Crikey, Mate!

A few months ago I wrote about being surprised at my reaction to the death of Buck Owens. I didn’t know that I cared enough to have the kind of reaction I felt. Today I feel the same thing about the death yesterday of Steve Irwin, the sometimes zany Australian naturalist, animal advocate and self-styled “Crocodile Hunter”.

Irwin died after being stabbed in the chest by the spiny barb on the end of a sting ray’s tail. Apparently, it pierced his heart. In a November 2004 interview with Larry King, a rerun of which my wife and I watched last night, Irwin talked about his trust of animals, particularly when he studied their behavior and prepared for and rehearsed any planned encounter. In an eerie moment, comparing animals to people, Irwin concluded, “An animal won’t come out of the blue and stab you in the back.”

When I think about Irwin I’m struck by one thing – his undeniable passion and enthusiasm for what he did with his life. Everyone who spoke of him made it clear that what we saw on TV is exactly what he was in real life – a man with a high-energy love affair with the animal kingdom who felt he had a conservation mission to fulfill. Friends and family said that his passion and enthusiasm were as evident in a living room chat as they were in one of his Discovery Channel specials. Said another way, Steve Irwin was the real deal.

He was raised by parents who pursued the same devotion to animals. Family photos show him chasing after and holding all manner of animals as a little boy. Irwin and his wife continued to operate the same Australian zoo that his parents started. Irwin’s belief, which might not be shared by all naturalists or conservationists, is that introducing people to animals in an up close and personal way would cause them to fall in love with those animals and develop a passion for their protection.

Because he knew the animals he loved, he didn’t fear them. He respected them; he accepted the risks that came with being close to them; but he let nothing come between him and the things he loved. Oddly, his only expressed fear of an animal was a fear of … parrots. When Larry King asked him about that, Irwin, leaning far away from the beautiful blue parrot that was standing on his hand, said, “Larry, look at the beak on these things!”

There are all manner of endangered species on this planet. In my opinion one of the most endangered is people who live their life enthusiastically devoted to the pursuit of a genuine passion. That’s why I mourn the loss of a man like Steve Irwin. People in the public eye, people who become celebrities, don’t often remain the “real deal”. But, it appears that this man did and people around the world responded to him because he did.

The Australian government is offering the Irwin family a state funeral for Steve. Some may regard that as weird, excessive or even inappropriate. But the Australian prime minister spoke lovingly of Irwin yesterday and seemed to convey a true national loss regarding a native son who died in the waters off his native shore doing exactly what he wanted to do with his life. Maybe a state funeral is more than appropriate.

Over the years I’ve encouraged my children to select careers in which they can spend their working lives in pursuit of a personal passion. Life is too short to cram our passions, whatever they may be, into a few hours after work or on weekends. I know there are practical concerns that seem to erect barrier reefs that impede such pursuits, but those concerns are usually just fears hiding behind a mask of practicality. A life directed by fear is a life directed away from the things we love – away from a love of life. Steve Irwin loved life and all living things. People like him are mourned and missed when they leave us behind.

I’m reminded of a great quote from Helen Keller, a quote that I recently discovered while I was in the midst of being fearful about my oldest daughter spending a couple of weeks in the Indonesian “outback”. Ms. Keller, who knew a thing or two about challenges and risks and a love of life, said:

“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”

Steve Irwin’s life was a daring adventure. I’ll miss watching it unfold. May each of us find our own daring adventure in the form of an abiding passion and enthusiasm for what we do day by day.