Steve Irwin's Death

Two Stars in the Southern Sky
R and TY Coronae Australis
To Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter
and Harriet his 175 Year Old Turtle

Many people are feeling the pain and grief of Steve Irwin's death. The shock kept us anesthetized, but now we're coming out of the numbness. Because this story has been so widespread, it's in the consciousness of the planet. We weren’t prepared, so there's a tendency to flounder and be confused. Everyone is becoming more sensitive to what is happening on our planet. There's an old story about Paramhansa Yoganadna and an accident involving a ship that sunk in the waters near Japan. Even though he was thousands of miles away, he felt the pain, and was aware of the cries of the people in the ship as it was sinking. The awareness of group feeling is becoming frequent all over the world whether it is due to major traumas, or major joys.

The eclipse yesterday made my brain foggy and heightened my sensity, so I could feel the grief more than usual. When his death was announced I didn’t know who he was, but I was drawn to his story. What a surprise I got when I saw his picture; it was familiar. In June, I was attracted to the story of an old turtle that died in Australia. At the time, for some odd reason, I knew this story was important. Next to the turtle was a nice-looking, young man, with a radiant smile. On Monday when I searched my files, there was the picture of Steve Irwin with Harriet the turtle. Needless to say, I was stunned. This is one of my “Pay Attention” moments.

The turtle as a symbol stands for the cycles of give and take. If anyone has comments on turtle energy and symbols, please feel free to comment.

There are many symbols and layers to the Steve Irwin story, and one of them is death. Death can no longer be ignored, or hidden. We will no longer be distracted with caskets covered with flowers, sympathy cards, casseroles, and marshmallow Jell-O. Pluto already trumpeted this change with his pretend demotion. If Pluto, the planet associated with death can change, the attitude of humanity can change.

Steve Irwin was young, healthy, and experienced in the ways of animals in the wild. We say, "It shouldn't have happened", but it did, and we must acknowledge that life is a cycle. We must look death in the face, and consider our perception of death, and see it as a transformation. Our judgment of death as something horrific needs to change.

Most people have an intense fear of death, which we’ve been taught since the cradle. Society and religion makes us believe we must fight the great fight. We do everything to delay, prevent, or ignore death. We sterilize, and desensitize. The smells of death are abhorrent to us. Yes, there is a time when the stench can be overwhelming, but we have lost our true ability to smell. Native people are used to the normal smells of life, and when we visit them, they turn up their noses at our sweet soaps, and perfumes; sadly, this is changing. We aren’t even aware anymore of our disconnect with nature.

We are born; we die. It’s our right to hope for better health care, and a better quality of life, but if this comes from fear and avoidance, all we are doing is creating bigger problems. With the fear of death comes manipulation. It's easier to manipulate a society in fear, than a society that accepts the rhythms of life. If people aren't afraid to die, how can they be controlled?

People don't even have a right to die anymore; it’s become a question for lawyers and government. Doctors are in shock when someone turns down their advice and says, "No, I don't want the treatment, I'm ready to go", in fact it's almost illegal. Society would be shocked at the high number of suicides in the elderly generation; many elders stop taking their pills on purpose.

It seems rather ironic that our fight against death is so aggressive, and yet, when it comes to the dollar, we look the other way. Our modern, industrial, technological, society depends on the chemicals that pollute and kill people before their time. The cry from the government and big business is, "if we cut back on pollution people will be out of work. In a short time, the jobs are gone anyway, whether the area was cleaned up or not.

Too often death has lost its nobility, but Steve Irwin’s story shows that we are capable of allowing people to have dignity in death, to spend the necessary time in grief, honor their passing, and allow the joy. We are being given the opportunity to understand and embrace the joy of a life fullfilled.