I find this particularly difficult to write, as I had no connection to the man other than being an idle fan.

On September 4, 2006, off the famed Great Barrier Reef, Mother Nature lost one of her most esteemed sons – Mr. Steve Irwin, otherwise known as the acclaimed “Crocodile Hunter”.

Born in Melbourne and raised near the small Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park, he grew up around crocodiles and other reptiles. He captured his first crocodile at the age of 9 and went into the service of removing crocodiles from populated areas for free with the provision that all captured crocs be given a home at his family’s zoo.

Aside from the cheesy bio which you can all find online with the aid of the internet, I have the following to say: for a man who was so easy to ridicule, so easy to do an impression of (c’mon, how many of us, especially in the last few days have let a stray “crikey!” slip?), so easy to have a negative thing to say about – Steven Irwin was a giant among men.

There are very very few people on this God’s green earth who have been given the gift of such a zest for life, such enthusiasm, such energy as he was. How many of us can only imagine what it felt like to wake up one morning as the famed “Crocodile Hunter”? I would never know, because I imagine him to be one of the only men on Earth to be able to open his eyes every morning with that bright, honest smile on his face, ready to cherish another 24 hours amongst the people and environment he loved most.

I wish for myself and for all of you to be able to find that same energy, that same enthusiasm. Lord knows it is rare, and He blessed Steve with that gift. And now that Steve is gone, what happens to that energy? That spark? That joy? All the smiles he brought across the globe with his keen intellect, his sharp wit, his genuine, honest smile and his fearlessness?

It is our charge to continue it. To live on in his spirit. To love our Mother Earth and each other, just as he did. To cherish every last living thing, just as he did. And though it may bring us to an end as it did to Steve, just think how much more meaningful it will make each of our lives.

I spent tonight talking to many who saw fit to joke about Steve’s passing. To many, the weak jokes are just a way to cope with or simply shut out the idea. Many simply shook their heads and said that those who play with fire, in the eventuality, must get burned.

I am saddened beyond measure every time I think of the Crocodile Hunter being amongst us no more. There are tears rolling down my cheek and I have a very heavy lump in my throat as I write this. God gave us Steve Irwin as a testament to all that is beautiful and all the gifts that we have been given on this Earth to be happy and enthusiastic about. And if we can share in even the tiniest fraction of that joy and enthusiasm, then his life was not wasted.

Please… in honor of Steve Irwin’s short life, find something or someone today that you know was placed in your life to make you happy, or simply to make you smile and acknowledge that thing of beauty. Thank that person or even thank God, if you feel so inclined, for bringing that small ounce of joy to your day.

The stars are truly that much dimmer without Steve Irwin. Good night, Crocodile Hunter. May Heaven's pastures provide you with much adventure.