Blessed2Bless by Steve Klusmeyer
I'd Do It Again
by Steve Klusmeyer - 5/20/2003
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Float Like a Butterfly
In between the first game of the NBA Western Conference finals
and the season finales of 7th Heaven
and Everwood last night,
my channel surfing stopped occasionally on ABC's 50th Anniversary
Celebration. At one point, highlights of
Muhammad Ali's
career were being shown. As the highlights ended, the
Greatest, the one who could float like a butterfly, sting like
a bee, stepped onto the stage to a standing ovation. He did not
speak and the scene faded into a commercial break. I assume
this was because he suffers from Parkinson's syndrome and
has difficulty speaking.
My first response was to feel sorry for this man who, in a sense, is in this condition because of doing what he loved most. It has been theorized that Ali suffers, more accurately, from Pugilistic Parkinsonism, brought on by repetitive trauma to the head. When in public, he says almost nothing while walking slowly through the crowds signing autographs. His main activity at home is sitting at his desk, signing autographs in response to an enormous volume of mail. Probably no other athlete ever has signed more. As a youngster, he once asked for an autograph from his idol, Sugar Ray Robinson. After Robinson responded, "Hello, kid, how ya doin'? I ain't got time," he vowed that he would never turn anyone away.
On Second Thought
My second response was to feel good for this man who, in a sense, is in this condition because of doing what he loved most. I began to do a little research into his life. He does have regrets. He told People magazine, "My children, I never got to raise them because I was always boxing and because of divorce." But when asked if he was sorry that he ever got into the ring, he replied, "If I wasn't a boxer, I wouldn't be famous. If I wasn't famous, I wouldn't be able to do what I'm doing now." Ali lives on an old farm in Berrien Springs, Michigan. His assistant, Kim Forburger says, "He's the only man I know where the kids come to the gate and say 'Can Muhammad come out and play?'"I can't agree with everything Ali believes and I'm really not a big fan of boxing; but I do agree with his assessment of his life. He's where he is because he did what he loved most and he'd do it again. Can you say that of your life? All of us have regrets and would change some of the decisions we have made. But are you where you are today because of doing what you loved most? I fear that those who can make that statement are in the minority. Most will look back on a life of just getting by or of being stuck in a position completely opposite of what they loved most. But that doesn't have to be the end of the story. It is possible to have purpose in your life. True fulfillment and meaning for your life can be found. Learn more.
Learn more about Muhammad Ali's career at International Boxing Hall of Fame and Thomsom/Gale Biographies.