You Named Your Business After What?
It is safe to say that one of the first things that Christine* and I bonded over as new business owners was geeking out over our mutual love of all things sci-fi and fantasy. If there’s a fandom out there, we want to be part of it.
(*Christine has spread her wings and can now be found in private practice over at Femme In Nest. I miss her dearly but am so thrilled to watch her fly.)
Many folks assume our business name is based on Traditional Chinese Medicine’s five elements but here’s the geeky truth. The inspiration for our business name?
Yup.
The movie.
Starring Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich.
**Spoiler alert: stop reading now if you haven't seen this movie and ever intend to
(And really? Why wouldn't you? It's a fantastic movie!)**
So, in the movie, the universe is about to be destroyed by Evil. The only way to save it is to assemble the four element stones: earth, air, fire, and water, along with the fifth element, the perfect being (LeeLoo played by Milla Jovovich), on earth. If our heroes do this in time, the universe will be saved! Thrilling heroics ensue lead by the intrepid but reluctant Korben Dallas (played by Bruce Willis).
In the end, they make it to earth with all four element stones and the perfect being. They place everything exactly as they should and...nothing happens. It turns out, without any knowledge of love LeeLoo can't combine the elements to defeat Evil. They are running out of time! Finally, Korben professes his love for LeeLoo and it all clicks - a brilliant white light shoots forth and Evil is vanquished.
Cheesy? Sure! But it's still a fantastic and entertaining movie. Plus, the underlying belief, that love is the ultimate source of power, is one we actually truly believe, not just in our work as birth and postpartum doulas, but also in life, generally.
Every person brings their own strengths into the birthing room and the process of labor calls on everyone to connect with themselves and their own inner elements in a profound and life changing way. While there is no evil to vanquish in labor, there can be fear, doubts, and uncertainty that need to be acknowledged and released before being able to bring your baby earth side.
Love (for self, for baby, for your partner and in return from self, from baby, from your partner) is an incredible source of strength, light, and power in that process.
So there you have it - the true and fully geeked out story of how our business got its name.
