Free The Soul Of A Butterfly by Muhammad Ali With Hana Yasmeen Ali Page B

tall.
     
    the greatest
    KNOWLEDGE
    ( TO MUHAMMAD ALI )
    He’s learned a lot, traveling around the world,
    Being with all kinds of different people.
    Little people, big people, wealthy and poor people.
    Life has been his college.
    The truth is, he never really learned from books,
    But he sucks in knowledge, information, and ideas
    Just like an elephant sucks in water,
    And he trumpets it all out like an elephant, too.
    ANGELO DUNDEE
     
     
    THERE IS A door to the heart of every man; it is either open or closed. When we value material things more than we value the well-being of mankind, the door to the heart is closed. When we are decent to others and share ourselves through kindness and compassion, the door to the heart is open. The greatest truth in life is that the happiness and peace of each can be reached only through the happiness and peace of all.
    People look for wonders, miracles—surprises of all kinds. Yet the greatest surprise is to be found in one’s heart. The greatness of a man does not depend on his material possessions. Regardless of how wealthy he may be, if his heart is not pure, he cannot be great. What most concerns poets are matters of the heart. Material things lose their value over time, while matters of the heart deepen and strengthen with age and wisdom.
    The heart is resilient. It can be torn and mended. It can be broken and made whole again. It can rise and fall, and fall and rise.
    What gives a person the strength to stand up for a cause, remain strong on the battlefield, endure all that may come in life? What gives us the power to have patience, and the will to endure? It is the heart.
    Some people are so decent, loving and compassionate that the purity of their heart is almost visible. Some people have to struggle a little more to make these qualities a part of their being. Some people have to
really
work at just being civil. Some people seem to work at hardening their heart so that even the least bit of compassion or love won’t seep out. I think, though, that everyone has the capacity for love, kindness, and compassion. But how much they allow those “emotions” to guide their lives varies significantly from person to person. In my own life, I try to allow these principles to guide me in the way I live and interact with others.
     
    Service to others
    Is the rent we pay for
    our room in Heaven.
     

    the
    BLESSING
    A LONG TIME ago, I took a walk down a street in Harlem in New York City. I came upon a man who asked me for a dollar. He had asked a few other people before me, but they only passed him by without glancing his way.
    I stopped and handed the man some money. As I began to turn away, he reached out and shook my hand. He looked me in the eyes and said, “I will bless you.”
    Now, I’m not saying that was God Himself. But how do we know that it wasn’t someone working for Him, walking around in disguise, just to see what we would do?
     
    GIVING
    IF ALL THE good that I have accomplished in my lifetime were measured against my intentions, I suppose I would have failed. When a person has been blessed with a life as full and rich as mine, he can never give back enough.
    Some people give in order to feel good about themselves. They see someone in need on their block and they pity him, so they hand him some change. Others give to receive praise and that praise is their reward, but the purity of their generosity is diminished because they received something for it. True giving happens when we give from our heart.
    Giving because you genuinely want to help a person or a worthy cause while remaining anonymous is true charity. That is the kind of giver I wanted to be … a giver from the heart.
    I tried to teach my children never to turn a needy person away. I taught them to show respect for all God’s creatures. I taught them to reach out to people who were down and lend them a helping hand. I taught them that by keeping the needy and less fortunate close to their hearts, they would be