I’m a little off today. Maybe it’s because I’m 34 now. Maybe it’s all of the awakening that’s happening in my yoga practice that’s making me a little loopy. Could be day light savings time is causing me some adjustments. Or the new job. Or the fact that I have a really bad sore throat for no reason at all because the rest of me feels just fine. Despite the day off yesterday, I’m exhausted today. Exhausted as in I’m finishing this post and falling into my bed, literally.
I’ve also been having this weird little sense of wanting to curl up and cocoon, which is completely out of sync with what’s happening in the rest of the world. Spring is springing, and I feel like I should be springing, except for this tiny little fact that I’m craving the sensation of being low, near to the Earth, and grounded. How is it that yesterday I felt so in tune with the world and today I don’t feel in tune with anyone or anything? What’s going on?
On the subway this morning, I began reading the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Hindu scripture that nearly all yogis refer to in their practice in some way. In the introduction, the translator wrote the line “personality is a process.” He goes on to talk about conflicting emotions and the general conundrums of living an existence on this Earth, even though we are heavenly beings. He talks about the push-pull of living, and it appears, at least at the beginning of this reading, that the only way around this is through. We must persevere.
So that’s what I’ll do. I’ll just keep going, even though I’m confused and unsure. Many times I think that perseverance may be the one thing I know how to do well. If I trust the process, then I trust that the answers will come.
Published by Christa Avampato
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
View all posts by Christa Avampato
Well, Christa, we all have our off days. Nobody’s perfect.
So, cheer up. You will not only survive, but thrive for sure.
Personally, meditation is a daily habit. So, if I miss my session, I have an off day. It is as simple as that.
For you, the reason may be different (and for others too).
Oh well, that’s life. Pick yourself up and get back in the game: that’s the lesson I learn every time things don’t go my way. Some words of inspiration from a poet?
“The lives of great men and women
All remind us
We too can make our lives sublime
And thus departing
Leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time.
The lives of great men and women
Reached and kept
Were not attained by sudden flight
But they, while their companions slept
Were toiling upwards into the night.”
You are going to do just fine. Just give yourself a little time and you will recover. Be patient and kind to your self.
Move gently and peacefully with the ebb and flow.
Tomorrow is another day, after all, better than today.
Cheers!
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“Just as cotton is swayed in the direction of the winds coming and going, so should one surrender oneself to one’s enthusiasm, and in this way one’s supernormal powers will thrive. ” ~~~Shantideva ch. 7 v 75
You are a blessing and your light will only continue to grow stronger enabling us all to see.
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Thanks, Beth. I love love love this quote. I’m going to use it for my blog and credit you 🙂
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Nice webpage,have a fine day
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