“One day a troubled Arab slave named Omar cried, ’Master, oh master, give me your fastest horse. I’ve seen the face of Death… I have seen it in my dreams, and I know death is coming. Let me ride in order that I might escape it and survive.’ Openly concerned for his slave, his master begrudgingly complied and gave him his fastest charger. Unwittingly, the poor man had reasoned that if he could ride all day and night, he could live to see yet another day. So Omar mounted the horse and rode. He rode the first day as well as the next without stopping for food or drink. Finally, just before sunset on the third day and at the point of exhaustion, Omar stopped. The road he had traveled had suddenly divided into seven trails, from which he had to choose. Hoping to choose wisely, Omar set his sights upon the center trail. After a few hours ride, he thought poorly of his decision and switched to the path on his right. From there he traveled for a few hours more before pulling his horse up short and switching to the road on his left. This wavering continued until he had rode six trails. Now, in a last-ditch effort, the slave embarked on the final path, where less than 100 yards away in the center of the road, standing boldly, was the face of Death. Glaring straight ahead, Death bellowed out, ’Omar, Omar where have you been? For three days I’ve waited for you. What has taken you so long?’
“You see, counselor,” Malcolm X concluded. “There lies the moral to the story. You can run and you can hide; you can twist and you can turn. You can waste what little precious time you have on this planet. But it won’t do you any good. Death is something that no one can escape. You cannot leave this earth alive, so there’s no use in worrying about it. Each of us should make the most of our lives. We should embrace our dreams, give life our best, and be as happy and successful as our spirit desires.”