You’ve probably heard of the saying, “Age is just a number.” But what does that really mean? Sure, we all measure the number of years we spend on this earth in the same way, but what happens within those years can be drastically different for each of us.
We each have our own timelines and our own speeds to match them. Some people seem to accomplish most of their goals while they are still young, and others take their time reaching these heights. Some of our bodies seem to mature more quickly, while others seem to preserve their youth for years and years.
One of the most brilliant parts of living in a world of such differences is that we can all live our lives in our own time. Some people might not live as long as others, but their lives can be just as full of adventure and excitement. In cases like that of Steve Irwin, short lives can even contain more magic than some longer ones.
Steve was a world-renowned hero who shared his deep passion with anyone and everyone. He has forever changed the way we view the wild, but a new revelation just might change the way you see life itself.
Steve passed away at the age of 44 – an age which many of us would consider to be young. His children were still small, and he heart still longed for more adventures. Far from passing away passively, Steve died in action, while he was shooting for a show in Queensland, Australia.
Between takes the famous zookeeper was pierced in the chest by a stingray. He lost his life, but not his legacy. Steve’s wife, Terri, and his children Bindi and Robert, continue on the path their leader followed.
Steve still had much to live for; there is no doubt about it. But in a recent interview on the Australian television series called “Anh’s Brush With Fame,” Terri shared an intimate secret about her husband’s worldview.
“He never thought he’d have along life,” Terri admitted, 12 years after Steve’s unexpected death. “He always kind of had this sense his life would be cut short.”
This brave man was living at a different speed than the rest of us, so his timeline was unlike any other. Steve started living his best life from a young age, so he was able to view death with courage and understanding. He knew he was living his life to the fullest, and that knowledge allowed him to live free from the fear of death.
When Terri found out about her husband’s death, she was left in a completely different world. She bore the burden of the grief, and she had to find the strength to pull through this difficult situation.
“I just remember this incredible sense of responsibility,” the woman recalled, “This feeling over overwhelming grief but ‘what do I do next?’ I kind of collected my thoughts and then had to go out to the car and tell Bindi and Robert, which was really hard.”
Of course, Terri had no way of knowing when her final moment with her husband would be, but she understood that she was with a man who lived for danger. “I remember him at the airstrip waving goodbye. That was the last time we saw him.”
Despite Steve’s immense success in conservation awareness, Terri shared that her husband would have been startled by the support he was shown posthumously. “No one would’ve been more surprised than Steve at the outpouring of grief and love,” she explained.
“Famous wasn’t a word that occurred to Steve. I loved that about him, he was never pretentious, never big-noted himself, and we did put everything we made for wildlife and still do back into conservation, I’m really proud of that.”
Steve may have left before his family – and the world – was ready to say goodbye, but he left behind a brilliant legacy and driven individuals who still work to keep his dream alive. One way to measure the success of a life is to look at all the lives that were touched by the person, and Steve without a doubt left his mark on the world.
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