Dana Rains

Find the Sunshine: A Conversation with Dana Rains *Seth: Take me back to the photo and what was happening in your life then.* **Dana:** The photo was taken in the summer of 2019 at MPI’s World Education Congress. I was stepping into my role as incoming president of the Rocky Mountain chapter, and I was excited, but there was also this cloud hanging over me. Between 2014 and 2017, I had lost all three of my parents: my mom, my dad, and my mom’s husband. It was hard to celebrate something so meaningful knowing I couldn’t share it with them. *Seth: Where did “Find the Sunshine” come from?* **Dana:** I was on a beach vacation with friends and realized that, for once, the grief wasn’t hitting me quite as hard. Sitting in the sunshine felt good, but I knew I couldn’t live at the beach. So I thought, how do I take some of this home with me? That became “find the sunshine.” Even when the world feels heavy, find something good. Find two good things. Focus on what is still there. *Seth: Why did you put the sunshine on your fingertips in the photo?* **Dana:** Because sometimes the sunshine is the tiniest little thing. I didn’t want it all in one place. I wanted to spread it out. Over time, it became part of how I try to help people frame things more positively. If someone says, “We need to write this down in case I get hit by a bus,” I’ll say, “No, when you win the lottery.” There is enough heavy stuff in life already. We don’t need to create more. *Seth: How did that mindset help you through the pandemic and other changes?* **Dana:** During the pandemic, our team tried to create little moments of fun while we were working from home. Eventually I was furloughed and separated from the company, so my dog and I drove from Denver to Oregon and Seattle. We camped, visited national parks, and made the best of a transitional time. I kept looking for ways to feel productive and keep moving. *Seth: Was there another moment when “Find the Sunshine” took on a deeper meaning?* **Dana:** One of my best friends died after falling from a mountain. I happened to still be in Denver and was able to be there for his wife and family during those days. As painful as it was, I felt like maybe that was why I was still there. Afterward, I knew it was time to move home to Nebraska. The sunshine in that was being closer to my nieces and nephews and getting back the little birthdays and soccer games I had been missing. *Seth: Is finding the sunshine always easy for you?* **Dana:** No. Some days it is absolutely a decision. You either crawl into bed and let yourself be buried by everything, or you find something that lets you keep moving. Sometimes it is a very small thing, but it is enough. *Seth: What values best describe your story now?* **Dana:** Hope and perseverance. You just have to keep going. Sometimes you push from a different angle. Sometimes you need a whole different approach or different equipment. But you keep going.