Thoughts on Courage Upon the Death of Steve Irwin

Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, has died at the age of 44. He chose a life of adventure with the mission to teach people to love the Earth and its creatures with the same intensity he had.

Any coward can sit at home and criticize a pilot for flying into a mountain in a fog. But I would rather by far die on a mountainside than in bed. ~ Charles Lindbergh

In the coming days I expect some critics to say that Irwin took too many foolish chances. He took chances, yes, but they were courageous, not foolish. Irwin knew the risks of his chosen life's work and faced the risks with unbridled joy. His was the rarest of lives, one well lived.

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined. ~ Henry David Thoreau

He could have become your average zoologist, standing safely in front of the cages of the animals he studied. No one would have criticized him for that decision, it is the quiet path many thousands of others have chosen. But Irwin had a vision for his life and he bravely marched into the unknown to pursue his dream. That he became famous is far less important than the fact that he lived his dreams.

After reading about the death of Steve Irwin I saw this item.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Air passengers from Charlotte to Little Rock, Arkansas, had to hurry off their plane Friday after someone found a suspicious liquid on board.

The suspicious liquid, by the way, was a bottle of water. What small, pitiful creatures are terrified by a bottle of water. What sort of country have we become that we have chosen these tremorous beings as our leaders. And that we follow them in fear.

Cowards die many times before their death; the valiant never taste of death but once. ~ Shakespeare

In his 44 years, Steve Irwin experienced more love, more joy, more fulfillment and more excitement than most of us who survive twice as long. I grieve with his family but I will not mourn his death. Rather, I celebrate his life. This was a man who had the courage to chase his dreams and bravely faced his life with all its attendant dangers. We should all be a tenth as brave.