Forthnights

Goodbye Croc Hunter

Just in case you are the last person on the person not to know yet, Steve Irwin, the famous and ever enthusiastic wildlife conservationist died on Monday (4th October) after being pierced in the heart by a sting ray. I’m sure you know very well all the details by now, so I won’t dive (forgive the pun) into it. I was really shocked at the news, almost to the point of not wanting to believe it. After all, this was the guy that dodged crocodiles, snakes and other deadly creatures for a living hence the name ‘crocodile hunter’. But how cruel fate can be some times, when he was killed by a peaceful and rarely harmless stingray.

I was rather annoyed actually, since I sort of exclaimed out “Steve Irwin died! I can’t believe it!” and a friend beside me just looked at me and asked “Who is that?” Who is that? I didn’t even know where to begin. This is the guy that plays with crocs. This is the guy that seems to love almost every single creature on Earth. The guy with an enthusiasm for animals so contagious it would make you want to kiss a toad and say “Crikey, you’re gorgeous!....” well, almost…..

But seriously, I was really sad to hear it, and my some of the people I told were equally shocked. He was just such a cheerful and passionate character to watch, almost larger than life in a way. You’d never think he would die in such a dramatic manner at such an early age. My first thoughts went out to his family, his wife, children and even that black dog Sue; to think that they would never get to see him again and call him daddy. Would his 3 year old son remember him? Will his wife Teri stay in Australia or return to the US? None of my business really, but I couldn’t help but wonder how they were going to cope. My sadness wasn’t so much for the death of an environmentalist, but for the death of a father, a husband, a son and a friend.

The fact that he died so young and still in his prime seem so cruel, not unlike the death of Princess Diana. The only consolation was this; he died as he had live and he died doing what he loved most, around the wildlife that shaped his life and ultimately his death. And that was something that stayed with me for a while. I started to ask myself, if I died as suddenly as he did, could I say the same for myself? No. Its strange how death seems to always remind us of life. And though we know death is part of life, you need to put it side my side to really appreciate the significance of it. For the next 2 days, I thought a lot about it. I’m not sure how this will sound, but learning the death of someone else made me really appreciate the fact that I was still alive. I guess the greatest fear I can think of in dying is not death itself, but the thought of not being able to say your final goodbye to those who were so significant in defining your life; to say “Thank you for making my life worth living. I love you very much. Good bye.”

It also dawned on me this; Life is indeed short, death does not wait, and it does not discriminate. We don’t get to wait until our life is properly in order and everything is ok before we start living or start enjoying our life. This is it, right here, right now. It forced me to reevaluate how I have been feeling these pass few months. I confided in a friend just a few days earlier how I seem to get more than my fair share of hardship. Though I still feel that way, I suddenly find myself less upset about it, and a little less angry at life itself. To say life is fair or unfair seems almost irrelevant to a certain extent. I may get so angry or sad at times, but nothing is going to change. I don’t deserve these problems in my life any more than Steve Irwin deserved to die like that, but it happened anyway, along with many countless tragedies.

Maybe I think too much; maybe I do too much reflecting. But I now try to tell myself to live life to the fullest and stop being so down about it all since you never know what may happened . It sounds like I’m repeating myself endlessly, I know. Steve Irwin died young, at the age of 44 leaving behind wife and children, but he spent his entire live doing what he loved, and to me, that is a life lived to the fullest. Not many people can claim the same thing, and with that in mind, I carry on.

posted by Compulsive Blogger @ 12:58 pm Comments: 0