Mirror Mirror tell me...

Bla Bla Bla the "LIFE" show

I'm trying to look back at what happened last weekend...trying to grasp what I can learn from what I see, what I have experienced.
It's one challenge to live for real the moment and another to keep going without forgetting what we could have gained or learned from that moment.  So many times we are running endlessly from one experience to another pursuing a bigger thrill, a more intense feeling, a diversion in a linear journey... forgetting each time what this experience revealed about ourselves, about where we are heading and about what we need to change in order to live more freely and more happy too.  I've been told that it's foolish to act that way and that a wiser way to live is to always look at experiences like we would look in a mirror, wanting to see our true reflection and remember what we saw as we move on. 

Let me tell you what MY mirror told me...
Last Friday night we had a rehearsal for the Bla Bla Bla the Live show.  There are so many technical aspects to be tested...lighting, plateau set up, sound, internet connection, camera coordination, video projections, and for the band to review the different subjects we will talk about, for Marie and Stephanie to coordinate their different roles, one being the channel between the band and you on the chat, the other in charge of letting the "cat out of the bag" (to reveal all the secrets).  It may look easy and smooth when it's on the air but now you know there's A LOT of preparation involved as we want everything to be more than good for you, we want it to be AMAZING for you because... you deserve the best! 

During the rehearsal I didn't feel right... I was stressed... I was feeling negative and even though I wanted to do my part to make the preparation easy I just couldn't get rid of my negativity.  There was no way I was going to look like a fool or vulnerable (thanks to my pride...damn pride!) so the only way I found to "survive" was to be fake and hide my real feelings, playing a role, saying what I thought would sound nice and being who I thought people around expected me to be...  I left the set after the rehearsal with a disgusting feeling and a growing fear of how it would go for the Bla Bla Bla.  Then I remembered... a certain mirror...  the reflection of myself I saw with the first "The Confessional" where I was confronted and invited to be real and not to give the “good” answers in order to look good... that mirror had been quite choking for me at that time but I definitely remember it and now I wasn't going to let myself fall into the same trap.  Why? Yes, because I remembered the pain of the first time, but MAINLY because what I wanted to happen during our Bla Bla BLa was too important to ruin it by being a proud fool... I wanted to express myself about the tours, I wanted to share my excitement, I wanted to tell you LIVE how everything we share is one of the most precious things in my life, I wanted you to see and feel that together we are powerful and limitless...

I'm so blessed because I had my bro Max and my sisters Chris, Miriam and Golain who stepped in to help me change my perspective and encourage me to take action motivated not by my feelings (in this case negative) but instead according to my desires and my beliefs.  They reminded me to simply be me and that "me" was exactly what was needed...good enough...perfect without the pressure of perfection.  So I spent my Saturday focusing on what I wanted and not on what I felt, I was like an athlete visualizing myself in action, meditating on what I had to say in its most simple form, training my heart to be open and not to hide...

After a little nap between Saturday and Sunday...lol... I was ready!  I knew what I wanted to accomplish for the Bla Bla Bla, I knew I was supported by my family, I knew I might face more negative feelings but I KNEW I was able to focus and live something incredible.  Nothing would steal from me the joy of sharing a live moment with you.  And I MADE IT!  I was so happy during and after the chat because I definitely won the gold medal and as I look in the mirror of this experience I see myself as a winner that had to face an obstacle, had to get partners, accept training and persevere.  What can I learn for next time?  Mirror tell me...
First: I'm in a constant evolution and can expect to deal things better and differently. 
Second: I have to figure where that negativity is coming from and how can I be in assurance enough to avoid it.
Third: I'm an even bigger winner when I allow others to jump in and let them help me focus on the goal and on my ability to get to it!  Sharing the challenge and sharing the victory too!

So if you saw me all smiles during that chat, being comfortable and in assurance, it's not without a proper fight with my own barriers... but it was real... it was a victory... it was a reflection in the mirror that I will remember as an encouragement for many more experiences to come!

-Miss Isabel

Learning to live? Sounds funny isn't it...

The one subject we should all be excited

to review over and over again!

My dear friends,

Do you feel sometimes the world swirls around at such a high speed or in such an unpredictable movement that it's hard to grasp what is really going on?
Do you at times look around you and take the time to realize that all these nameless faces have a life of their own, millions of stories, miracles and faithless dreams out of a multitude of motivations but born of our common human heart...
Do you ask yourself the question: "Why is it that we know immediately how to breathe but we have to fight to learn how to LIVE?"

Lately the pace has been even more crazy than usual... The recording of the album is an everyday marathon, the rehearsals and preparations for the tour in China and Japan is like getting ready for a wedding; we want everything to be perfect! Setting up for the Bla Bla Bla this weekend, giving the finishing touches to the amazing bootleg package that will be presented that day. Plus many more videos, pictures, texts, interviews, designs, anything related to this amazing journey we are creating with Your Favorite Enemies, it is like boiling oil on the oven ready to explode and set fire to the whole place! It's hard to contain ourselves and at the same time we have to stay focused not to miss anything as we want nothing less than the best for our family, for you.

In that tornado of projects and good news, challenges and pressures, the occasions to learn and grow are numerous! We encourage each other to live every moment...but what happens when the "moment" is a failure of a project? What happens when that "moment" is an invitation to do something really amazing but really stressful too? You heard me say or write many times that I'm getting prepared for the upcoming tour on a musical level but also on a personal level and I have to admit that my desire to be prepared didn't expect so many occasions to overcome my own limits, insecurities and shortcomings... My desire to LIVE for real is pushing me to FACE reality and see what I'm made of and then decide if I want to change or not. The good thing is that I believe I can change things; I can overcome things that kept me in failure so many times.

I am learning how to live really... sounds funny... sounds weird even but when I look back at how I was, how I wouldn't let anyone influence me or challenge me, how I just hoped to stay out of trouble and put up a fine face, how I really couldn't feel anything... I couldn't live much... no big joys, no big pain, no big deal, no big anything... But the day I tasted LIFE that was outside my box, outside these borders I thought were ME, the day I believed I was meant for more than this golden cage of safety made of my illusions about the world, about my friends, about how life is supposed to be lived and about myself, On THAT DAY I knew I would not want to go back... I would want to not only taste a full life but embrace it and share it.

One of my sisters was encouraging me the past weekend. She was telling me how I didn't need to try to be someone, that the more I "tried" the less I was myself with all that is good in me that others can enjoy. She told me that I was probably the only one not believing truly that I had what it takes to fulfill my destiny and be "good enough". She was right. Her words gave me strength and helped me see my life differently, it gave me perspective... It was nothing new to my ears but it was a definite sign for me that I'm worth giving the effort, in order to go beyond my usual thinking and usual way to find security and purpose.

Our life can be a tornado; our life can be more like a silent dew... We can be happy to breathe, we can also be excited to learn to live and create life around us! At this point, I'm still in a state of unbalance, holding on to my family, trusting their love, relying on their faithfulness, growing from our sharing. Every day there's an invitation to live the fullness and intensity of life...it's up to us to accept it, pursue it, expect it and learn through it!

-Miss Isabel

To a place we’ve never been...

To touch people like we’ve always desired

As we were starting to build a web community 5 years ago, we could only dream about visiting our growing family from China. But as we received the invitation to play in the biggest Asian festivals, it was clear for us that the dream wasn't about big crowds,
it was all about reaching out to our Chinese friends on a personal level, getting to touch their hearts, letting them teach us and impact us, sharing with them an experience that will be an anchor point in each of our lives... So we made sure to tell the promoter that we wanted to play in venues where that personal sharing would be possible, contact that might be challenging to create when we'll be in front of 80 000 people...lol.

So we got what we wanted! We'll be in fact the first North American band to perform in some "smaller" cities... ( a million people is the average for a small city!Lol) What an honor! Many people told us it was risky to do so... telling us about the differences
in culture and lifestyle and how it might be hard to travel so much every day and perform at night in such a context... but as you know us: We don't care about that... we don't care about big hotels, we don't care about easy traveling and 5 stars restaurants, what we DO CARE about is getting as close as possible to people, to be as close as possible to the heart of what they are living, to be fully present as one and growing together through music and pouring out the best of what we are and have. We'll have the opportunity to play with local bands and feel the beat of the country.  It will be so fabulous to discover what gives them drive, what they need to scream, how they feel alive, what place music takes in their life and dreams.

It's hard to imagine exactly what we will live, but we are for sure preparing ourselves for something incredible, intense and precious...

As I write these lines, Alex tells me we'll have surprises to announce soon about our time in Japan as well!!! Of course we'll bring your words through the HOPE project to heal and comfort Japan. So, really, you are coming with us on this crazy journey! You know how we are, we can't go anywhere without you... because it's not about where we are but about
how we can be together, about relationships that go above any differences in culture, distance, generation or religion...
Ready for this journey?


-Miss Isabel