Life is a Boxing Match
I know this topic is a little late, I should’ve posted this right after the Pacquiao-Barrera match last Oct.7 but wasn’t able to finish writing. Anyways, more than three weeks after the match, I finally got the knock to finish it. I am not really a fan of boxing coz I am more of a basketball junkie (solid Ginebra and Lakers!). Though I make it a point to watch big fights like those of Mike Tyson (before he went off the brink), Oscar Dela Hoya (during his Olympic years because he’s sooo gorgeous I wondered why he chose boxing, and despite the latest fishnet photo scandals, hehe) and of course, the people’s champ, our very own Manny Pacquiao. I also watched all the tv re-runs of all Rocky films back in highschool, but only because I thought Sylvester Stallone was a total hunk (I didn’t know what is steroids back then).
Still, I don’t really understand the sport, all I know is that two valiant people would hit each other ’til one fighter is knocked out or outscored of punches until the end of 12 rounds. I don’t know the technicalities either, however, I am so amused about the fanfare of boxing and the whole drama in it — how both fighters stare at each other down at the start of the fight, the deep r-r-r-rumbling voice of the announcer, the oversized belts (I wonder if they are really made of gold), and the boxing shorts full of sponsor patches (you can’t sometimes see the name of the boxer). And of course, specially during Pacquiao’s fights, I wait for the singing of the national anthems, not to compare how the singers, but hearing our own Lupang Hinirang being rendered soulfully brings me goose bumps and makes me teary eyed. I wish all pinoys would also sing the national anthem straight from the heart.
So while Pacquiao and Barrera are trying to out-punch each other on the ring, I was taking down notes on my journal. I was not jotting down the number of hits, but I was writing how boxing reflects life. I already knew the outcome anyways, even before I watched the 2hours delayed telecast on TV ‘coz I already read it on the internet that Pacquiao had won. Hmmp, the downside of having no cable tv.
Anyways, I read from another blog that boxing is the closest sport that comes to purity. I agree, boxing is the most raw of all the sports — it reflects the basics of life. Boxing is a mix of both the good and bad elements of life — honor and disgrace, pride and failure, greed and nobility, honesty and dishonesty, pain and pleasure. The hits, blows and counter-punches in boxing encompass the nitty-gritty of life, it’s like colliding with our own worst fears head-on.
So true. Dealing with life is like being on top of a boxing arena. Despite having your whole entourage and the whole cheering crowd, you fight your opponent alone. Like boxing, life is an individual sports. Whenever we have problems, even if we have the support of all our friends and families, we deal with all our demons and fears alone. Even if we hear lots of advice, like from a boxing coach who set up fights, we’re still the one to decide if we would heed to those advice. Our own life is our own fight. Kung meron tayong mga problema, kahit tulungan tayo ng ating mga kaibigan at mga mahal sa buhay, tayo pa din ang haharap sa mga yon.
Life is unpredictable. Like boxing, even if the boxer trains hard, he would never know the tactics of his fighter until he got up the ring. Not just his physical strength is tested, but also his mental strength, the way he would carry the fight. We often see boxing matches finished by a knock out. A fighter can lead the scoreboard, but when his opponent pull out that killer punch unexpectedly, the winning fighter could still lose via KO. Similarly, like when we think we have everything we wanted, success in life, career and all other achievements, then, BOOM! All of a sudden, everything seems went haywire, problems, failures, etc., and we felt as though our lives crashed down.
Likewise, if a boxer is losing, he could still win the fight by just knocking out the other fighter. Just one punch, and he brings home the belt! Ganundin sa buhay diba? There were times na we feel like we are failures. We tried all endeavours, and despite all our efforts all things just go kaput. But unexpectedly an opportunity comes our way, then we suddenly found our niche and solution to our problems! Wag lang tayo sumuko diba? Kaya nating knock-out lahat ng problema! There’s a saying in boxing, “You won the battle, but I’ll win the war.”
Life tests our heart, our intelligence, and our endurance. Katulad sa boxing, hindi lang suntok ng suntok, dapat may diskarte, matatag ka, and you have the heart to win. We experience lots of punches in our lives, and this punches make us feel more alive. Not the physical abuse, of course! I mean, problems. And sometimes, nawawala tayo sa diskarte, we make “unwise” decision. But kung wala tayong problems, boring ang buhay diba? These problems are the punches we have to deal with. Hindi pwede ilagan lagi, because we have to counter punch, kailangan we deal and solve our problems! And when things go badly and we experience failures, we discover ourselves more and what our lives are all about. We discover our capabilities and the things we can’t do. We become wiser when we experience failure. Sabi nga, failure is success turned inside out. So, it depends on us how we turn failure around.
Life is full of boxing rounds. Paikot ikot ang buhay diba? Parang gulong. Sabi nga ni Manny Pacquiao sa commercial nya sa Ginebra, “Ang bawat araw ay parang isang round ng boxing - walang katapusang labanan para sa suntok ng buhay, dahil sa bawat bira maaaring magbago ang kapalaran mo. Bilog ang mundo, pre.” We experience joy in our every victory, and we feel the anguish in every defeat. Pero ganyan ang buhay diba? Kaya dapat, laging laban! I will end this post from a 1910 speech of Theodore Roosevelt:
“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.“
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I like that, yung sinabi ni Robin kay Winnie The Pooh
mahiram nga … sakto to sa nararamdaman ko ngayon sis …meron akong gustog ipursue pero nagdadalawang isip ako dahil medyo magastos, but you know what? late this morning iniwanan ako ng bos ko ng copy ng school na pwede kong pag-enrollan ng photography 
so feeling ko GOD is cooking something for me, parang yung isang linya sa libro ni Paulo Coelho sa The Alchemist nya saying “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it”
O diba
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Thanks for visiting my site. I believe, if we would just take a quiet time and really think about what we want, just listen what our hearts say and contemplate on God is trying to tell us, we would know where we should really go. I did that when I resigned last year, my heart tells me to do it, kahit dami tao ayaw plus some other issues.
Eventually I did it coz affected na din work ko. I am enjoying being a fulltime mom now, iba fulfillment. Pero syempre, di madali mag 180 degrees turn from a careerwoman to fulltime mommy. Dami challenges, plus people tend to look down to stay-at-home moms. If only they knew mas mahirap kahit walang financial rewards. Anyways,
Choosing what you pursue is the easiest part. But if you’re really determined, all the trials that would come your way to pursue your dreams would pay off!
Go for it!!!! I would be waiting for your pics sa site mo.hehe.Goodluck!
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