I remember how, as a teenager, I simultaneously tried to move away from what defined me in my environment in order to forge my own identity and, at the same time, desperately strived to be included, to fit in, to belong. Discovering who we are is a long journey with many ruptures and junctions, dead ends and crossroads, not only within our own self, our own perceptions of the world and how we evolve but also how we walk with others around us, letting them BE and letting them (or not ) touch us, change us, challenge us, question us, build us… I believe that quest for identity is an unfinished business as long as we allow ourselves the right and the privilege, to change our mind,to make mistakes, to aspire for a better life and the chance to live something fresh, true and unexpected every day.

As I try to organize the ideas in my mind, struggle to find the ONE emotion, the MOST significant event, the MAIN direction of what we lived during the Bla Bla Bla I just can’t make up my mind… I come to the conclusion that this time the words “ONE” “MOST” and “MAIN” aren’t what I should look for… what’s really IMPORTANT is everything, every single little thing we lived from the intense soulful live music performance to the ecstatic draw of Jeff’s guitar, passing by all the little glimpses of life, of fun and of pure nonsense.

It’s such a mystery how we’re linked together, don’t you think? Somehow, sometime, somewhere on this digital sea we met and since that day, we decided that we would create for each other a place in our hearts. This place for you in my heart is as big as my commitment… it has the warmth of my pouring love… it’s a safe place to go in times of need… it’s a life giving place every time you cross its doors.

To expose ourselves by saying our opinion out loud is courage.
To expose ourselves by revealing our true feelings, good or bad, is trust.
To expose ourselves by standing for those who are hurt, those who are victims and standing even for aggressors surrounded by their own darkness… is love.

With his blog titled: “The Nature of Darkness and Light“, Alex has poured out, in my opinion, a lot of courage, trust and love. It initiated a wave of reactions among you guys and even among us here at the YFE HQ. It made me think a lot…

Ok guys!

When it’s time to be serious to share about deep stuff and to support each other in what we want to think, work on and grow, you are there for me, for us, for one another. As a great family we each take our place in the lives of each other and we each shine from the strength and love we give and get and THAT makes me sooooo proud of you and of all that we build together. But now… I feel like it’s time to celebrate this love we seed with tears and sweat!

My loving family, my friends so dear to my heart,

This past week I lived something completely insane… As you may have seen on Alex‘s or Jeff‘s Facebook, we were doing a massive video and photoshoot. A 3 day marathon for a VERY special project. I won’t tell you much because we will reveal the secret about it during the next Bla Bla Bla the live show March 11th, so I want you to enjoy the surprise… BUT I can tell you it’s the very first time I have worked in collaboration with Alex on something other than music;) You know how he is an intense person right? Well, ever since collaborating with him on this special project I have realized even more how this intensity and passion is rooted in his love for people and his commitment to always go all the way. He often says “if we are to make something, let’s do it our way, no limits, no established rules except to be true to ourselves and to do it with love.” I realize now that by opening my cherished project and involving others, it has allowed the whole project to reach a completely different dimension, to shine in a way I never thought possible, allowing everyone to expose their talent and to even discover hidden treasures, it allowed me to learn, to grow… it allowed me also to experience so much love as I see people giving their best towards something I cherish and it allowed me also to pour out love toward these same people, learning to serve them, to give them my best, to take my place in their life…

So many times I invited love in my life and when it knocked at my door, I opened and found myself looking around to see if it wouldn’t be accompanied by another guest… I realize that the thing I was really looking for was comfort, not love. Same thing with friendship or art or anything! When they knocked at my door as a surprise or as I invited them myself, I didn’t let them come in unless they came with comfort… which they rarely did. Why??? Comfort usually comes with another type of guest such as compromise or illusion. I think now that it is much more simple and true to welcome the pure feelings and life experiences as they are without trying to manipulate them, twisting them to fit my own vision or way to do things. I need to allow love, friendship, faith and all of these wonderful guests to shock me, surprise me, stupefy me, and to leave me speechless, helpless, breathless…

My dear friends,

you have no idea how important the next minutes could be…They could impact your life forever… You decided to take a few minutes to read this blog maybe out of curiosity or you are faithfully welcoming my heart and thoughts, allowing me to share with you and grow up with you. But I will surprise you this week because I won’t write many lines, I will in fact urge you to explore something that I personally want to dig in deeply and think about: Alex’s new blog!