"Protect yourself at all times."

What Floyd said.

Though referring to the reaction to his low blows to Ortiz in Saturday's fight, Mayweather's words resonated on another level with me.

So many of us (women and men) carry these words in our heads and our hearts as a result of something in our past (breakup, disappointment, failure, and the like). We all react to situations differently, but lessons and experiences from past relationships can put us in a place where we feel the need to always protect ourselves- to be guarded so that we can't get hurt. The issue? Well there's a few. One- hurt can be super uncomfortable, especially in the moment but once you've dried up tears and diffused a little anger, there is usually a lesson, moment, or experience that presents clarity to you and allows you to grow a little. Two- if we are "protecting ourselves at all times" with our hands up and on guard...then we never get a punch in. Translation- being guarded at every moment doesn't allow you to fight,err, experience life. Who wants to watch a fight where one guy throws all the punches and the other just has his hands up the whole time? NO ONE. It's boring, there's no action. It's dead. The same is for life, if you've always got your hands up, you are never getting into life and all it has to offer, in the end your story isn't worth remembering or retelling, it's boring...and you've merely existed.

Mayweather was right,we do have to protect ourselves, its natural and its healthy to do so. But, in that, we've also got to allow ourselves to be open (and dare I say vulnerable) to life. Your life is a sum of your experiences, encounters, and imprints of influence that you leave behind. Standing in one place-on guard- hardly allows for any memorable moments...so toe the line with this. Find the happy medium between protecting yourself (and your heart) while remaining open to the experiences of life, the joy of laughter, and the passion of love.