The Fighter Still Remains

In the clearing stands a boxer
 
And a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders
Of ev’ry glove that layed him down
Or cut him till he cried out
In his anger and his shame
“I am leaving, I am leaving”
But the fighter still remains
     Paul Simon

In this classic song, Simon and Garfunkle sing about a man who almost gives up on his dreams. The young man had left home to move to New York City and struggled to make a living, struggled with loneliness and dejection. But the man admires a boxer who doesn’t give up even though he is battered and bruised and often beaten down. This man uses the boxer’s example to inspire himself to get back up and get back into the fight to realize his dreams.

Paul Simon wrote this song about the immigration movement to New York City in the last century. He wrote about a difficult era in which shiploads of people were arriving in the city daily. Others were moving in great numbers from rural areas to the city, too, which presented a multitude of social problems – there were not enough jobs to go around, the working conditions were dangerous and horrible, the overcrowding caused rampant health issues and disease. Ultimately, this song was autobiographical for Simon and so many others who struggle with dejection and loneliness too. The song was written for those who use someone else’s example of persistence to endure.

This past Sunday the New York Giants played a terrible football game, at least in the game’s first half. Quarterback Eli Manning threw three interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. All three resulted in points for the other team. Throwing three interceptions during the first few seasons of Manning’s career would have left him feeling dejected, doubting his own abilities to lead the team. But in the last five years, especially after winning two Super Bowls, Manning has matured greatly. It is obvious that he was determined to not to allow those interceptions to leave him battered, bruised and beaten down. He would not allow them to defeat him. It was almost as if Eli Manning said to himself, “ I know that I am good. I don’t need to doubt my abilities, even if I am having a bad day.” Down two touchdowns in the second half, he went on to lead the Giants to a stunning victory by throwing a career-high 500+ yards.

There are times in our lives in which certain circumstances can leave us feeling bruised, battered and beaten down. It is in those times that we need to focus our attention on stories of perseverance that can inspire us to persevere too, to continue fighting, to get back up, to stay in the ring, the arena, the game. Maybe someone we love has been lost. Maybe we received difficult news about a diagnosis. Maybe we feel defeated, because in the past we made some mistakes that have caused us to doubt our own abilities. Maybe someone has disappointed us greatly. But we need to remember that we are gifted, that we are of worth, that we can be victorious over life’s setbacks. Sometimes we will have a bad moment, a bad day, a bad game. But that doesn’t define us.

Keep fighting the good fight, because in each of us the fighter still remains.

The Boxer

Photo by Bogdan Yukhymchuk on Unsplash