s so incredibly strong, and stronger than she was when she came in the door. But do I tell her when she’s not asking? Do I go out of my way to tell her I think she looks exceptional today, on a day she’s not expecting it?
You see, this is what I mean.
We need to get out of our freaking comfort zones when it comes to shining our light. We need to be able to stand our ground for what we believe in, on Facebook AND in person. We need to put our arms around people, even if we’re not the touchy-feely type. As I get older, and as I meet more people, I’m learning that there is one thing that brings us together:
We are human.
We have emotions. We have insecurities. We have flaws.
Why wait until someone is depressed to pray for a change, or to reach out? I think that if we truly take a step back, we can see who is struggling and in what ways. And I’m not talking about suicide necessarily here. I am talking about who isn’t living their fullest life. Who could use a push? Who could use a hug? Who could use some words of reassurance?
As I reflect today on the people in my life, I can identify exactly who…
Everyone.