Muhammed Ali: The night fall

The day will not always be here.
The night falls on all of us.
It's only a matter of when.

And so, for the legendary and iconic boxer - Mohammed Ali - the sun has been eclipsed by the night. Mohammed Ali's day is a study in passion perseverance and purpose. He fought with his fists and mouth. He danced, shoved, leaned against the rope and hit his opponents hard and fast. He said
he was the greatest. Only few doubted him. Beyond the boxing rings, he was a conscience of the nation. He stood against the Vietnam war when it was suicidal to do so. He fought for the people of colors the same way he despatched his boxing opponents. He championed causes and gave to many others. For all he did, there were awards upon awards. Accolades dogged him at every turn. His name opened doors. His face was pasted on our television sets and imprinted on our minds. We loved him. Of course, some hated him. It is difficult to be indifferent with Ali.

For more than 30 years, Ali battled Parkinson's disease, a disease he fought to a standstill - until he succumbed to its brutal hands last Friday. He was 74. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and the nation of America.

In Ali's death, I am reminded of the legacy of the day and the night. Our day is when we make choices that elevate or downgrade humanity, that advances or regresses our world, that makes our life full or empty. It is in the day we write history. It is in the day we derive the joy of living or the shame of a wasted life. The day prepares for the night, when as the Bible says, "no man can work". That's when your limbs are feeble, your eyes are dim and your dreams are curtailed. But that's also when God goes to work, recalling the joy of your day's service and reassuring you of a place in history - by the hearts of people whose lives you have touched. And then, there is the assurance of heaven - a home that dwarfs the one you are about to leave, both in splendor and in peace. So, in your nightfall you still win.

I don't have all the information about Ali's nightfall, but I am certain to make mine a bliss here on earth and in heaven, God helping me. I am determined to "work the work of Him that sent me while it is day," and I want to enjoy the physical and mental slow-down of the nightfall. And finally when the curtains of death are drawn, I want to hear that sonorous "Welcome home, son" from my creator.