Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears. And how else can it be? The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven? And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
*Kahlil Gibran. The Prophet.
Song can be accessed on original site via upper-left artist-title below...
In the 1991 comedy “The Fisher King,” Jack, played by Jeff Bridges, is a former radio talk show host and becomes a depressed alcoholic. He meets Parry, played by Robin Williams, a homeless, psychotic man who claims to be "God's Janitor" and is seeking the Holy Grail.
Parry's psychosis was brought on when a deranged man killed his beloved wife and others at a nightclub. The man shot the spouse after Parry had just kissed her and was, then, looking lovingly in her eyes. He shot her through the head, and she, immediately, slumped lifelessly to the floor. Jack had taunted the murderer on his radio show the night of the killings. He had quit broadcasting, unable to function on the radio.
Through some unlikely circumstances, Jack and Parry meet, after Jack had gone to the river to throw himself in and end his miserable life. Parry and other persons intervene to save Jack, not only from suicide but, also, from a couple of youth who had arrived to beat Jack up.
Parry has no idea that Jack was the radio host. And Parry wants Jack to help him in the quest for the Holy Grail, saying Jack is the one chosen to get the Grail, which Parry identifies as the symbol of Divine Grace. Jack initially refuses, but out of a need to purge himself of his guilt over the killings, he tries to become Parry’s friend.
Parry enjoys going to a park at night, taking off his clothes, lying on the grass, and looking into the sky. One night, naked and looking up at the stars, Parry tells Jack that he does not seem like a "happy camper." To give Jack some help, he tells him the story of the Fisher King.
Parry says, "Did'ya ever hear the story of the Fisher King?" Parry proceeds to tell the tale. "The story is of a boy who has a vision from God informing him that he will be the keeper of the Holy Grail, God's symbol of Divine Grace. The Grail appears in a fire. The boy has visions of personal power, so he reaches for the Grail, but it disappears and his hand is badly burned. As the boy grew into a man and aged, his wounded hand got worse. He lost his faith. He could not be close to anyone. He grew sick. One day, a fool entered the court and found the king by himself. He didn't see a king, just a man. The fool asked why he was sick, and the king replied he just needed some water. The fool reached for a cup beside the king's bed, filled it with water and gave the king a drink. Suddenly, the king saw that his wound was healed, and that the cup he held in his hand was the Grail. He was amazed and wanted to know how the fool had succeeded in finding the Grail, when the king's knights had all failed? The fool said that he did not know, he only knew that the king was thirsty.
