"Who knows why we're here
It's whatever turns you on
Whatever makes you happy
That's the essence" - Derek Hynd

I went windsurfing on Friday. I was 5 months pregnant when I last surfed. I did not windsurf throughout the whole pregnancy.
That indescriptible feeling of freedom and joy that comes when sliding on the ocean got me high for a moment. I had not realized how much I missed it.  Everything connected again with the beautiful island we call home : body - mind - soul.  
After giving birth, our body and mind need to find their balance again. But our focus is so strong on protecting the life we've created within us, on loving and caring for others that we can forget what makes us happy, us as in our own entity. Priorities shift and we tend to think about our own wellness last, if at all.
What feeds our soul, our body, our mind will also feed our desire to love better, to care better and to live better. 

Here's a video to celebrate life, happiness and whatever it is that makes each and everyone of us so excited about. 
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It has been a while since I last posted a video I like. I shared about musician Asaf Avidan before. Seems like I just can't get enough of him. This video is pure beauty. The two kids are just too good. The prism could be used by many of us. love. 

​Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too.
Imagine all the people
​Living life in Peace.
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I've said it before : I have a thing for videos. It's a medium that took me by surprise when I expected it the least a few years ago. All in a sudden and almost out of nowhere, I was being asked to edit and eventually shoot videos. Even better I was being paid to do so. How I loved it. It was the first time in my life I fell so confident and happy working while being creative. Things often happen in life when you least expect them to happen, for good or for bad. I had to take a video-editing break for much longer than I thought I would. I even panicked one day thinking I'd never pick up a camera again. The passion was there, very much alive. I'm not bragging about me being some kind of a video genius. I just genuinely love it, as little as my skills may be compared to others. Should you ever compare yourself to anyone anyway? 

​I did pick up my camera again about a year ago. A new one as a matter of fact since I had to let go of my awesome previous one. (yes, totally part of the story of our bold move to Tahiti). I have been picking it up almost daily to take photos, to document the 52 Project, to make sure memories would be printed on paper, and a few months ago, to start shooting videos again. I have been documenting 2 friends in their journey to opening their very own cafe here on Maui. The video is still in process, voice-over, editing, a lot needs to be done but it does help fulfill a deep desire in me to not let go of this medium. More videos are being planed, I only have to become a master at time managing. (By the way, the tattoos got into 5 more stores today..yeehaw!). But I'm loving all of these ideas becoming real projects. 
​Meanwhile there is one thing that I have never stopped doing is watching more and more videos. I am not talking about theatre-movie-type of videos (doesn't fit quite well in my time-masteurizing-program), rather shorts, lots of shorts, ideally 2 to 8 minutes. Those are the ones I fall for. I love how a powerful/beautiful/moving/emotional/fun/satiric, whatever it is and it can be all at once but I love how a story can be amazingly told in such a short time. And I love finding the inspiration while watching it. I love how you can teach yourself so much just by having your eyes wide opened and connected to the appropriate side of your brain. I love to be taken by surprise in the best way. If I love a video I can watch it over and over again. I tend to do the same with music. There's some kind of a pattern here. 
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Like Knows Like is an ongoing documentary film series created by filmmaker Bas Berkhout and photographer Marije Kuiper.
I have watched all of their videos, loved all of them but I really wanted to share their latest one on Artist Beth Cavener. The way they edited it mixing motion & stills, the colors and photography, the sound...all about it got my eyes and ears widening as the video played.  One I will watch again and surely learn a lot from doing so. 
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When setting up a tent looks like a sexy game,
Enjoy the ride.
A true Bandits Love
​xx we want more xx
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pssss : do what you believe in, everything else is a lie.

I don't know about you but lately it has been hard for me to find peace in my thoughts, peace in my heart. It has to do with what is happening in our world at the moment. It has to do with all the images that are made available for our eyes to see. It has to do with children found dead on beaches. It has to do with parents desperate to the extreme for a better solution. It has to do with the lack of dignity people have to live with. It has to do with my faith in humanity being challenged every single day. It has to do with that aching feeling of being useless. 
I do know though that while I can't physically open the door of my home for people to find some kind of comfort, I can open the doors of my heart. I am a strong believer that the power of Love can go a long way through our thoughts. While I can't hold people in my arms, I can hold them in my heart. 
I have also been confronting a few times very recently with people in deep need of help here on our paradise island. Then I was able to give some kind of relieves and bring a smile onto strangers faces. No one should be ignored, ever. We are all only a war away from being refugees, often a paycheck away from being homeless. 
We all have to go on with our lives but let's not forget that opening our hearts and offering a smile can go a long long way. 

This is part of why I haven't been the most active writer of the internet lately. I needed to peace my thoughts out. I didn't want to pretend I could write a Happy post just so my google analytics wouldn't get mad at me. 

This long time favorite video of mine is my very own calm remedy, it plays as an emotion softener on my aching heart. 

LOVE.

I'm too old to be a young ripper, my goal is to become an old ripping longboarding lady. I want to be 60 one day (how lucky would that be) and kiss my longboard's nose (while riding a wave, duh) without leaving a couple teeth behind. All the inspiration I need is right here in this video. Those ladies rock! 

Asaf Avidan, I can't get enough of him.
Artist from Israel (but not Israeli Artist, his own words).
Put him in a box and this is what you will get.
Give him a stage and trust me,this is worth listening to. Whether you're working, cooking, playing with the kids (no comment here), play it as a podcast, please do.
To be played loud to your soul : this way

On my wish list: The Reckoning, Different Pulses, Gold Shadow

It's no secret I'm a fan of the duo Brett Novak & Kilian Martin. The first one is an incredibly talented filmer, video editor and skater. He has a background in visual effects and one day decided that instead of spending his entire days behind a screen editing whatever other people were shooting, he'd grab a camera, get himself out in the daylight and make videos of what he loves : skateboarding. The second one, Kilian, performs magic with his skateboard. Magic. Period. Magic is what describes this duo best to me. These two have found each other and together they have taken the Art of making skate videos to an entire new level. Not only is Kilian one amazingly talented skater but the way Brett shoots, edits, does his transitions, picks the music (do not expect heavy metal punky music here), somehow manages to film with no one else in the background (keep in mind his former career in visual effects wink-wink), though for once I could see a few people here and there, well let's say it I am madly in love with his style. Magical is also the way they keep coming up with more ideas, more incredibly beautiful footages. I love filming too. I love editing. I am thousands of miles away to getting even close to what Brett Novak does but their creativity as a team deeply inspires me to become better than my-now-self. A dream? Filming one of their video's behind the scene. Life wouldn't be exciting without dreams. 
Today these two released a new video. I have to admit that at first I got a bit afraid they had gone slightly too far special-effect-wise but the video only gets better and better as it goes. The transitions are brilliant. And the Magic happened again. 
Be inspired. Or wish you were a skateboard. I do mean skateboard.

And if you want more, here's the one that has been my long time favorite of their series. But really, you should watch them all.

What a creative mind can make with ink as a material is pretty mind blowing. I would love this as an Artwork playing on a wall in our home. The projector would be hidden. The day we have a home, maybe.