A Love Story

Don’t you love it when you get caught off guard with a light bulb moment? Something that hits you and makes you wobble a little before having a mind reset? I had one of those moments this week when I was watching the Olympics and saw three-time Olympic gold medalist, Shaun White take his last run into the half pipe. Whilst he didn’t make it to the podium with another medal before his retirement, he left a huge impression on me way beyond his talent with these simple words - “It’s been the love of my life”. It stopped me in my tracks and has me thinking differently about some big things in my life…

When I heard it, my mind opened to the fact that we sometimes define deep, undying love in a very specific way - as a relationship with another person. In this case, that would be my husband, Jeffrey. That relationship brings me joy and contentment. I think about it all the time, work at it daily, and it gives me purpose. But with that commitment comes a vulnerability that is sometimes humbling, frustrating, challenging and can raise the fears of heart break and failure. But I choose it everyday and that opens the space for me to experience the technicolor that he brings to my life.

And when I heard Shaun White refer to snowboarding as being the love of his life, I understood more clearly that life is made up of many big loves and it brought into focus what starting, building and learning from DIANI has meant to me. It too has been and is one of the great loves of my life. It’s been a constant for 19 years… the relationship I've been in with my business is the longest relationship I’ve had and I know it on such an intimate level. I will never take for granted all that it's taught me and given back to me. Embracing this "in relationship" perspective has allowed me to understand it more purely. There are highs and lows, it’s a daily choice, it requires work, it asks me to show up and give my all every day. It doesn’t leave me, it makes me feel vulnerable, it exposes my weaknesses, and it highlights my strengths. It’s not just something I pour energy into, but it has a life of its own and in many ways has served as a guide through so many critical moments in the last two decades.

For Shaun White, the half pipe is a place where there are ups and downs, sometimes you're flying high, sometimes you're coming down and sometimes you're crashing out. And for me, a major takeaway from what seemed like an innocuous statement after his final run, is that, whilst I don’t always understand how my business works, what the best thing for it is, and I don’t always have the answers at my finger tips, I can view it as an enduring relationship that takes twists and turns and requires patience. And as long as I show up and find moments of gratitude, not for the outcome, but for the experience itself, I know that things will work out.

I read a quote… “Life takes you to unexpected places, love brings you home”. I’m very grateful to have this home where I can be myself, share myself and show up for others. I have two loves of my life - Jeffrey and DIANI. I am lucky and so proud to be part of both. There is peace in knowing that I have found what I was looking for to fulfill me. And that love can be defined and found in so many different ways.