Fight Vs. Flight

We are all faced with this dilemma in life. Oftentimes, it is a very tough decision. Fighting is often seen as a sign of manhood. We always want to prove how tough we are. However, sometimes knowing when to walk away takes more courage and bravery than fighting. Walking away, or even running away from some situations are necessary but that doesn't always make it an easy task. 

When I talk about fighting, I am not really referring to physical combat. Those days should be over for me, I'm too old to be fighting in somebody's club. I'm still ready though, just in case shit gets outta hand. You never know, might have one more good rumble for old time sakes. On second thought, I don't have bail money in my budget or health insurance, so I better not.  

We often have psychological and emotional fights. Life is full of these, we have to fight for our dreams, opportunities and relationships. Nothing comes easy. Not lately for me at least.

My family loves fights. It is something that we all have in common. My mom and pops used to go to boxing matches before I was even thought about. They passed down their love of the sport to me. Just this past Saturday I was calling both of them asking if they were watching the fights on HBO. We talk almost everyday about our excitement for the Mayweather fight this weekend. (SideNote: I'm taking all bets, I've got my money on my guy Floyd. TMT.) Pops and I love talking about fights. It started when I was young, when he started teaching me how to box, which somehow ended in me having a bloody nose. He would tell me about different fights that he had went to, fights that he had been in, him fighting for opportunities, and when he and my mom decided to stop fighting and let their marriage go. It was time for the towels to be thrown in.

Pops always gave me this advice, “If you're going to fight, make sure that you fight FOR something and not OVER something. If you fight FOR something and win, you gain something, if you fight OVER something, you don't.” I've always remembered this. 

Lately, I have been faced with many fights in my life. Fighting for my future. I want to be brave enough to fight FOR something. I also want to be wise enough to know when it's time to walk away. I know that you can't win them all. Fighters are trained to be smart first, brave second. Some fighters never learn that lesson. They are too brave for their own good. They think that no matter how much of a beaten that they're taking, no matter how many points behind they are on the scorecard, they have to keep going, their hearts won't let them stop fighting. Fight fans classify these fighters as warriors. We love them, even if they don't win. They always believe that they can win, and they are willing to die trying. 

When I am faced with the dilemma of Fight vs. Flight, I think to myself, will a victory be worth the effort? Will a loss be worth the scars? If the answers are no, it's time to walk away. If the answers are yes, I'll die fighting for what I believe is meant for me. Well, I'd rather not die, but you know what I mean. I'm gonna fight with everything that I've got. 

I was going to end the entry right there, but just thinking about this reminds of a story. I had to be 19 at the time, maybe 20. Me and my boys were at the club, drunk as a gang of skunks. The club just got shut down because a big fight broke out. We weren't in it, but the fight definitely sobered me up a little bit and I was thinking straight, trying to stay alert. While we were walking to the car, somehow one of my guys got into with another group of fellas. They were just as drunk as we were. The words quickly escalated and one of them threw a weak ass drunk punch at my boy. As soon as he did this, a cops flashlight shined on us and I saw that the cops were out with the dogs. Mind you, a couple of us had just been arrested a few weeks before and I really wasn't trying to go through that again, and I definitely didn't want that dog on my ass. So, both groups of us saw the cops and decided to get out of there, we all took off running. The fight wasn't worth it that night, even though I really wish we could've stomped them out. I'm still a man, and sometimes we don't want to do better even though we know better. Sometimes the best thing for us, is the hardest thing for us to do.