The Race is Not to the Swift!

I don’t know if you are like me but I taking great pleasure in watching some movies over and over again. So, in watching the movie Rocky yet again, I learned yet another click here)valuable lesson from my favourite; Part 2.

Quick recap: Apollo Creed insisted on a rematch because of criticisms from his fans, and the fact that he won on a split decision (when 2 of 3 judges rule in favour of one fighter while the third judge rules in favour of the other) – something that had never happened to the world champion before, according to the movie. 

And so the rematch began, with Rocky giving as much as he got. It quickly became apparent to Apollo that Rocky was not going to go down as easily as he had assumed. More, that the fight might not go as he had expected. Finally in the last round, after fighting hard and dirty, Rocky punched Apollo so hard that the force of the punch propelled him onto the floor of ring even as Apollo went down. And so both fighters began to struggle to stand as the referee began the count down…Apollo had a good head start only to crumble at last moment while Rocky rose unsteadily to his feet and staggered across the ring. The clear winner this time.

This is not about Apollo and Rocky. This is about how we handle the apollos in our own lives. 

While we are quietly trying to mind our business, trouble show up to disrupt our world. We grapple daily with so many things, some of which we can’t even talk about, problems that defy solution or even articulation. But this is life. How we react to it is what is important. 

And being  pummeled on all sides, all we really want to do is curl up in defeat and die. But we are meant to hold on because there is always a silver lining. The determination of a Rocky can help us push up and out of any ‘apollotic’ pit we may find ourselves. Rocky is described by one of the commentators of the fight as a ‘man of limited mental capacity’ compared to Apollo. And that right there is the point that needs to be made: that the race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong.

Another lesson for me is that difficult as it may be in reality, walking away is a sign of strength, not weakness. In the movie Rocky actually thanked Apollo for fighting him. If he hadn't sought Rocky out, the latter would have remained a nobody, an unknown.

Life is hard. This is a fact. But the picture of Rocky and Apollo falling in that ring is etched in my memory; a reminder that no matter how long, how hard and how dirty the fight, when we are down and before the count of 10, only we can decide who will be the one standing or staggering across the ring. Its a mind thing, not just a thing of the mind.

 Be free oh.

Photos: Google Images