Hey True Blue

Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt. c.1615-1616. Oil on canvas. Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany by Paul Rubens

Well the Steve Irwin memorial was just on the telly and I have to say it was a pretty moving experience and a remarkably tasteful and inclusive production. What an impact that fella had.

Who knew funny old Kevin Costner would come up with the corker description of why Steve really had such appeal? He pointed out that Steve was himself, unafraid to be himself, despite the fact that such honesty often brings with it derision and mimicry. Costner would know, the poor lamb, how many TV comedians took the mickey out of movies of his such as The Postman and that waterworld mess?

You look at an event such as the Irwin memorial, you look at the impact one man had on so many lives and you wonder how one person can so swiftly rise above the rest, how one person can live a life so much larger than the majority of us will ever achieve.

Qualities of the Croc Hunter – passion, sacrifice, deep love, inclusiveness, hard work – we can all express them in our lives; they don’t have to be held up on the telly. But, strangely, by allowing certain individuals to rise to great prominence, the universe is able to point our attention to certain areas, issues that need to be examined, qualities that need to be respected and nurtured. With the passing of Steve Irwin Australians, and others around the world, may actually be even more attentive to the natural world, may go just a little bit further than they would have previously in order to protect and embrace the environment. They might do this simply to make Steve proud, simply to ensure his hard work was not wasted. That is an amazing legacy. It is not one that I, if I were his wife or child, would think was worth losing this man over but, if I were a supreme being and not a human, I would have to put some faith in that.

Humans – we have to put our faith in something don’t we?