the very first paragraph prompted me to blog about it. The title of the book is More Than A Hero, by Hana Ali, daughter of Muhammad Ali (the boxer for those of you who have been off the planet for a few decades). Most people know Ali is a Muslim. Now, I do not dress all covered up like that, not at all; my favorite outfit is jeans n a sexy-yet-not-too-revealing top for going out on weekends. But today's girls drive me insane, all the girls gone wild antics. I could go into a rant about it but I won't, not in this particular blogging episode. But what I am gonna do is copy what Hana wrote, because I thought it very wise, sensitive, and intelligent. For those of you who are non-religious (I myself am anti-organized religion, pro-spirituality and your own private one-on-one relationship with your own concept of God/Creator), just take the mention of God metaphorically (tho Ali did not mean it that way- he was devout when saying this) and think of Nature and her creations:
FROM THE INTRODUCTION TO MORE THAN A HERO, BY HANA ALI
(She explains this happened when she was 9 or 10 years old, on her first visit to her father and his new wife.) ...I was wearing a little white tank top and a short black skirt. I had been raised Orthodox Muslim, so I had never before worn such revealing clothing while in my father's presence. When we finally arrived, the chauffeur escorted my younger sister, Laila, and me up to my father's suite. As usual, he was hiding behind the door waiting to scare us. We exchanged as many hugs and kisses as we could possibly give in one day. My father took a good look at us. Then, he sat me down on his lap and said something that I will never forget. He looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Hana, everything that God made valuable in the world is covered and hard to get to. Where do you find diamonds? Deep down in the ground covered and protected. Where do you find pearls? Deep down at the bottom of the of the ocean, covered up and protected in a beautiful shell. Where do you find gold? Way down in the mine, covered over with layers and layers of rock. You've got to work hard to get to them." He looked at me with serious eyes. "Your body is sacred. You're far more precious than diamonds and pearls, and you should be covered too."
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