Fluorescent Beauty

 “her soul reminds me of petals on a flower, sweet, delicate, and full of beauty underneath the layers of her skin. “

– herbeautyspeaks

BEING BLACK

so, I’ve been up for an hour and I am a firm believer in knowing that everything occurs for a particular reason. Now, at first I didn’t realize why I was up, but then I began to pitch ideas of a project for a shoot and thought that was the reason, but quite frankly I was wrong. I am not truly sure how to start this which is okay. . . . i remember growing up people always questioned who I was, not only where I belonged in society but more so speaking in terms of my nationality, my background, my ethnicity. I am a woman, born & raised in the streets of New York. I am a woman whose parents hail from Jamaica and Guyana. Most, usually don’t guess what I am which has grown on me over the years. For some reason, people singled me out as a young girl, wanting to tell me what I was and all of their so called “reasons” as to why I wasn’t black or why they felt I wasn’t black enough, whatever that means. And I have to be real and say that for many years I felt the same, I felt as though I didn’t want to be put into a box, when it came to who I was and everything in between. Although, I still do very much feel that way, this outlook of mine has changed on many perspectives.

Over the course, of a few years maybe more than so, God has been challenging me. He has been allowing me to see the very pieces of myself that I didn’t necessarily recognize or want to realize about who I was / who I am. Maybe, some of you might understand fully on how I feel. As these months, have been approaching I have been growing in more ways than I would of ever imagined. Not solely speaking on the physical aspects of things either, but mostly pertaining to what is within. The Lord has been placing words that have been encouraging the heck out of my beautiful brothers and sisters of color, and I have to say that I’ve been loving every second, minute, hour, day, month, of it all. Most know me to be quite soulful, if you will and being given this opportunity to speak on what means the most to me, is something that still leaves my heart speechless to this day.. I don’t share these words, or anything that the Lord has for me to for any apparent reason or cause at all. I believe everything I do whether good or not so good (let’s be honest here, cause I am still human despite what I allow you to see) is for a purpose. Writing has always been a significant part, nope let me scratch that out, and say that over again. Excuse Me, ART has always been a significant part of who I am. I was never one who had an interest in playing sports or anything of that nature, I was and still am more so interested in being an artist, one who expresses herself genuinely, one who has grown immensely, one who creates for a reason that is beyond herself, one who truly tries to live to inspire.

I am proud to be black. I am proud to be the woman that I am. I accept the mistakes, decisions, and actions that I have made. I am just like you, therefore you are just like me.

I decided to share a beginning of a very meaningful piece called “BEING BLACK” , this wasn’t created to bash nor put down any other race or ethnicity but to uplift the souls and very skin of people who have been mistreated, disrespected, and taught to be ashamed of who they were, this is for you.

BEING BLACK

“being BLACK is who we are and we cannot stop being who we are to appease you. we as a people carry the stories of an enriched history within the pores of our skin.”

– herbeautyspeaks

____________________

as always,

much love & peace,

– herbeautyspeaks

ARTIST TO ARTIST

Today, I am sharing a very beautiful and gifted woman of God. Her name is Jasmine but most know her as jaszyfrsh. She is such a wonderful being, and I am so glad that I am able to help her out in any which way that I can, Jasmine is a photographer, one who feels as though it is very important to showcase emotion and her love for what she does throughout the body of her work. I try my best to support other artists because we all need love, and motivation in order to continue our given journey. It isn’t always easy being one who enjoys expressing themselves through a form of art. At times, it can be very overwhelming, but we as artists feel the need to create and give our supporters a piece of who we are anyway.

Jasmine is working towards becoming a full-time photographer, and although she has been working with what the Lord has blessed her to have. She is looking forward to taking her passion and overall career to a new height, so to speak. Jasmine as well as myself would greatly appreciate it if you would be so kind to sow a seed into her gofundme account to assist her in getting closer to her expected goal. This isn’t truly about the money, but more so of the vision that she feels God is leading her to follow through in.

I will be providing the link below, as well as I would like to say that even if you aren’t interested in sowing the seed, which is quite alright. We would still highly appreciate it if you would spread the word and support our fellow artists.

Jasmine’s Gofundme account – www.gofundme.com/my_vision

Jasmine’s Photography Site – www.jasminejenkins.com

Once again, I thank you for taking the time out to read this. The love and support doesn’t go unnoticed. Please, be aware of the fact that these self portraits of Jasmine, were not taken by herbeautyspeaks.

much love & peace,

– herbeautyspeaks

THE MORNING OF 8:52

Happy Friday People! I must say that God is amazing, always has been and always will be. I am not going to lie the struggle has been real. In the midst of the struggles, God has gave me the beautiful opportunity of being able to still help others along the way. The Lord has placed this liberating idea of a series that will help bring awareness of the struggles that men and women go through as a whole. I believe that it is quite important to talk about the things that hold us back as a people. Yes, I know that some things aren’t meant for everyone to know which is fine. But. I feel as though the Lord is allowing me to create this series to show that we all are the same and it is time for the love and support to be known. I too have been through some experiences that I believe the Lord will led me to speak on in due time.

I don’t really care if people still like me after I share all that the Lord is leading me to or not. I want to be used by the Lord even in the midst of the hardships, because after all you, me, we, are all human. Mistakes and decisions are going to be made that aren’t always of good conduct but as long as we look to God to overcome and for strength everything will get better. Now, I am not saying that those times will completely disappear but what I will say that those times will seem easier to bare because you have peace in knowing that God is with you every step of the way, there is no need for you to feel otherwise or feel as though you have to do otherwise.

I will be allowing the Lord to continue led the way, despite all of the bumps and waves that arise. I believe that the Lord is working always, even when we feel that He isn’t. I’ll leave you with this scripture, Romans 8:38-39,

” ³⁸ For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, ³⁹ Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

as always, please remember that I am here for you.

much love & peace,

– herbeautyspeaks

NATURE WALKS

“A collection of photographs that reflect the beauty of the world as I go about daily whereabouts.”

– herbeautyspeaks

MORNINGS WITH HIM

4 AM, was made for our skin to be underneath the softness of warm cotton sheets where we recite the lines that have been racing constantly upon our minds, where we are one, and not as though you are thinking, you know not so much sexually driven but more so us two being in a world where only you and I exist, and our souls are able to feel comfort as one another sleeps.

– herbeautyspeaks, mornings with him.

Inspired by a poem called “Cab Rides & The Morning After” written and performed by Alysia Harris

LOVE

” We are often told that we cannot love someone we don’t know, but I believe that to be untrue. I love you, merely because you exist and I find that to be more than enough for me.”

– herbeautyspeaks, in all honesty.

EARLY MORNINGS

Good Morning, I really hope everyone’s day is starting off well. It is a beautiful raining morning, down here in Atlanta, and I must say that I truly adore the rain. The sound of the rain soothes my soul and brings forth a feeling of comfort / peace. I know it’s not early well at least not where I am, it’s about 11:38 in the morning ( I know it’s not so much of an early morning, at least not for me. but hey the beauty of irony right?) anyway, I felt that nudge within my spirit to elaborate on some experiences of mine. So, last night, I happened to come across some old pieces of writing that were written last year which left me in such awe and a fleeting amount of memories. let’s look back about a year ago, I remember when the Lord placed this whole blogging idea into my mind, It was all new to me and I took as another way to reach other souls who were in need. As I still do feel the very same way today, which is a major blessing in itself. I believe the Lord allows specific seasons in our lives to occur to help us grow as the humans that we are. Most times, when the situation / situations are taking place it seems as though our world is about to crumble into a million pieces. I remember times in my life, for instance when I first started writing poetry I was about 15 or 16 years of age ( a freshman / sophomore in high school ) and during that time, I was still trying to figure out who I was. Upon those moments, which broke me in more ways than I could fully explain, I was lost, hurt, ashamed, angry, anything and everything that you could think of negatively I was.

To keep it real, to be quite frank, I honestly couldn’t see myself pass who I was then. I would say to myself “I am probably just going to think this way for the rest of my life”, I didn’t see pass the glass mirror that was reflecting heavily before me. I could sit and recollect wondering how it would feel to whole heartily love every piece of who I was meaning everything from the way I looked, to how I carried myself, and beyond. I thought of myself as worthless, as one who didn’t deserve the chance to live, and anyone who knows my story would say how crazy I was to even think such a thing. But, for many of you who may not know, I was born premature, (a baby who was born before the full term mark in pregnancy), I was 1 pound and 2 ounces, I basically lived in the hospital for 5 years, my lungs were not quite developed as a regular full term newborn, which brought forth a severity of issues. The Doctors were convinced that I wasn’t going to live to see the next hour let alone morning, BUT GOD!! God’s plan was way more important than the sayings of fellow men in long white collar coats. *begins praising baby Jesus*,  is much more to this story but I shall share the rest another day or morning/evening.

Let’s get back to the main message of this post, which is to tell you that I have been through some things. I never want anyone to think that just because I am who I am now that things were always this way because that is far from the truth. I will forever be grateful for where the Lord has brought me from, and how his precious hands have kept me from the day I was born and will continue to hold me in the palm of his righteous hands. I believe this is the mere fact as to why I take inspiring others so seriously, because I know first hand how it feels to be otherwise. I am here to inform you that your situation won’t last forever, I am a living / breathing testimony for the world to witness how great God is and how God’s plans for our life is way more amazing than our own or anyone else for that matter. If you were to ask the Destiny, 4-6 years ago, if she would be doing all that she is doing now the answer would be “NO, how could that be, I can’t even stand to see myself in the mirror let alone being able to help another being in a way that is beyond myself.”

I want the world to know that there is hope, there is hope in a man who came to die for our sins so that whosoever believes in HIM shall not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 reads ” For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. – King James Version .. I love you, I am here if you ever want to talk. I am praying for you.

much love,

– herbeautyspeaks

SEASHORES

like the oceans of the sea, I fell for you with every wave and tide within me. as the waves, were lost in control, so was I. like the warmth within the grainy sand upon my toes, you made me feel as alive as I could be. It was beautiful; you made me laugh, you lit every part of my being never once did that light crash and burn, until one day you felt the need to leave a happy home to fulfill your on going selfish ways, boy how have things changed? Now, you wish she would leave, begging me to come back, that’s funny but baby please, unlike before the ocean of the sea that is within me no longer needs you as a guide, or to feel the need of having someone like you touch the body of my shore.

– herbeautyspeaks