Embracing New Beginnings

analog collage made by ayhuma amazona – @ayhumaamazona

As I sit at my desk by the window, looking outside for inspiration, I realize that this editorial piece is the most difficult essay I have ever written. It feels that way because I grew up in a world where I was taught that it was best for me to hide my emotions, never speak my truth, and live my life unnoticed. Our society raised me, and many others, to believe that we cannot change the status quo, and those who try are utopian dreamers who cannot be taken seriously.

For a moment, I forced myself to believe this was true. It seemed easier to erase myself from the equation and avoid taking responsibility for the world around me. But as years passed by, I realized that this mindset didn’t bring me any joy or consolation. In fact, in the long haul, every time I chose to look the other way or not share my opinion on matters I cared about, I was just contributing to maintain in place a system that I do not agree with. 

It was in solitude that I began questioning what were the origins of my thoughts and first reactions. I wanted to draw a line on my reflections to be able to distinguish what was truly me and what was a fabricate idea that I had learned to repeat as my own. Exploring the borders of my own self, I started to know my territory more deeply. 

Ironically, searching for me, in an attempt to reclaim my individuality, I learned that we cannot build lasting efforts without the power of community. More importantly, I realized that often, the people who populate our lives hold the key to our answers.

I started this lifelong quest about six years ago, struggling for at least half of that time to find the direction I should go. I am conscious that each of us has our own journey to follow, but I do believe that it doesn’t have to be so hard all the time.

Important knowledge should be easier to access and made in a way that we can all understand. We should all have a safe space to share our experiences and grow in an environment where we feel seen and heard. Also, we don’t always need to be alone in those decisive moments of our lives. And this is where Les Échangeurs comes in.

Building bridges between individuals and ideas

Échangeurs is the French word for interchange road. I know, I know, our name might not sound so fancy now that you know its meaning, but that’s not important. What I want you to reflect on is the vision of a road filled with people coming and going in all kinds of directions, driving different vehicles, and traveling at different speeds. Some are familiar with the road ahead, some are tagging along with a friend, and some are feeling completely lost even with their GPS on.

In an ideal world, we would all know how to reach our destination safely. In our real world, what we can and should do to fully appreciate the journey is seek true connection with those who share the road with us. That’s what we aim to accomplish with Les Échangeurs.

Who are we

Our magazine is created by a group of people who are persuaded that it only takes one person to make a change. We come from different backgrounds and have a diversity of opinions, but we all come together in our desire to promote dialogue and exchanges with those interested on reflecting on the meaning of Life with a capital L.

We are not here to pretend we are better or wiser than you; we are just as lost as everyone else participating in this crazy experiment called living. But we do believe that we can learn together about what exists beyond our own realities.

Our format 

As an independent magazine, we aim to be a space that nurtures trying and error. We want people to think outside the box and reconnect with the reason we all got online in the first place: to be present, to change and to grow.

This means reflecting on how we perceive the world and the people around us. For us, art has a transformative role in how we relate to these matters, so the work of current artists and our own relationship with creativity is an axis that we will explore in our editions.

We want to give space to creative writing with personal essays, political pieces, and interviews with artists and everyday people. For us, diversity is important, and we don’t want to be trapped in our mental bubbles. To prevent this, each issue will be written—in Portuguese, Spanish, French, and English—by our permanent team and special guests.

Our November issue

Love is at the center of all our actions, even when we are not conscious of it. Yet, we still struggle to talk about it in an honest way. We tend to perceive love as something abstract, just an emotional state. We feel it or we don’t, and this way, we avoid reflecting consciously on how we love and how we let ourselves be loved by others. Our discussions about love, especially in mainstream media, are marked by taboos and the notion that talking about love is out of fashion.

For us—and we hope for you too—talking about love is the only pathway worth taking to change our inner world and the world we all share. So, for this first short edition, which you are about to discover, we wanted to explore these questions more deeply.

We hope you enjoy what we’ve done, and we are eager to hear your suggestions on what you would like to see from us and how we can do better.

May you find inspiration and enjoyment in these pages.