I learned the golden secret, the golden insight to life. I was raised by a tough awesome incredible lady. Maybe the coolest mom ever……If there’s one quote that resounds loudly in my mind from my mother it’s “You have to be strong. Life is hard.” She learned early how tough life can be. Raised in India by her father and having only two brothers, she essentially grew up alone. Emotionally that is. There were no women to comfort her. And women need women, not men contrary to popular opinion. Her mother died when she was eleven. Her father worked in Delhi and took her with him to live in the big city after her mom passed. He thought she’d do better in the big city. He thought the hustle and bustle would offer solice for her, but it did not. Despite all the life around her, she was very alone. A little girl with no woman to guide her, comfort her, nurture her and love her only the way a mother or a woman can.It’s this quote that I’ve carried with me throughout my life. And while I’ve had my own fair share or more than my fair share of struggles I feel a sense of empowerment knowing this little golden secret. This is truly a remarkable insight that I was given at a very young age and it was fed to me over and over again. As I get older I see that life has not gotten any easier, only harder it seems. It only seems to be getting more visceral, more raw, tougher, grittier as we age and detach from those we held near and dear. Watching our aging parents, aunts and uncles, losing that sense of wonderment of it all. Life is hard. It’s a struggle. No single person is without his or her struggles. And while some struggles are much more difficult than others we are all here to learn, grow and evolve. Our struggles are not without purpose or meaning. They are for our highest good, no matter how painful. This is the wise man’s understanding to a somewhat contented and peaceful existence despite the misery that surrounds him and compounds him. It’s the only way to get through it.