SÉAMUS AHEARNE: A CENTURY OF DAVID ATTENBOROUGH:
David Attenborough will be 100 on Friday 8th May. His work inspires everyone. What he has seen; what he has shared from his all-seeing eyes; what wonders he has revealed; what he has uncovered in the hidden world of nature; what he has released for us in those ignored gems of our world. We are ever so blessed in this man.
It is humbling to realise how little most of us know. We wander through the world in the busyness of daily life, and miss out on the stories of life that whisper of wonder. Many of us take such revelation for granted. We are blissfully strolling along and seeing very little. We are supposedly highly educated and yet so superficial in many ways.
David’s life story from his youth displayed curiosity and a preoccupation with fossils. He has been intrigued by dinosaurs and butterflies. He has been befriended by Gorillas (1978.) His work is theatrical. The Drama of life is on the Stage for us to look at. I would dare to suggest that his life a celebration of Godliness and our graced existence.
A few ask – how is it possible for David to claim to be agnostic? How can he not see – the otherness of life; the beauty of life; the extraordinary speaking loudly to him throughout those 100 years? But then there are different questions for us. What do we not see? He has given us an eye test. He has awakened our imaginations. He has stirred our intelligence. He lets us see how much we miss in daily living and all that we take for granted. The question for us surely comes from the Gospel: How can you not see it? Are you alive? Is your heart awake? Do you not grasp that the more we age the more we realise how little we know? Even the cliché speaks: Every day is a school day. Every day is truly a prayer.
Our other reflection from any few thoughts on David Attenborough is what did we ever really learn through all our education? How can we know so little? We spent years in official educational establishments – were we awake or alive at all? We were packaged with loads of material and yet we know very little. It is often said that education is wasted on the young. Much of that is true. It is quite embarrassing to reflect back on Primary School; on Secondary School; on University; on supposed Philosophy and Theology. Did we learn very much and did we become thoughtful and reflective? Did we learn how to think? Or did we not see, or do we not see? Where are all those people full of learning, and yet who offer very little to the questioning spirit of life? If we think back seriously – and say for example: We learned Irish for years and how little I (we) can say now in Irish? The Our Father struggles for words (in my case). I look back and think – of how little music we studied or art or real poetry. I think of the Theology we did and wonder – how much real thinking continues in us? I see what now becomes an issue in our Church and I shake my head. The unimportant becomes important. The clutter in Liturgy gets in the way of ‘revealing’ God. Where is the battle for thought in our so called educated society? I just wonder. There is no need to draw further attention to the political leadership in the States but stupidity reigns supreme.
David Attenborough was always learning. He does prompt us to look around; to listen to the God who might be speaking to us; to even use the word that is clichéd in life and be really ‘amazed.’ David may not have found God despite his searching and his revelations. But the music of his life is dancing all the way across those hundred years. We are inspired. The Spirit of God is in us. He helps us. We have to respond. We are blessed. We are graced. We are grasping beauty. We are awed. Bless him.
Seamus Ahearne osa
6th May 2026.