If you get yourself too engrossed in things over which you have no control, it’s going to adversely affect the things over which you have control.” H… - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Regarding faith, my adherence to Islam had not diminished over the years since my conversion, but I had modified it from the intense orthodoxy I had followed at first to a more streamlined version that I felt was more progressive and inclusive. I practiced quietly on my own without the need to proselytize. I had been able to separate my faith in the theology from using it to make a cultural statement about black Americans. My only interest in Islam was spiritual and ethical guidance, not politics.

A Little Fellow Follows Me

A careful man I want to be;
a little fellow follows me.
I do not dare to go astray,
for fear he’ll go the self-same way.
He thinks that I am big and fine ;
Believes in every word of mine.
The base in me he must not see;
This little chap who follows me.
I must be careful as I go;
Through summer sun and winter snow.
Because I am building, for the years to be;
This little chap who follows me.

I will always be proud to say that I was one of those little fellows. All seven feet two inches of me.

I suppose that, every once in a while, fortune smiles even upon murderers.