0:00:06.747,0:00:09.038
If I am here before you today,

0:00:09.038,0:00:12.779
me, Karine, a 42-year-old woman,

0:00:13.769,0:00:17.322
it's to share a human experience with you.

0:00:18.762,0:00:21.754
No, I didn't invent the light bulb,

0:00:21.754,0:00:24.246
not even the butter slicer,

0:00:24.246,0:00:26.294
and besides, I wouldn't even be able to.

0:00:27.514,0:00:28.762
If I am here before you,

0:00:28.762,0:00:32.791
while my legs, my hands[br]are shaking like never before,

0:00:33.741,0:00:37.251
and my insides at this moment[br]are turning into a liquid state,

0:00:37.251,0:00:38.810
(Laughter)

0:00:39.760,0:00:42.772
it's to talk to you[br]of this ability we all have,

0:00:42.772,0:00:44.794
I am sure of it,

0:00:45.504,0:00:49.276
to transform every hardship,[br]however painful,

0:00:50.256,0:00:54.013
into something positive,[br]first of all for yourself

0:00:54.013,0:00:56.100
and for others as well.

0:00:58.750,0:01:01.799
I am here before you[br]but I should be dead.

0:01:02.719,0:01:05.252
But not from sickness, no,

0:01:05.252,0:01:07.425
not as a consequence[br]of a serious accident,

0:01:07.425,0:01:09.798
no, none of that,[br]but I'll come back to it later.

0:01:12.508,0:01:14.781
There was a time when I had everything,

0:01:15.371,0:01:16.797
an exciting job,

0:01:17.497,0:01:19.513
my soulmate as a husband

0:01:20.723,0:01:22.789
and a child, a girl.

0:01:23.659,0:01:26.759
My existence was following[br]a perfectly peaceful path.

0:01:27.489,0:01:29.498
We both had careers,

0:01:29.498,0:01:31.517
we changed cars regularly,

0:01:31.517,0:01:35.256
we went on vacations,[br]we owned an apartment

0:01:35.256,0:01:39.079
and then we began to dream[br]of a house, a beautiful house.

0:01:39.772,0:01:43.456
My husband would have drawn the plans,[br]I'd have thought about the decoration,

0:01:43.746,0:01:45.766
There would have been a yard for the kids,

0:01:45.766,0:01:48.236
yes, we had decided to have others,

0:01:48.236,0:01:50.026
and for the cat as well.

0:01:50.746,0:01:52.396
In short, everything was perfect,

0:01:52.956,0:01:54.787
comfortably commonplace.

0:01:57.747,0:01:59.277
And then everything fell apart:

0:02:00.767,0:02:04.764
for 3 years, violent events[br]came up one after another

0:02:04.764,0:02:07.294
with relentless regularity.

0:02:08.494,0:02:10.255
First my professional life

0:02:10.255,0:02:12.746
paid the price[br]of a labor court procedure.

0:02:12.746,0:02:14.750
I was the one who took it on.

0:02:14.750,0:02:16.674
Psychological harassment.

0:02:17.244,0:02:18.797
At first, I won,

0:02:19.417,0:02:21.010
then without too much explaining,

0:02:21.010,0:02:22.501
justice took away with one hand

0:02:22.501,0:02:24.552
what they had given me with another.

0:02:25.742,0:02:28.794
I have to say that psychological[br]harassment is so subtle.

0:02:30.244,0:02:34.297
Above all, I lost a lot of money[br]and self-esteem.

0:02:35.497,0:02:38.591
In the middle of all this,[br]I was pregnant with my second child.

0:02:38.591,0:02:40.770
Another girl though, but we were happy.

0:02:41.739,0:02:43.492
I also lost her,

0:02:43.492,0:02:44.655
at birth.

0:02:45.255,0:02:46.780
She died in my womb,

0:02:46.780,0:02:49.255
I had to give birth to her,

0:02:49.255,0:02:51.441
and accept that I would never[br]hear her cry.

0:02:51.751,0:02:54.594
Accept that she had left me forever.

0:02:55.254,0:02:58.075
She was so beautiful, so perfect.

0:02:58.765,0:03:00.991
And then, my husband that left me,

0:03:01.501,0:03:03.785
4 months after[br]the birth of our third child.

0:03:04.255,0:03:07.518
I was strongly set on recovering[br]from my failures though,

0:03:08.008,0:03:10.035
but I lost him too.

0:03:10.475,0:03:12.752
There, that was the final blow.

0:03:15.242,0:03:17.289
That's how I ended up

0:03:17.729,0:03:19.786
lost, alone in the world,

0:03:20.496,0:03:22.253
alone in my world

0:03:22.253,0:03:25.261
that had become a real nightmare.

0:03:25.761,0:03:27.757
A permanent nightmare!

0:03:27.757,0:03:30.243
Filled with suffering, grief,

0:03:30.243,0:03:32.299
fear, and emptiness.

0:03:37.749,0:03:40.501
I had no husband, no job,

0:03:40.501,0:03:41.499
no money,

0:03:41.499,0:03:45.537
with two young dependent children[br]and tons of mourning to do.

0:03:46.227,0:03:48.305
All my dreams had gone up in smoke.

0:03:48.745,0:03:52.071
Getting back on my feet?[br]I thought it was an impossible mission.

0:03:53.511,0:03:57.774
Anyway, each attempt[br]to get myself out of this situation

0:03:57.774,0:03:59.770
by sheer mental force

0:04:00.490,0:04:02.266
ended in failure.

0:04:07.746,0:04:10.806
Finding a job: failed!

0:04:11.256,0:04:14.256
Finding love, in my state,

0:04:15.216,0:04:16.236
failed!

0:04:16.236,0:04:18.276
Oh when it has us in its grip!

0:04:18.736,0:04:20.802
Yes, at that moment, I almost jumped.

0:04:21.252,0:04:23.756
It was from the top of my balcony[br]on the 5th floor,

0:04:23.756,0:04:26.294
one July evening almost 5 years ago.

0:04:26.784,0:04:29.506
I didn't do it, but, you will admit,[br]given my situation,

0:04:29.506,0:04:31.438
the idea was rather tempting.

0:04:32.228,0:04:35.282
No, that day, I made the difficult[br]choice to stay alive.

0:04:35.756,0:04:39.782
I say difficult, because at that instant,[br]to die would almost have been a relief.

0:04:40.492,0:04:45.516
But I made the choice to stay alive,[br]at least in appearance.[br]

0:04:46.756,0:04:48.995
For many months, I was unable to move,

0:04:48.995,0:04:50.529
I just survived,

0:04:51.259,0:04:53.305
with an empty heart,

0:04:54.515,0:04:56.781
a stomach full of heavy hardships,

0:04:56.781,0:04:59.779
that were indigestible.

0:05:04.899,0:05:06.765
The more time went by,

0:05:06.765,0:05:10.261
the more I began to shut myself[br]in my victim skin

0:05:10.261,0:05:12.058
that ended up fitting me wonderfully:

0:05:12.058,0:05:14.777
I had become a master[br]in the art of negativity.

0:05:16.497,0:05:19.553
I am completely useless,[br]I'll never get anywhere.

0:05:20.793,0:05:23.269
Why does fate deal such a cruel hand?

0:05:24.259,0:05:26.506
What did I do to deserve all of this?

0:05:26.506,0:05:29.293
When will the tide finally turn?

0:05:30.333,0:05:33.509
Do you know what happens[br]when you have nothing left to lose?

0:05:33.509,0:05:36.138
Because then, I must say,[br]I had nothing left to lose.

0:05:36.138,0:05:39.195
When you have reached that low,[br]you want it to stop, to change.

0:05:39.245,0:05:40.265
If I was to live,

0:05:40.265,0:05:43.615
I was ready to try everything[br]as long as it changed the state I was in.

0:05:43.745,0:05:47.296
Everything or almost,[br]I remained vigilant, attentive.

0:05:47.766,0:05:50.287
My survival instinct[br]still worked, after all.

0:05:50.757,0:05:54.270
Nevertheless, something strange happened.

0:05:55.260,0:05:57.520
I let go of my last mental resistances.

0:05:58.220,0:06:01.261
I gave up control,

0:06:01.261,0:06:02.732
and everything opened up,

0:06:02.732,0:06:04.774
everything became possible.

0:06:05.504,0:06:09.028
I first met someone,[br]and then another and another.

0:06:09.482,0:06:12.528
New people, some were strangers,

0:06:12.998,0:06:15.800
it was as if we had to be put[br]on the same path

0:06:16.250,0:06:18.516
not for nothing, not by chance.

0:06:18.516,0:06:21.779
It was as if we had to meet, to talk,

0:06:22.489,0:06:24.520
everything sounded very right.

0:06:25.500,0:06:28.655
These people,[br]with simplicity and benevolence,

0:06:28.655,0:06:31.771
showed me a whole different way[br]of seeing things

0:06:32.251,0:06:33.786
with such good sense.

0:06:34.956,0:06:37.771
They taught me about changing posture,

0:06:38.231,0:06:40.773
And what I was hoping for finally came.

0:06:40.773,0:06:42.435
It changed everything.

0:06:42.695,0:06:45.358
Eventually, a part of me decided[br]to get back on my feet.

0:06:45.358,0:06:47.764
A part of me decided[br]to face things head-on,

0:06:47.764,0:06:49.970
pushed me to look[br]at myself right in the face.

0:06:49.970,0:06:52.539
Me, enclosed in my self-victimization,

0:06:53.009,0:06:55.948
I was finally able to take a step back,

0:06:55.948,0:06:57.797
to look at the events from a distance.

0:06:58.227,0:07:00.028
Look, it's like a movie theater,

0:07:00.478,0:07:02.009
If you fix the eye of the camera

0:07:02.009,0:07:04.891
on an element of the setting[br]that is particularly terrifying

0:07:06.501,0:07:09.780
then zoom out again, again, and again,

0:07:09.780,0:07:13.269
put this element back[br]into its global context,

0:07:13.269,0:07:16.984
into its place, all of a sudden,[br]it becomes a lot less frightening.

0:07:17.504,0:07:19.011
I was finally able to bring

0:07:19.011,0:07:21.528
the tragic events [br]of my existence into perspective.

0:07:23.228,0:07:26.287
I was finally able to see the space[br]that remained for the rest.

0:07:26.287,0:07:29.777
And since I was alive,[br]that space was immense.

0:07:32.237,0:07:35.762
Changing posture[br]allowed me to review the story

0:07:35.762,0:07:38.779
while keeping in mind [br]my share of responsibility.

0:07:38.779,0:07:42.358
That's right, we all have [br]a share of responsibility

0:07:42.358,0:07:44.836
in everything that happens to us[br]in our life.

0:07:44.836,0:07:47.262
And saying that doesn't mean[br]beating yourself up,

0:07:47.262,0:07:48.798
on the contrary.

0:07:49.198,0:07:50.509
There is our share,

0:07:50.509,0:07:53.990
which we can act on,[br]understand, intergrate,

0:07:53.990,0:07:55.793
ingest, heal if needs be,

0:07:56.263,0:07:59.536
to change our manner of being,[br]to no longer imitate.

0:08:00.336,0:08:02.761
And there is the share[br]of responsibility of others.

0:08:02.761,0:08:04.537
That which has to be left to them.

0:08:05.247,0:08:07.753
The share that is [br]impossible to intercede on.

0:08:08.253,0:08:12.543
That which you have to let go of,[br]accepting being powerless.

0:08:14.053,0:08:15.765
How arrogant, if we think about it,

0:08:15.765,0:08:18.121
to believe that we have[br]the ability to intervene

0:08:18.121,0:08:20.280
on the part of others' responsibility.

0:08:21.260,0:08:23.600
How exhausting really.

0:08:25.490,0:08:27.796
I want justice to be fair.

0:08:30.476,0:08:33.032
I want my daughter to live.

0:08:34.752,0:08:37.558
I want my husband to stay.

0:08:39.898,0:08:41.751
All this, I let go of

0:08:41.751,0:08:44.414
and I already felt a lot lighter.

0:08:47.744,0:08:49.507
Well I have to confess to you,

0:08:49.507,0:08:52.750
changing posture[br]didn't happen in one day. No.

0:08:53.250,0:08:55.565
Obviously, I made a few round trips

0:08:55.565,0:08:56.820
here and there.

0:08:57.460,0:09:00.757
And obviously, the victim in me[br]came out on a few occasions

0:09:00.757,0:09:02.812
and by the way, it still does sometimes.

0:09:03.742,0:09:07.539
But I see it coming now,[br]and I face it head-on right away.

0:09:07.959,0:09:09.856
It became a reflex.

0:09:11.236,0:09:13.782
Imagine how magic changing posture is,

0:09:13.782,0:09:15.266
how it changes everything.

0:09:15.266,0:09:17.736
Our view of ourselves, of others,

0:09:17.736,0:09:19.146
of life in general.

0:09:19.486,0:09:21.256
It even allows for humor.

0:09:22.006,0:09:25.754
It opens doors, horizons, possibilites,

0:09:25.754,0:09:27.252
and at times even,

0:09:27.252,0:09:30.761
it reveals hidden treasures[br]here, there, on the inside,

0:09:31.481,0:09:32.800
that we didn't imagine.

0:09:33.250,0:09:36.261
Inside me, since childhood[br]there was a hidden desire to write.

0:09:36.731,0:09:38.775
I was doing it, well, it was my career,

0:09:39.225,0:09:41.242
but I decided to do it differently,

0:09:41.242,0:09:42.659
for pleasure.

0:09:43.499,0:09:45.506
So I wrote a text,

0:09:45.506,0:09:47.260
texts filled with humor,

0:09:47.260,0:09:48.764
stuffed with irony

0:09:48.764,0:09:51.029
to talk about my experiences,

0:09:51.029,0:09:55.504
about women, kids, men,

0:09:56.254,0:09:58.771
about women with kids[br]who are looking for men

0:09:59.231,0:10:00.790
and about society in general.

0:10:01.250,0:10:04.256
I wrote one, then two, then 13,

0:10:04.256,0:10:06.754
then I opened a Facebook page[br]to share them,

0:10:06.754,0:10:07.813
and it worked.

0:10:08.753,0:10:10.540
"Bravo, it's basically my life",

0:10:10.540,0:10:12.277
said the comments.

0:10:14.497,0:10:16.044
One day, I compiled them,

0:10:16.044,0:10:19.009
then I sent them to an editor[br]found by chance on the internet.

0:10:19.009,0:10:22.277
The editor needed 40 pages,[br]I had exactly 40.

0:10:24.227,0:10:26.261
I still remember the day he replied,

0:10:26.261,0:10:27.935
this "Yes",

0:10:27.935,0:10:29.790
this setence full of compliments

0:10:29.790,0:10:32.769
that talked about the unanimity[br]of the reading commity.

0:10:34.469,0:10:36.753
Joy brings about joy,

0:10:36.753,0:10:39.826
it brings about effort,[br]the desire to move forward,

0:10:39.826,0:10:41.802
to leave the past behind you,

0:10:42.762,0:10:45.257
without ignoring it, oh no,

0:10:45.257,0:10:47.283
but transforming it.

0:10:48.723,0:10:54.002
Transforming indigestible things[br]into positive things.

0:10:54.762,0:10:58.537
Transforming hardship[br]into experience for what comes next.

0:11:01.277,0:11:03.130
And then I started my own business.

0:11:03.130,0:11:05.240
I had no job,

0:11:05.240,0:11:07.267
I created one fit to my size, made for me.

0:11:08.237,0:11:11.545
Writing for others,[br]articles, brochures, okay.

0:11:12.235,0:11:16.245
But also portraits, story-telling,

0:11:16.245,0:11:17.785
recounting stories.

0:11:18.485,0:11:21.766
Recounting those that do[br]and what motivates to do,

0:11:21.776,0:11:23.292
in depth.

0:11:23.942,0:11:26.768
To find their meaning[br]and to bring it to light.

0:11:27.478,0:11:29.846
I don't really know[br]what life has in store for me,

0:11:29.846,0:11:31.538
but I am no longer afraid.

0:11:31.998,0:11:34.243
I love my life down[br]to the smallest details,

0:11:34.243,0:11:36.270
and if I were to do it again,

0:11:36.270,0:11:37.777
I wouldn't change a thing.

0:11:38.237,0:11:40.744
Because I know that the hardships[br]that I experienced

0:11:40.744,0:11:43.775
contributed to the woman[br]that I am today.

0:11:44.245,0:11:45.796
What a gift!

0:11:48.736,0:11:49.768
I am still writing,

0:11:49.768,0:11:53.030
there is a new manuscript[br]that is circulated in the editors' office.

0:11:53.750,0:11:56.772
Because through my story,[br]I intend to bear witness

0:11:56.772,0:12:01.036
of this power, our power,[br]to change posture

0:12:01.036,0:12:03.787
in order to overcome,[br]to transform everything.

0:12:05.477,0:12:10.295
Hardship into experience,[br]Experience into the power of life,

0:12:11.245,0:12:13.010
yes, I intend to bear witness

0:12:13.010,0:12:14.743
because I know that hardships,

0:12:14.743,0:12:16.508
small or large,

0:12:16.508,0:12:18.313
can affect each and every one of us.

0:12:18.753,0:12:23.249
They have no race, culture, or border.

0:12:25.239,0:12:28.239
In my close environment [br]at the moment,

0:12:28.239,0:12:31.530
there is a woman whose husband[br]is dying from cancer,

0:12:32.250,0:12:36.752
and to stick the knife deeper, their only[br]child has a degenerative disease

0:12:36.752,0:12:40.302
and he will perhaps not[br]be able to grow old.

0:12:42.752,0:12:45.291
I know what this woman will go through.

0:12:46.251,0:12:48.557
Perhaps she will find herself[br]in her turn.

0:12:49.067,0:12:52.276
Perhaps she will not believe [br]herself capable of picking herself up.

0:12:53.246,0:12:55.769
So if my account [br]could help her a little...

0:12:57.739,0:13:00.251
But beyond tragic situations,[br]I must tell you,

0:13:00.251,0:13:01.987
changing posture works every time.

0:13:01.987,0:13:04.760
So there are many situations[br]in everyday's life

0:13:04.760,0:13:08.262
that can put you on[br]the small floating victim's island.

0:13:09.022,0:13:10.532
Imagine,

0:13:12.252,0:13:16.269
your youngest chooses the day

0:13:16.269,0:13:19.506
of that unavoidable business meeting

0:13:19.506,0:13:22.533
to get up in the morning[br]with a 104 degree fever

0:13:23.263,0:13:26.796
"Shit! This kid! This can't[br]be happening, I can't handle this!"

0:13:30.026,0:13:32.755
You light the last candle,[br]the meal is ready,

0:13:32.755,0:13:36.554
you're wearing your [br]special romantic evening dress.

0:13:37.234,0:13:41.543
The telephone rings, it's your husband,[br]he seems embarrassed,

0:13:42.233,0:13:46.285
"Yes, honey, it's me,[br]I'm calling you quickly, I am sorry,

0:13:46.755,0:13:49.531
tonight I'm coming home late,[br]I have a meeting."

0:13:50.751,0:13:53.257
"I'm fed up with this guy!"

0:13:56.497,0:13:59.535
Your boss asks you, kindly but firmly,

0:14:00.755,0:14:02.810
to postpone the day[br]you leave for vacation,

0:14:03.480,0:14:06.245
when your bags are already packed

0:14:06.245,0:14:09.031
and in the trunk of your car,[br]your family is waiting,

0:14:09.031,0:14:11.513
the plane takes off in 2 hours...

0:14:12.503,0:14:15.795
So tired of this shit job.

0:14:18.755,0:14:21.270
Last case, an old lady,

0:14:22.500,0:14:25.005
totally impolite but sure of herself,

0:14:25.005,0:14:27.782
cuts you in the line at the till[br]at the super market,

0:14:28.242,0:14:30.784
pushing you.

0:14:32.054,0:14:34.995
Old hag![br]Floating victim's island.

0:14:36.015,0:14:38.283
Change your posture immediately!

0:14:42.493,0:14:45.794
What is your share of responsibility [br]in what is happening to you?

0:14:46.764,0:14:49.262
What is making you suffer so much?

0:14:49.262,0:14:51.520
What had you planned?

0:14:51.520,0:14:53.771
What are you a victim of?

0:14:53.771,0:14:56.782
And by the way, are you the victim?

0:14:57.752,0:15:01.413
And then, leave the share[br]of responsibility to the others.

0:15:01.493,0:15:06.262
Finally, open up here.[br]Let the creativity come.

0:15:06.742,0:15:11.518
Invent, imagine, laugh, transform!

0:15:16.018,0:15:18.759
It is almost 5 years[br]that I should have been dead.

0:15:20.249,0:15:24.765
If I had been told [br]that I'd be here, now,

0:15:24.765,0:15:28.287
sharing my human experience with you...

0:15:30.777,0:15:33.773
that changing my posture saved me

0:15:33.773,0:15:36.509
and then that it still saves me[br]everyday.

0:15:37.269,0:15:39.760
Because it allows me to be alive,

0:15:39.760,0:15:42.771
so alive, and happy to be it.

0:15:43.251,0:15:44.294
Thank you.

0:15:44.774,0:15:49.688
(Applause)