Beauty Behind The Darkness
Embrace The Dark To Step Into The Light
I grew up Catholic. I went to a Catholic school from pre-k to 8th grade, went to a public high school, Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers, and for college I went to SUNY Plattsburgh and transferred right back to a Catholic university, St. John’s to be exact. I was baptized, had my holy communion and even my confirmation.
I would go to Catholic church every Sunday by choice with my grandmother on my dad’s side and we would grab pizza or get roasted chicken from the supermarket afterwards. In my 20s I would go to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan on Tuesdays to be exact, and pray to the Black Madonna, or as some may call her, Our Lady of Czestochowa, anytime I felt I needed to pray for thanks or support. I would recite my Hail Marys or participate in rosary prayer with the senior citizens. I was always the youngest one. I will say I was somewhat religious. But did I follow all the rules? No way. Do I know the Bible inside and out? No.
In 2012 I began to explore different aspects of spirituality because I always had a natural curiosity about other faiths. It started with chakras, then astrology, then numerology and I could go on. To the point where I was somewhat teaching people that we are surrounded by symbols and once you know the meanings you cannot unsee them. I could no longer look at marketing, ads, or anything the same way again. It was like I could see it all from my Third Eye.
As a Haitian American, my curiosity into spirituality was bound to happen. I was led down this path, not forced. I began to look into the dark side of spirituality, the side that society never wants to acknowledge or deal with even though it is part of our daily lives. Everyone deals with shadow and light energy. Again, back to Yin and Yang. There is a little light in the dark and a little dark in the light. It is up to you to embrace it.
Because I have this perspective I don't use the terms good and bad when it comes to describing people. I do believe some people have deep psychological wounds or spiritually, a dark entity that influences their decisions. So some people can be inherently evil. It is up to you, however you choose to view that. If you want a deeper look at this concept, watch the TV series Evil. It follows an unlikely trio, a skeptical forensic psychologist, a Catholic priest in training, and a pragmatic tech contractor, hired by the Catholic Church to investigate supposed miracles, demonic possessions, and other paranormal events to determine if there is a scientific explanation or if something truly unholy is happening. I absolutely loved this show because it is a real look at how people perceive things differently. One sees through a spiritual lens and the other through an objective one, both trying to make sense of the same scenario. But the spiritual lens sees way more and goes far deeper than the objective one.
The Western world treats a psychic crisis as a pathology, whereas shamanic cultures view it as the birth of a healer.” - West African Shaman Malidoma Patrice Somé
I believe we have all done things that were considered bad for the greater good. Take this for example. If you are being robbed and someone wants to kill you, you fight for your life and accidentally kill the intruder. On the flip side the intruder breaks in and successfully kills the homeowner. Either way someone got killed. Both took the same action. However the intent behind it is what makes it different. But technically they both killed somebody. Some people have to walk on the dark side for their own protection.
Everyone has their own astrological chart and every single person has their own path to walk. Of course we have the power to choose, however there are certain experiences and lessons that are not optional and are part of a bigger plan for your spiritual development. So when someone faces their greatest challenges or goes down a dark path of addiction, abuse, or even takes a life, that is their story. It is up to them to decide if they have learned, evolved, or if they will repeat a karmic cycle.
Just because your dark story isn't the same as someone else's does not mean one is more valid than the other. Am I justifying the actions of people who mistreat others? No.This is not about that. It is about the fact that every person has a greater story and must bring together all aspects of themselves (dark and light) and embrace it fully so they can be free, transmute their dark energy, transform it into light, and become a teacher for those who have walked similar paths. Once you get to the other side, you develop a sense of confidence that no one can take from you. You faced challenges that most people would never have the courage to face, or you woke up, recognized your patterns and transformed. You never know how people will turn out.
“What do we do with the difficult parts of ourselves and our lives? Understand them, integrate them, and transform them.”
Seeds need to be planted in the soil, in the dark, so they can blossom into beautiful flowers and produce fruits and vegetables. A caterpillar must create a cocoon of darkness to become a butterfly. In order to grow into the light you must first move through the dark. When you are at your lowest or you feel there is a sense of lost hope, that is your signal to experience yourself in a different avenue or lane. Explore and shift even if it means making mistakes or doing something out of the ordinary. Some of the greatest projects, bodies of art and business ideas are born out of people's darkest times.
In 2016 I wanted to host a Halloween art event for my old brand La Petite Taste called Beauty Behind the Darkness.
I originally had a photographer lined up to collaborate with and found an artist through the Raw Artists platform to do the body paint. I met the model randomly on the train in NYC, asked if he modeled, took his information and invited him to collaborate on the photoshoot for my brand. At the time my brother worked for Ksubi so I grabbed a couple of pieces and we went up to my rooftop in Brooklyn. With my luck, the photographer cancelled. So I grabbed my cell phone and shot it myself. You're probably wondering if this project was created during one of my darkest times. Yes
I believe there is a beauty behind the darkness and it is not a coincidence that the shame and hatred of the dark side has manifested physically into the hatred of Black people.
From the history of slavery Black people have a history of transforming everything that was given to us as scraps, leftovers and restrictions. Centuries later slave food is now considered a culinary staple, chicken wings, oxtails, I could go on. In 1786 in New Orleans, Governor Miró decided that Black women needed to be visually marked as belonging to the slave class. So they passed a law forcing all women of African descent, both enslaved and free, to cover their natural hair in public with a headwrap called a tignon. You know what happened next? Black women took that mandatory covering and turned it into an art form. The tignon became so intricate, so colorful and so beautiful that it evolved into a global fashion statement and a powerful symbol of identity. Every time it is about transmuting the challenge into something beautiful.
The so called "dark side" of humanity, Black people, has a natural gift of taking mediocrity and turning it into excellence. I believe that is part of our story and our history. No matter how excellent or extraordinary we can be, we are constantly faced with people who refuse to acknowledge that being dark creates light. Every time those who claim to be the "light" push us into the dark, we transmute that energy and still produce greatness. And that extends beyond us. That is why some people's stories consist of walking on the dark side to stay in their light. It is a spiritual warfare after all. I believe if society embraced their own truth and acknowledged their own lack, we could all find a better balance in how we coexist and interact.
And it does not stop there. Once you view people and situations from a different perspective you begin to realize that all the “isms” and “phobias” are projections and a lack of internal energetic balance, not necessarily based on logic. A judgmental Christian man who shames sex and controls women is probably deep down a beautiful queer man. How often do we hear that story?
That is why when it comes to religion, I believe it is a good foundation to steer you toward what is right and wrong. However, religion can be so polarizing that it can steer you away from your truth, at times. I believe everyone has a right to explore and if it is meant to be, you can always return to Christ, Yahweh, Allah and Buddha. Whatever works for you. This is your story.