In life, we tend to spend a lot of time searching for the easy roads; the least painful paths to success. This doesn't work and we end up not getting very far. Why? Because, as the saying goes: no mud, no lotus. We admire the lotus, the beauty of it, and we are happy for its existence. But we forget the mud, without which the lotus would not exist. Without the difficulties we face in life- the fear, doubt, heartache, failure, discomfort, loss- without the suffering, happiness would not be possible. We forget the value of the hard stuff. But what if you decided to embrace it instead? What if you began to appreciate the struggle- how would your life change?