Muhammad Ali
Written by the Scribner
December 26, 2021
Muhammad Ali, Professional Boxer and Activist. Photo by Ira Rosenberg.
Hey young lady! I finally got my turn. Sting like a butterfly, fly like a bee (Sting like a bee, fly like a butterfly).
We are in season and there are lots of changes in the environment. When I was alive, I was a boxer but was so much more than that. I did great things that’s why they called me Ali. I was ahead of my time, the times, but I was there at the right time to spark intentions and get things moving.
Vietnam was horrible, terrible things they did, and I am glad that I did not participate in that as it did more harm than good, but as a country, we are ready to go to war, do the darndest things to others, and then try to appear holier than thou. I am talking about America, a study in contradiction. It was the place I came out from and I had a lot of lessons about perseverance, sticking through it, and doing things to create opportunities.
I love all my kids, and my wife, all wives, and significant others, but children gave me something in life that I needed, a grounding from the chaosness and racism in America. I fought and did it all for them, and for me because you sometimes have to be fucking loud to make changes. Timidness isn't the type of change needed. They sort of dwell on what is there. After my first child, I was tasked with creating a future, a palatable one different from the one I had.
A doorway in the light and I am standing there, like a shadow, observing the dark green of mass.
I have had time to contemplate my life, not reliving it, but glad at what I did, my accomplishment. I left a satisfied man, a man that likes to look at the face of his wife, just gazing to see her loveliness.
I took on too many fights, did not have to fight long, but was a bit stubborn, and the biggest fight was about racial injustice and speaking up.
I love Africa. My trip there was transformative, only one in a kind. Thanks, baby girl for taking this note.
My words of wisdom:
Live as if every day is your last.
Do the fight even if it is difficult. In fact, take on the difficult fight and find your voice in it.
Do things without being a celebrity, a lot of people want to be recognized and it's okay, but don’t let it hamper you.
Fight for what you believe in even if you are not well resourced, but the intention and tenacity to stay on course is more important than any perceived value, vanity, or importance
Smile and talk big even if you don’t know how to manifest it or make it work. Talk big in a bravado voice that says the thing you want is here.
Appearing in gray workout pants, back of the hair, with combed hair.
I was a man that thoroughly lived and enjoyed the life I got, and all my cumulative experience is what makes me Ali. The greatest of all time. The greatest boxer of all time and an awesome dad and granddad...that is me, all of me.