Muhammad Ali – Consider and Commit to Others

“I’ve wrestled with alligators; I’ve tussled with a whale.  I done handcuffed lightning and throw thunder in jail.  You know I’m bad.  Just last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick.  I’m so mean, I make medicine sick.”  Muhammad Ali

I remember Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic Flame in Atlanta.  I saw an older gentleman, visibly shaking while holding a torch.  Also, I remember my mom- looking slightly shocked at “The Greatest.”   Can I say I sat there in front of the tv and was “awe” inspired?  No, I can’t say that.  I just thought “oh yeah, Muhammad Ali, I’ve heard of him.  My dad is a fan of his.”  ‘This guy boxed?”  “Hmm, well ok, he just looks like every older guy I’ve ever seen.”

Fast forward to the present day.  Somewhere along the way between that day in 1996 and today, I read a few books on Ali.  I was interested in his life story.  I was interested in who he was before I could remember him.  The more I read the more I couldn’t put the 2 versions side by side.  The younger version, a champion heavyweight boxer, an exceptional lyricist, a disciplined athlete when he chose to be.  The older version, a rather slow shaky walker who didn’t speak.   I couldn’t imagine the guy on tv in Atlanta saying “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.  His hands can’t hit what his eyes can’t see.  Now you see me, now you don’t.”   I needed to move on.  I needed to see this guy for what he could do and did do at every stage of his lifetime.

As we age, none of us are capable of what we did before.  As Ali aged, he chose to continue to work on himself.  I don’t mean the athletic part of himself; I mean the part of himself that makes everyone human.  The part that cares for others.  He did this while still fighting – only his fight became a match between him and Parkinson’s disease.  He never stopped doing for others while this disease continued to rob him of himself.  He never let the disease rob him of doing for others. He used his fame and ability to help feed millions, donate large amounts to scholarships for college, and campaign for his beliefs.  He once talked a suicidal man from jumping.  Again, he determined to do better for others by working on himself.

Even in death, Muhammad Ali strives to do better.  His headstone is inscribed with his words “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room in heaven.”

My plea to myself is to work on myself.  Work on myself by doing better for others.  My plea to everyone is to work on yourself, do better for others.  We live in a ‘me’ world.  It is hard to look outside that view.  All I ask is that we try.