The 12th Round

Sly Stallone's iconic character Rocky Balboa once said, ~...It ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done. Now, if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hits...~ In some aspect, when you're living the single life it seems as if you're in a metaphorical box ring facing what is considered to be a tough or should I say THE toughest opponent one will ever face...love/true love. For it's most definitely a tough and not to mention scary situation indeed to be up against such a formidable, as well as experienced "fighter" whose win/loss record far surpasses any professional boxing heavyweight champion fighting today.

Without a doubt, any single person including myself is considered in some ways amateur pugilists in the proverbial ring located within our own heart. However, it's not body parts such as one's head, face, stomach, or ribs for that matter taking the brunt of the punishment but rather our heart. You see, countless individuals have in all intensive purposes had their hearts cut up, battered, bruised, and certainly been broken by the sheer Mike Tyson back in his hay day like power punches leaving each one of us to protect ourselves as best we can from getting utterly demoralized by a much stronger force than ourselves. Thinking about it further, you can tightly bandage up the physical wounds suffered from taking a beating but its difficult to do so with our own heart knowing it will take a tremendous amount of time to let not only the emotional but mental wounds heal as well.

If you think about it, brawn over brains tends to get wins in the boxing ring but not when it comes to matters of the heart. Oftentimes, making smart choices and being able to relax/slow down helps give a guy/girl the chance to think clearly so as to make the right moves instead of making costly mistakes whereby backing you up against the ropes or dropping you to the mat. True, one may/will inevitably find himself/herself trying to get out from being up against the ropes/in the corner essentially representing our own frustration, disappointment, anger, confusion, doubt, worry, fear, etc. Yet, if one doesn't mentally/emotionally panic, cover up, and patiently wait for a key opportunity to open itself up then my friend you'll be able to pull off a rope a dope the Great Muhammad Ali would definitely be proud of to where the possibility of true happiness will turn in your favor.

Let me ask you this question to those who have watched the movie Rocky, what is the name of the elderly tough, gritty, no nonsense corner man who trained The Italian Stallion? If you answered Mickey Goldmill played brilliantly by accomplished actor Burgess Meredith then you are correct. Let me tell you something, each one of us has our own personal cornerman training us by giving us words of divine inspiration, encouragement, and keeps us motivated to keep fighting knowing how mentally, physically, emotionally, as well as spiritually fatigued we are. Granted, his name isn't Mickey but His name is God our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Although the Lord may not be physically present with us, His spiritual presence will be forever be felt to where you know He will always be in our corner guiding us every step of the way through prayer and daily devotional bible reading.

In retrospect, boxing and love/true love parallel each other in the sense they share a cruel sense of sheer brutality. Of course, blood is spilled in one whereas tears in the other. Both are the end result of either a triumphant victory or the agony of a loss. Listen, if you want a strong, long lasting, worthwhile relationship then fight till you hear the sound of the bell. If you don't hear it then continue to work hard for it to the point where win or lose you can look back with a smile on your face and be proud of how you were able to get to a place of comforting contentment. Unfortunately, its a sad state of affairs when a person decides to take a dive, in a manner of speaking, in order to have the big payoff, which is the easy way out if you ask me. In other words, one is simply settling for a mediocre relationship and deserves far better for himself/herself. In the end, I say to my fellow single peeps out there I hope you keep fighting, take the hits, don't back down, keep moving forward and continue well past the 12th round to where two hearts will be raised while yelling out together the following words: Yo, we did it!