We have all had them, dark times. Moments when it’s hard to get out of bed, when we question those around us, when we question ourselves and look in the mirror with uncertainty.

I wish that I could say that I have only had these moments a few times in my life but I would be lying. I have had some serious dark times in my life and they have taught me so much. Just like we have light and positivity, there is negativity and darkness. They both coexist to make life and matter what it is.

I used to spend a lot of my life running away from darkness but the older and stronger that I get, I now face it head on because I have seen that instead of dancing around it, we must overcome it to build character. And, once we do, we walk taller, we feel stronger and it shapes us.

Here are 3 things that got me through some of the darkest times of my life:

1. Divine intervention.

I have always believed in God. Not the God that makes us conform to a specific religion but the masculine energy of creation that is the source of love, light and abundance. The complement to Mother Nature. They coexist to make The Universe.

Even though I always believed in God, I have not always had physical proof but times when I need it the most, The Creator showed up for me. An example of this is when I was in a toxic relationship where we would drink a lot together. One night, I got so drunk that I forgot I had spent my last cash on drinks but my check from work was about to clear the next day.

Even though I offered to pay him the next day and he could hold onto my passport in the meantime, the taxi-driver started yelling at me and called the police, I was crying and mortified. Out of nowhere in the distance, I saw three people in the shadows. They looked like angels in the light. As they came closer to the cab, their first question was why I was crying and I was taken aback that strangers could see how harsh I was being treated but we’re still so kind to me.They proceeded to pay my cab fare, I thanked them and then I walked a block home.

On the way to my apartment, I was shook about what just happened and I took a moment to take it in. I wondered what had just occurred and had witnessed the power of The Divine that I had always believed in. This loving force didn’t judge me, didn’t tell me I was a mess, this love didn’t tell me that I could do better but gently supported me in the right direction.

I felt God’s love so strongly and it nudged me in the right direction, the day afterwards I signed up for a thirty-day hot yoga challenge and quit drinking for three years.

2. Strangers

This may sound odd but although I have loving people in my life, now more than ever. Some of the most sincere exchanges have been with strangers.

When I moved back to New York as an adult, I used to work a café in The Lower East and met all walks of life. I would meet people traveling through, come across actors and producers who were filming, artists who had shows coming up and warm and friendly neighborhood folks.

Even though I hardly made any money, I learned to love and appreciate people. There was not one day that a story or person didn’t put a smile on my face. I had the fortune of experiencing true and genuine kindness from people who didn’t want anything from me but a genuine exchange.

3. Understanding that health is important.

I don’t remember a time in my childhood until early adulthood when I wasn’t on a diet, not eating or bulimic. I suffered from a serious eating disorder. Something that I learned from The Matriarchs in my family. It was instilled in me that my weight and size determined how far I get in life.

I am now an advocate for health. But, back then I wasn’t. I remember having fainting spells, people asking me if I ate and still feeling fat. One of the moments when I woke up from this spell of needing to be very thin was when I was in a modeling competition and one of my competitors asked me if I ate, I lied to her and said yes. I then asked her why she asked me that and she said that my thigh was half of hers. I didn’t believe her and told her that that was impossible. She asked us to compare in the mirror and I saw in the reflection that my thigh was half the size of hers. I couldn’t believe it.

I had thought that I was fat and was overly exercising, not eating and would throw up my food but was not satisfied until that comparison. I’m not sure if my competitor knows this but I think she saved my life. Although my food issues would resurface later, at that moment I saw how I had made my fatness up in my head. Once I could clearly see it, it made recovery (not easy) but a lot easier.