As a writer, I am tasked with articulating the human experience. My characters must resonate with readers by being relatable, honest, and sometimes, outlandish. In 3D, relating to each other can be a bit more precarious. It is easier to trust the person on the page than the one sitting next to you on the subway. Then, there are people whose radiating presence penetrates the hardened façade of strangers making them feel at ease. Tamala Baldwin is such a light.
Tamala is a renaissance woman for the millennial generation. TV Host, Speaker, Producer, Author, and Businesswoman top the list of her amazing talents. This year, she had added actress to that impressive list. Tamala is staring in the Curvy Girls Rock: The Series, fulfilling a dream which fear had held her back from for many years.
Three years ago, Tamala interviewed me to discuss my debut novel, “Ruth’s Awakening: A Love Story”. Who knew three years later, I would be blessed with the opportunity to return the favor. I
- What is your gift? Describe your journey identifying, owning, and sharing that gift?
For the longest time, I believed my gift was that of performing. Though I absolutely LOVE to perform, I learned that my true gift is so much deeper than that. The reason I believe I was born was to share the gift of human sunshine. Sunshine can change anything, transform anything, re-make anything, and cause anything to become as beautiful as nature intended. In this lifetime, I have been able to experience an enchanting union with the radiance of my own soul and I feel positively free, as if nothing could ever stop me because of this sunshine. My gift is to share these sunbeams to everyone I meet and one of the ways I feel drawn to do that the most, is through storytelling. We are so blessed to be alive. We are so fortunate to have the luxury of time to evolve into greater expressions of ourselves through the experience of life. Capturing the human experience in order to help others tap into deeper awareness of their own sunshine . . . that is my gift.
Coming to this state of awareness has been extremely difficult. As someone that is so open to the light, navigating the shadow or darkness was definitely part of my journey. As a child, God shielded me from internalizing what I saw, but that shifted in my 20’s. It was as if my Creator opened the gates of heaven and I experienced the harshness of life for the first time. It was as if I left home and wandered in the wilderness. Of course, in my infancy, I thought this was a punishment, because I TRULY never experienced REAL sadness even though I grew up in the hood and saw a lot of things during the 80’s. Yet, I realize that the wilderness is not a punishment. It is an invitation to become aware or conscious of your divinity, who you are and the paradise that you come from.
This awareness of GOD being closer than breathing is forever expanding, so even though I have this amazing love buzz in the center of my heart, every day I am being purged and cleansed of fear, guilt, doubt… of anything that gets in the way of experiencing more TRUTH. For example, it was only after the passing of my mother did I realize there was a part of me that was afraid and was still hiding. We all hide and it is only until we REALIZE and see it for ourselves can we step from behind it and into the light.
- What is fear to you? Describe an instance when you have had to overcome fear.
My fear was that I was not the ideal weight to act. The goal of the media is to tell us what to think and somewhere along the line, I told myself that I was too fat (I am a size 12 and sometimes a 10) to pursue acting. Yet, after experiencing the loss of my mother, it allowed me to release that. Losing the person that loves me the most in life freed me from the lie that I was telling myself, which at the root, was that I wasn’t good enough, pretty enough and so forth.
Let me tell you, releasing that untruth has been so freaking liberating! It was like a weight, I didn’t even know I was carrying, was lifted.
Fear is anything that keeps you from experiencing the Truth. Fear is a weight that can paralyze you from fulfilling your purpose. Fear is a deceiver and a lie. Fear is something that keeps you hostage and dims your light. Fear is that bad friend that holds you back from doing what God has called you to do and will use any means necessary to manipulate you. The only way I know how to handle fear, is to seek refuge with God, my Creator and the Lover of my Soul. I don’t address fear. I don’t ask fear to flee. I ask God. The reason I was able to release the fear about being too big to pursue acting was because I prayed to God day and night for clarity on my purpose. After losing my mommy, I was so confused about what I was meant to do with my time here. Should I go back to working a 9 to 5? Should I stop performing and teach? I had no idea what to do especially since I am a caregiver for a mentally ill sibling. Since I knew I was coming from a place of fear, I asked God, who is my Ultimate Protector, Lover and Best Friend. When I say who God is to me, I mean it with all of my heart. We go together and so when I go to “him” it is one of the most intimate part of my day. God loves us so much that there is no need to look at the fear. Casting our gaze upon LOVE is all we need.
- What do you want viewers to take away from Curvy Girls Rock: The Series?
Curvy Girls Rock is the second series I booked since I became awake to this fear that had taken up residence in my mind. The other series I am also working on is, “Asunder”, which can be found on Amazon Prime in 2018. When I booked, “Curvy Girls Rock: The Series”, all I could do was smile at the synchronicity since this series stars women that are curvy in size. All I could do was smile at God at this opportunity that was a direct reflection of the fear I had just released. All of us are born with purpose and to add sunshine. No matter what is happening around us, what has happened to us, where we went to school, or what we look like – we are here and charged with purpose. “Curvy Girls Rock”, was a wink from God affirming that truth and we must never believe the lies we tell ourselves. Rather, to trust the greatness, the love, the sunshine that dwells within us.
Being the light may sound a little cliché but every platitude starts as a commonly accepted truth. Humans radiate light and absorb it. We need it to live, grow, and thrive. Light requires a fuel source. We call that source God. When we connect with God intimately, his light flows through us. Thank you Tamala for allowing the light of God to shine through you to us.
You can follow Curvy Girls Rock: The series by subscribing to its Youtube channel of following its Facebook page.
When you see an opportunity to make something positive out of dark places, not only for your own life but to share in spirit with others, that is genius. Good work!
You are so correct Donna! Light is expansive.
AMEN!! Thank you so very much for taking the time to read lady Donna! Have an amazing holiday.
Being on that doesn’t like reading, I found myself enjoying this interview. I actually read it twice. So many of us allow society to define who and what we and and will become. This was an inspiration. A definite eye opener for a lot of women. I hope it blesses other women as it did for me.
Thanks Angela. Please share this article to bless others. 🙂
Angela… that means so much to me… :))))))))) Thank you for taking the time to read it and for this awesome comment. Have a wonderful holiday!
What a wonderful moment when we can finally look fear in the face, with both feet firmly planted, and move forward in our faith as if we’ve never encountered fear in the first place. Such an awesome testimony to growth and perseverance. Thank you Tamala!
So freeing to not be held back by fear.
WOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!! Thank you so so much Archeila!!!!! It is something we constantly have to grow through to experience our next level.. thank you so much!
I always feared I would never be as good as my siblings who are all leading successful careers in the business world and medical field. I knew i had to do something about it. I quit my 9-5 job and pursued my love for creative writing. It was a struggle at first which increased my fear of failure but I did persevere. I am now perfectly content with my life, and earning my keep doing the thing I have loved all my life – writing. Thank you for this article. It was definitely uplifting!
Thank you from moving from fear to purpose. Awesome!
WOOOOHOOOOOOO cheers to creating your happy!!! Thank you so much for reading!! YAYER!
This was really inspiring especially when you said fear can only been drowned by our creator. That taught me a lot.
Thanks for sharing!
Roses of Life
http://www.cerielss.wordpress.com
Hey Eneke. Thanks for stopping by!
You are welcome!
Hi Queen Enele! Thank you so much!!! SO SO MUCH!
Lovely interview and insightful responses from an articulate and inspiring woman. thank you for sharing it. I’m going to have a look at the Curvy Girls series – it sounds wonderful!
Hello Rachel. Welcome to the Super Nerdy Church Girl. I am so excited for this series. Thanks for reading!
Rachel you are going to L-O-V-E it!! WOOOHOOOOO!!!! Thank you for the kind words and for stopping y.
What a lovely interview from an inspiring lady – thank you so much for sharing, Fear is such a strange concept to overcome, and its an ongoing thing for myself. I’ll have to check out the Curvy Girls series, it sounds wonderful.
Hi Rachel. I so agree. Thanks for stopping by! I can’t wait to watch Curvy Girls Rock!
Loved the Interview! Particularly liked the fact that Tamala talks about her fears so clearly and what the media nowadays sees as the perfect girls! Well done her for standing up to herself.
Hi Amalia. Thanks for stopping by! Fear keeps us from so many amazing journeys. Tamala is a brave woman.
Amen. I agree.
I really believe that each of us can be a light to others. It’s just a matter of choosing to be one! What an inspiring read.
So true. we have to believe in the light within ourselves, that our experiences are important.
Tamala is someone who I would definitely class as a role model. She like you is a beautifully poignant writer who has overcome struggles to get to the place that she is at now and she so deserves all the success. I wish her the best of luck on her journey x
I concur. It has been a pleasure interviewing her and sharing her story with the world.
Beautifully written, and an interesting read. Both you and Tamala seem like wonderful women!
Thank you kindly. I appreciate you visiting!!
I just love Tamala! She’s such a sweetie and every time I come across her work I smile. That’s probably why my favorite quote from the interview was “The reason I believe I was born was to share the gift of human sunshine” I also really liked when she talked about feeling like she wasn’t enough. It’s something we can all relate to. Sadly, it took losing her mom to finally see it differently. x
Hello Alison. It is peculiar how the toughest situations lead us to such beautiful revelations about ourselves.
What a wonderful interview loved all the responses from such a beautiful person. Tamala has such a wonderful and inspiring story, I’m so glad to read this interview! 🙂
Hello Aditi” It such a pleasure working with her. I cannot wait for the Curvy Girls Series and Asunder!
Thanks you for sharing this article, it means so much to inspire a woman, this has entrusted a new confidence again in me. We need to work what our conscious needs and move out of the dark patches in life positively learning from them.
so true! Thx for stopping by!
It’s lovely that 3 years after she originally interviewed you, you were able to return the favour! You both sound like such strong, empowering women, so kudos to you both x
Thank you kindly. welcome to the site.
What a fun interview! If you were a mystery author, I’d invite you for an interview at Mystery Sequels. Sadly I don’t interview romance author (unless they write romantic suspense novels). I’ve so far interviewed authors like Peter James, Aline Templeton, and David Khara. If you ever write a mystery novel, do hit me up 🙂
Mystery, hmm? Not a bad idea! welcome to the site.
What a great interview. The passage on fear particularly resonated with me. I used to be almost incapacitated by fear through constant worrying and the enevitable anxiety attacks. It’s a very destructive emotion and it’s only use is to give rise to anger. Yet ANOTHER negative emotion. I’m very glad you have found a way to eliminate it 🙂
Hi TheSHugrheds. Thank you for stopping by!
WOOOOOHOOOOOO Thank you so much for taking the time to read it!!! I totally appreciate it. I hope you are no longer incapacitated by fear!
I hope that all women can overcome the fear that you have described (which your words seem to be what my mind does to describe fear as well) I love the human sunshine line as well. This is a great read that I will be sharing with my lady group!
It is a constant battle for me. I have to remind myself that fear is not of God. I choose to challenge fear as it arises in my life. Thanks for reading and sharing!
Thank you so much for sharing with your lady group. What is it called? I’m curious now 🙂 And we are constantly being called to remove fear, which is anything separating us from experiencing more of God.
What an amazing article. Tamala, your honesty is so refreshing. Thanks for sharing your new belief system and your courageous journey!
Welcome to the site!
This was a very enlightening and uplifting blog post. I thoroughly enjoyed. So much TRUTH was spoken. God made no mistake with us, let us each see ourselves through His eyes, walk in our purpose and continue to shine our light in this world. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
So true!! Thanks for reading.
Very inspiring interview! Motivates me to face my fears and chase my dreams!
Awesome! Thanks for visiting.
it’s so lovely to meet and learn more about Tamala, she is definitely inspirational and I can’t wait to see the series!
I can’t wait either. Tamala is so inspiring! Welcome to the site.
What a wonderful interview. I love that she sees her gift as sunshine. Such a blessing to recognize and share it.
we could all use more sunshine in our lives! welcome to the site.
Wow loved eading Tamala’s wise words. I cant wait to check out Asunder when it comes out!
Hi Jennifer. welcome to the site. I am highly anticipating Asunder, too.
Congratulations for this interview. She ia truly an inspiring lady. More if this kind of interview!
Thank you Blair for stopping by!
Such a lovely and great interview, these are the types of interviews I love to read.
Thanks for stopping by!
Honestly, I really enjoyed this post and I must say Tamala Baldwin is a very inspiring woman with a very impressive resume. Great post
Thanks for stopping by!