The loss of Robin Williams seems to have touched more hearts than possibly anyone I can think of in recent time.

To many, Robin Williams was someone who was invited into our homes, and who we felt close to, in a way that only the most authentic of people can make us feel without ever actually meeting them.

I fell in love with Robin first as Mork and was later blown away by his depth as an actor as his career continued and flourished. This guy was not just a funny man—he was, by all accounts, a profoundly talented, sensitive, kind and generous human being.

I’m, frankly, at a loss of words and this is not a journalistic website (anyone that reads the news anywhere is already being continually updated with the latest on the logistics of what actually happened); that said, I simply wanted to acknowledge the ache in my heart that I felt when I heard this news. It’s an ache that’s still there, despite a night of sleep and despite having my own life to attend to.

So, for all of us who loved him (and there are indeed many), thank you, Robin, for just being you.

“No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.” ~Robin Williams

I also wanted to share these brilliant, touching, funny words from Robin’s daughter.

“My family has always been private about our time spent together. It was our way of keeping one thing that was ours, with a man we shared with an entire world. But now that’s gone, and I feel stripped bare. My last day with him was his birthday, and I will be forever grateful that my brothers and I got to spend that time alone with him, sharing gifts and laughter. He was always warm, even in his darkest moments. While I’ll never, ever understand how he could be loved so deeply and not find it in his heart to stay, there’s minor comfort in knowing our grief and loss, in some small way, is shared with millions. It doesn’t help the pain, but at least it’s a burden countless others now know we carry, and so many have offered to help lighten the load. Thank you for that. To those he touched who are sending kind words, know that one of his favorite things in the world was to make you all laugh. As for those who are sending negativity, know that some small, giggling part of him is sending a flock of pigeons to your house to poop on your car. Right after you’ve had it washed. After all, he loved to laugh too… Dad was, is and always will be one of the kindest, most generous, gentlest souls I’ve ever known, and while there are few things I know for certain right now, one of them is that not just my world, but the entire world is forever a little darker, less colorful and less full of laughter in his absence. We’ll just have to work twice as hard to fill it back up again,” Zelda Williams.

Following is the link to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, if you or someone you love is suspected of needing help.

Photos: imgur.

The post A Goodbye to Robin. first appeared on Jennifer S. White.

In 1993, when Maya Angelou recited her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton, she became the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at John F. Kennedy’s inauguration in 1961.

This was a pivotal moment in Angelou’s career. (The poem even received a Grammy.)

Her previous works, including her first of seven autobiographies I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, soared in popularity and her ability to inspire significantly increased in audience.

Many know Angelou for her powerful quotes, but her writing is best known for its strong, clear voice, as well as for its substance and poetic prose style.

Watch her recite Clinton’s inaugural poem and be re-introduced to generations to come.

And to the woman who incomparably placed the depths of the human experience into glorious words, who both uplifts and empowers while encouraging streams of quiet, understanding tears: Thank you.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
~Maya Angelou

Photo credit: Derek Bridges/Flickr.

The post If You Watch One Thing In Memoriam of Maya Angelou, Watch This. {Video} first appeared on Jennifer S. White.