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    The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life's Journey
    The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life's Journey
    The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life's Journey
    Ebook234 pages2 hours

    The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life's Journey

    By Muhammad Ali and Hana Yasmeen Ali

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    About this ebook

    Former boxing legend Muhammad Ali, one of the best-known and best-loved celebrities and an international goodwill ambassador, offers inspiration and hope as he describes the spiritual philosophy that sustains him.

    “During my boxing career, you did not see the real Muhammad Ali. You just saw a little boxing. You saw only a part of me. After I retired from boxing my true work began. I have embarked on a journey of love.”

    So Muhammad Ali begins this spiritual memoir, his description of the values that have shaped and sustained him and that continue to guide his life. In The Soul of a Butterfly the great champion takes readers on a spiritual journey through the seasons of life, from childhood to the present, and shares the beliefs that have served him well.

    Ali reflects on his faith in God and the strength it gave him during his greatest challenges. He describes how his study of true Islam has helped him accept the changes in his life and has brought him to a greater awareness of life’s true purpose. As a United Nations Messenger of Peace, he has traveled widely, and he describes his 2002 mission to Afghanistan to heighten public awareness of that country’s desperate situation, as well as his more recent meeting with the Dalai Lama.

    Ali’s reflections on topics ranging from moral courage to belief in God to respect for those who differ from us will inspire and enlighten all who read them. Written with the assistance of his daughter Hana, The Soul of a Butterfly is a compassionate and heartfelt book that will provide comfort for our troubled times.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster
    Release dateNov 16, 2004
    ISBN9780743262866
    The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life's Journey
    Author

    Muhammad Ali

    Muhammad Ali’s core principles of confidence, conviction, dedication, giving, respect, and spirituality guided him and made him one of the most beloved symbols of peace and well-being in America and the world. First known for boxing, and later for his conscientious stance on the Vietnam War draft, Ali focused his awareness of the needs of his fellow citizens and those in the developing world to direct his good work. The United Nations named him a Messenger of Peace, and he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, as well as Amnesty International’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In September 2012, he was the recipient of the prestigious National Constitution Center Liberty Medal. Among his many projects, Muhammad cofounded the Muhammad Ali Center with his wife Lonnie, and contributed substantially to the awareness and research efforts regarding Parkinson’s disease. Visit the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky, or online at AliCenter.org. He passed away in 2016.

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    4/5

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    • 4/5
      Glad to see he has mellowed, because the way he treated Joe Frazier was beyond the pale. I am not totally convinced of everything written, but enjoyed it just the same.
    • 4/5
      testing twenty five words no more to say really what if I have two words that say it all!
    • 5/5
      The spiritual inspiration throughout the book is bound to encourage every reader. - Pat Wedner

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This book shows you the beauty of the greatest boxer in the heavy weight division. His humour, intelligence and his faith to Islam.A fantastic read and I loved the respect he gave to all of his opponents especially the man who stretched him the most Joe Frazier:Of all the men I have fought.Liston was the scariest.Foreman was the most powerful,Patterson the most skillful.The toughest was Joe Frazier.Muhammad Ali

      1 person found this helpful

    Book preview

    The Soul of a Butterfly - Muhammad Ali

    THE EARLY YEARS

    With my brother, Rahaman, and my parents, Mama Bird and Papa Cash, soon after I became an Olympic champion.

    the

    FOUNDATION

    of

    LIFE

    I can remember, when I was just a kid in Louisville, Kentucky, my mother would wake my brother and me early every Sunday morning. She would come into our room, kiss us on the forehead, and say in a gentle whisper, Wake up, tinky baby, wake up, Rudy, we’re going to thank the Lord!

    My mother would sometimes call me GG, too, because those were the first syllables I had spoken. After I won the Gold Gloves, I told her that from the very beginning I was trying to say Golden Gloves. I thought my mother had a tiny little bird nose. I don’t know why I thought that, because birds don’t have noses, but from the moment I said it we all started calling her Mama Bird. After waking me and Rudy, Bird would cook us a nice breakfast. While we ate, she would iron our best clothes and lay them out on the bed. Then she would call us for a bath. After getting dressed, Rudy and I would go outside to sit on the front porch and shoot marbles before we headed off for Sunday school.

    I can remember trying hard not to get dirty. I knew I looked handsome in my freshly ironed shirt and bow tie. When Bird walked out beside my father, Cassius Clay, or Cash, I remember looking up at them with pride, thinking how pretty she looked and how handsome he was with his thick black mustache. Cash would often say to me, Most men envy me because they can’t grow a mustache as long and thick as mine.

    What he said has always stuck with me. I think that to him, his mustache was a source of pride. To this day, every so often, I let my own grow.

    •  •  •

    I had a strong foundation growing up; my parents were loving, affectionate people. Ever since I can remember, my father was always hugging and kissing us. He would say give me those jaws (his term for kissing our cheeks). Then he kissed us until our cheeks turned red. Cash always made me feel important. Although, at times my father had a quick temper, and my parents had disagreements, I had a happy home life and I knew that I was loved. My parents made me feel special. When it wasn’t my father’s affection, it was my mother’s stories. Mama Bird was always telling me about the time I was born. She said that I was such a pretty baby, everyone thought I was a girl, and that from the moment they brought me home, Cash was biting my jaws. My parents weren’t perfect, but they each had a loving nature. My father was a painter. He made his living painting murals and signs. Almost every Baptist church around Louisville has his work in them. My father was very talented; I have one of his paintings hanging on my office wall, right above my desk. Cash used to tell people that he wasn’t just a painter; he was an artist. Sometimes he would take me and Rudy to work with him. Cash would teach us how to mix the paint and lay out a sign. I could draw a little, but nothing special. It was Rudy that took after Cash. He is an artist, too. Cash used to say that if it weren’t for the way things were then, a lot more people would have known what he could do. My father raised us well. He made sure we were surrounded by good people, taught us to always confront the things we feared, and to try to be the best at whatever we did. After delivering his advice, Cash would say, These are the things my father said to me, and you don’t learn them by accident, they have to be taught.

    Cash was one of a kind; he was full of life and energy. He loved hugging, kissing, talking, and debating. He was my father and my friend. He was at my side when he could be and we had a lot more good times together than bad.

    •  •  •

    Sometimes, after school, when we finished our homework, Rudy and I would play outside with some of the other kids in the neighborhood. I used to ask Rudy to throw rocks at me to see if he could hit me. He thought that I was crazy, but no matter how many he threw, he could never hit me. I was too fast. I was running left, and right, ducking, dodging, and jumping out of the way. My brother and I had a lot of fun together, we never really got into fights. My mother used to tell me that when I was about four, whenever she would try to discipline Rudy, I would step in and say, Don’t you spank my baby. Rudy and I have always been close. He’s my younger brother and I love him.

    I wasn’t much trouble as a child, but when I did cut up, Mama Bird just sat me in a corner and put an old bear head rug in the middle of the floor. I was so scared of it, I didn’t move an inch. I thought the rug might jump up and bite me. My mother was a gentle lady. She always spoke in a tender voice and I never heard her say a bad thing about anyone. She didn’t gossip or meddle in other people’s business. She taught us that prejudice was wrong, and to always treat people with love and respect. My mother loved to cook, eat, make clothes, and be with her family. I loved her very much; there’s never been anyone better to me in my whole

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