There are people who leave this world unexpectedly soon, and on those days our immense and intricate Earth always seems to feel tragically small. Maybe it’s the way we find ourselves woven into networks of people, and when one experiences loss it sends the entire web rippling from the pain.
This week the surfing world lost a hero. Andy Irons, three-time world champion, passed away in a Dallas hotel room after leaving the Rip Curl Pro in Puerto Rico early due to illness. He was only 32.
With his untimely death came a barrage of honorable stories, acts of memoriam, and painful tears in the surfing world. The Rip Curl Pro was delayed for a day as surfers paddled out into the ocean to remember a hero. And after such a heavy week in the dark, the sun pulled through against a brilliant rainbow as Kelly Slater took the championship for his tenth time today in Andy’s name.
“If it wasn’t for Andy, I wouldn’t be here right now,” Kelly said upon exiting the water, tears streaming. “I’d give this title away in a second if Andy could come back. He was one of the last people I saw in Portugal; he hugged me and said ‘I want you to win this thing’” (surfline.com).
And it makes me wonder all sorts of big questions that aren’t meant to be answered. How could someone who conquered the ocean, one of nature’s most beautiful and deadly adversaries, lose a battle to his own body? And how does another find the strength to continue to conquer in his friend’s name?
Loss can be a painful motivator for us to figure out just what we want our legacy to be. For although we brought nothing into this world and we can take nothing out of it, we aim to leave behind so much. Not only will Slater leave behind the legacy of taking home 1/3 of all ASP world championships today, but he will be remembered for his love for a friend. Andy, this world will ever miss you.
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