For one human being to love another; that is perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks, the ultimate, the last test and proof, the work for which all other work is but preparation.

-Rainer Maria Rilke

>How did I know HE was the ONE?

Annie:  Walking into a dusty tent looking for my friends at Burning Man, I first saw Eben speaking to a group about the future of leadership. Within 15 minutes of listening to him, I knew he was unlike any man I'd ever met. I sat and stayed riveted for the rest of the talk. The way he spoke, his bold ideas, the raw agility of his mind, it was breathtaking. I was infused with mild vertigo (excitement/ terror). My heart soared at the possibility that someone like that existed.

Later, while we courted, I continued to see distinct features and signs that Eben was not only made for me, but I was made for him. His bookshelves mirrored mine, his emotional tenacity was on par, his body felt like home. The resonance was uncanny. Our strengths supplemented each other in all the right ways, as did our shadows. Moving through my insecurities entailed him moving through his. The very lessons we most deeply wanted/ needed to learn were required from this relationship.

I had never pursued a man before. This time I did, but had to move through deep fears -of being naive, deluded, honest, and vulnerable. After I exhausted what my brain could do to win him, only then did I surrender my heart. And that's when he finally recognized me, in an instant.

But how did I know he was the one? I don't think it is something you can know, it's not a belief that can be verified or justified. It was just real...the way my existence is real. I can't prove it, I can't explain it, it simply was the case. And the more I got to know him, the deeper and more real it became. Certainty and objective Truth don't really exist, but if they did...that's how I'd feel about him being the one. However far I thought love might take me, it goes way further than that. It goes to eleven.

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>How did I know SHE was the ONE?

Eben:  A part of me has always felt "wired" to look for my mate, my partner - yet another part of me felt "wired" to be independent, free, un-committed and un-obligated. I now see these two drives, although appearing at odds, were perfectly calibrated to "reserve" & ready me for Annie.

I had completely given up on ever finding a "partner" in life -to the point where I'd accepted being single for the long-term, and began designing my life accordingly. In fact, when I met Annie, I was so committed to this idea of staying single that I didn't even recognize her. Wayne Dyer wrote a book called "You'll See It When You Believe It." That's a great insight, because it's completely counter-intuitive yet completely right.

In the case of finding a partner to build a life with, I couldn't see it as a possibility because I didn't believe in it. It was shocking, humbling, relieving and exciting to meet the woman that was not only a perfect match for me in terms of who she is in this world -but who also believed in Love enough for both of us. Annie came and found me, she took me somewhere I'd never been before, and showed me how to feel more alive than ever.

I can remember the exact moment, on January 24th, 2010 when I looked into her eyes and really SAW her. She and I had spent time together in many different settings before that day - but, the way I like to imagine it is - I didn't believe in Love until that moment.

When I finally realized that she Loved me, and saw her magnificent vision of what Love could be, she instantly became a different being in front of me.

In that moment, I fell in Love with her. It was a Singularity in my life that I will never forget.

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