We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kyonna Floyd a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kyonna, we are so appreciative of you taking the time to open up about the extremely important, albeit personal, topic of mental health. Can you talk to us about your journey and how you were able to overcome the challenges related to mental issues? For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.
Every day I am constantly evolving. I find true comfort in that. Sometimes as women of color, we feel the need to be perfect all the time. There is always pressure to always be on top of things. But one day, I realized I am just a human being. I am just a vessel. If I want to be able to pour into others i need to have something to pour in the first place. This urged me to tap into my spiritual side and learn who Kyonna is. What she is supposed to be. Once I realized my purpose, I focused on that and let it be my guide. I believe i am supposed to heal my community with my art and aura. Me understanding that if I don’t show up for myself, I cant show up for others pushes me to take my healing seriously. If I don’t show up then why am I here? When I ask myself these questions, my will to live out my purpose supersedes my will to stay in bed all day. Now, I’m not saying there aren’t days I just want to lay in bed all day and cry. I allow myself those moments. But I never sit in it. What good is that when there are other women that needs someone to hold them up? So all in all, God, my purpose, and other women push me despite the depression. Somebody has to show up and I want to be one of them.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I have been engulfed in the arts since a young child. It is quite literally all I know. At first it was just something i enjoyed doing with friends. The ability to tell stories through music, acting, and dance always intrigued me. But, it wasn’t until i reached high school that I really understood the Power of Art. When I was heavily involved in the drama ministry at my childhood church, a woman walked up to me crying. She told me that she hadn’t laughed in months, and she asked God to send a sign to keep pushing forward. She thought it was going to be a word from the preacher, but instead it was uncontrollable laughter and joy that inspired her to keep pushing. It was at that moment that i learned that this art can be a form of healing. From that point forward, I vowed to use my gifts to heal my community in any way i could. From there I dedicated my collegiate education to learning the art of storytelling through, acting, writing, and art. However, when I reached college I went through trauma that caused all my desire to create art to decease. It wasn’t until then, that I turned to candle making and aromatherapy to lift me up from a dark place. Id often find myself in candle shops for hours, just to lift my spirits. It led me to be curious about aromatherapy and wanting to make my own candles, I birthed my candle company, Zene’s Aromatherapy in 2021, and through her I am able to travel throughout my community and bring awareness to mental health disorders all while linking them to something we all love- Candlemaking! Since starting my company, I was able to heal and find my love for art again. I have been in an constant state of storytelling and I am always trying to find new innovative ways to tell the story of Black Women. We have so many layers that I want to explore and I am in a constant state of awe and introspect. I am currently working on a short film and am apart of an apprenticeship program (O’MIAMI) that allows me to experiment with my writing and mental health advocacies. I’m currently finding joy in figuring out ways to fuse my candle company with my art. Poetry has been a new found love and I intend to showcase it in all of my work. I am also working on a possible program that will allow me to go to different highschools in my city, and teach students about mental health through aromatherapy and candle making! What makes my company so special, is the commitment I have to make EVERY person i encounter, leave with a little extra joy. Even when i have people come to my table with no intentions to make a purchase, I make it mandatory to still treat them like a buying customer. At all of my market places, i make sure i have flowers and a mirror to encourage my customers to love on themselves a little more. I encourage affirmations in the mirror to even a simple dance. The goal isnt to sale candles for me. Yes, it is nice, but my true mission is to heal my community one vessel, one laugh, and one hug at a time. The smiles and physical transformations i see from women simply looking in the mirror and saying “Girl, you are the SHIT’ , cant compare to any dollar amount. Its a constant reminder that this work i do is spiritual and true healing. I could never stop.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The first quality I feel is the most important for any journey is a willingness to go through a constant state of ego death. I’ve learned that my ego feeds self-sabotage. pride, and stubbornness. All of these things have held me back from greatness. When I finally learned this I was able to welcome one of the most important factors in my success- community. When one says “it takes a village”. there is no exaggeration. I thrive best with my village around to encourage me. We are all just vessels pouring into each other. When ones vessel is empty, we have no problem with pouring into the next to get it full. The last quality that I feel is extremely important is a “Do it Anyways” attitude. I personally still struggle with this one, but moving with a spirit of fear will get me nowhere. I rather live with a bunch of “no’s” before I live with a bunch of regrets. So these days I am actively working on executing any idea or desire that pops up in my head and heart. If I am sure my intent is clear and pure, I’m going for it. I find these thigs to be the key to anyone success- A willingness to enter ego death constantly, a village, and a do it anyways” attitude.
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
My biggest area of growth honestly… has been finding the beauty in the stillness. I took a chance on myself and decided to be a fulltime artist and candle maker. At first it was fun, but once savings start to dwindle and reality begins to hit, you learn that the only reason I could fail is me. Forcing myself to trust God and be still is one of the hardest things I have done in my life. However, I learned the quality of my time. I found myself doing a whole bunch of nothing. Finding pointless things to do just to fill my day and say “I did something today”. Nothing had true value. Nothing I did really set me up for my next step. it wasn’t until I started being still and sitting in the uncomfortableness, that I started to grow and do intentional work. I began to find myself writing films and poems I started but never finished. I found myself finding the quality in my surroundings. I found a story in EVERYTHING. So these days, I try as often as I can to just be still. “It is in stillness she is able to find herself”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.zenesaroma.com
- Instagram: @Iam.She111 and @zenesaroma
- Facebook: @zenesaroma
- Other: linktree: IAMSHE111
Image Credits
feature photo :(black top) Darshae Zamari. My photography: black man with roses and me in brown background all candid shots: Shot by my students from previous years
