From Manhattan to Midlife: Lessons from a Tough Love Guru In the world of spirituality and personal growth, we often picture our teachers as calm, soft, nurturing beings who gently guide us toward the light. And sure, sometimes they are. But sometimes… they’re anything but gentle. For me, that teacher took the form of a city: Manhattan. I lived there in my 30s, during a time when I was still figuring out who I was and what I wanted. She wasn’t warm or patient. She didn’t ask