"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Now if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain't you!"

-

I love this speech. It’s from Rocky Balboa, the latest , and likely the last, of the Rocky films. Written by Sylvester Stallone, it's my favorite of all of the Rocky films I have enjoyed over the years. In this scene Rocky is attempting to impart some “school of hard knocks” wisdom to his son. For as rough and unsophisticated as Rocky Balboa appears, I felt the speech was worthy in comparison to some Shakespearean soliloquies.

I take from it some words of wisdom for myself. The heart of what he is saying speaks to me at this moment in my life. The world is mean, it is nasty. It’s also cruel. I have been trying to find my balance for having been buffeted and pummeled on several fronts for some time now. Some days I wonder what else can happen, what else I can get hit with. It’s exhausting and can defeat me if let it.

I had a conversation with my longtime best girlfriend today, a woman who has been similarly pummeled as of late. We shared what things have gone amiss since we last spoke and spoke of just how much we have handled in our lives. We have few secrets from each other and it is in that knowledge, of what each of us has lived, that binds us so closely.

She asked me if I ever wonder how much I could take before I snap. I asked her the same right back. It seems we both can take quite a lot. We both can and will take much more. I know this because we both keep moving, moving forward, moving ahead. I also know that when one of us slips behind, the other reaches back and pulls the other forward. Neither of us will let the other fall back, neither of us will let the other fall. We'll make sure we are both on our feet and moving. Later, when we look back, look at how far we've come, we will revel in the fact that we did it together.

“…it's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!”

As Rocky says at the end of Rocky Balboa…..Yo Adrian, we did it!

We did it!
Indeed.