Month: July 2010

change, future, yoga

Step 193: Changing Course

Christa Avampato

“How much pain they have cost us, the evils which have never happened.” ~ Thomas Jefferson

“Fear paralyzes; curiosity empowers. Be more interested than afraid.” ~ Patricia Alexander,
American educational psychologist

Thomas Jefferson and Patricia Alexander talk to us about worry and its cohort, fear – that nagging little voice in the back of our minds that has us concerned with circumstances we cannot control, imagined scenarios, or thoughts akin to “what makes you think you can do (x)?” I’ve had this ill of worry since I returned from Greece. Greece and the Greek people I found to be a beautiful; the yoga retreat fell short for a variety of reasons – the biggest being that I just didn’t fit with the school of thought being promoted. The yoga, as defined by the retreat, was not my yoga.

I’ve been on the worry path wondering, “now what do I do? How do I move forward? Or worse yet, do I not move forward at all?” After a number of conversations with friends, the worry has subsided. I won’t move down the path I thought I was going to be on. I’m hopping off that train and looking for a new road. My yoga doesn’t exist where I thought it should be. It’s out there somewhere – destination TBD. I’m not standing still, just making the conscious decision to move on.

It’s hard to leave the nest, the nurturing home that felt right yesterday, and today which I recognize is not my own. For the next little while, I’m going to try out a few different styles and follow my gut to find what’s right for me. My friend, Laura, and I have talked about planning a retreat in the near future, the kind of retreat we’d like most to be on, because we don’t need permission any more to “do”, just the will to give it a go. Details to follow.

Worry can paralyze us – it has certainly paralyzed me for the past week. I slept a lot, talked to friends who could help me reason through my disappointment and disillusion, and considered how the future may take shape, a different shape than I’ve been planning. At the moment it’s a tiny speck out there in the distance. The next few weeks, I’ll be trying to bring it closer and more into focus.

food, health

Step 192: Why I joined a CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture)

Christa Avampato

I grew up in a rural area in upstate New York. At that time, CSAs did not exist where I lived. Eating local was the only affordable option.

Now, our societal eating habits have made a 180. Cheap food comes from many miles away, is mechanically manufactured rather than raised and harvested, and is largely unhealthy as its practically steeped in “sanitary” chemicals we can barely pronounce. American consumers are now in a catch 22 – how to live within their means and eat healthfully is a complicated matter. Too complicated for even many PhD scientists to decipher.

Sorting out the myths and marketing in grocery stores is a complicated puzzle. I recently watched the movie Food, Inc., both a realistic look at our modern food chain (which is scary) and a possible look into our future of supporting sustainable, small-scale agriculture (which is hopeful). The findings in the movie are so horrifying that I needed to do something, to somehow participate in supporting a more sustainable lifestyle and local farmers who are trying to do the right thing.

To do my own little part, I signed up this year for a CSA, a group of people who get together and pre-pay for a season’s worth of weekly fresh deliveries of fruits and vegetables (and sometimes eggs, meat, and pasta) from a small-scale local farmer. I found mine CSA through http://www.justfood.org. I paid $250 for 20 weeks of fresh veggies – $12.50 / week. A good deal. I’m trying some new vegetables that I’ve never even picked up in the store – bok choy, anyone? – and it feels good to connect with other people who care about the local eating movement.

Our CSA’s farm is in Connecticut and we’ll be able to visit later this summer. For now I’m enjoying my plates of fresh produce knowing that my small contribution, combined with the contributions of others may be at the beginning of turning back to a healthier past.

The photo above depicts a recently weekly delivery of radishes, parsley, and a variety of leafy greens from my CSA.

community, work

Step 191: The Respect of the Few or the One

Christa Avampato

“The respect of those you respect is worth more than the applause of the multitude.” ~ Arnold Glasow, American author

For my social media class at LIM College, I’m planning to set up a series of projects that the students will complete so that they actually participate in social media, not just consume it. The class will include a section on analytics, which gets at a core question with no clear-cut answer: “Was the campaign effective?” Which begs the question, “What does effective mean?”

It’s easy to measure clicks, site visits, comments, even to track a social media consumer’s journey through an entire site. What’s not so easy to measure is inspiration, influence, and respect. When building communities, online or off, it’s worthwhile to consider whether our primary goal is a large group or a highly-engaged group, no matter what the size. Did they respond to our call to action? Did they take up their own project thanks to our courage to carve our own path?

Some say that [mass] imitation is the highest form of flattery. I’d rather a single, simple email, phone message, or comment from someone I admire that says, “nice work.”

change, choices, education

Step 190: Structured Flexibility and Flexible Structure

Christa Avampato

“At the moment of commitment, the universe conspires to assist you.” ~ Goethe

This morning I had a terrific meeting with Dudley Blossom, the head of the Marketing Department at LIM College where I’m going to teach a class this Fall entitled “Guerilla, Viral, and Social Media Marketing.” We were tossing around ideas for the syllabus, getting it all down on paper. My first draft netted out at 6 pages, about 4 pages too long. To do that much editing, we needed to go back to the basics. Simplify, simplify, simplify.

This subject is so interesting because just when people think they’ve pegged the future of social media, there’s a beautiful disruption that takes content creators, consumers, and trend analysts in a new, never-seen-before direction. The way that the social media world exists today may be turned on its head by the time we wind up the semester in December. Still, we need to give students a sense of direction and give ourselves a way to change direction if the market warrants it.

What we need for this class is structured flexibility, or flexible structure. Social media, like yoga, like writing, like performance of any kind, needs to live in this in-between world. We have to be able to adapt on the fly. The more I think about my life and its directions, the more I see that I’ve been working on the skill of adaptation for many years, from so many different angles. A millieu of commitments made and commitments changed. As my friend, Amanda says, “You can choose 1 side or the other of an argument, but sitting on the fence is the weak position. And know that if convincing, contrary evidence is presented to you, you can change your position.”

I’m taking Amanda’s sage advice, and applying it to my syllabus for the LIM class and my life in general. Choices, and conviction behind those choices, do have a magic to them.

The image above can be found here.

Uncategorized

Latest post on Owning Pink

Christa Avampato

My latest post on Owning Pink is up: “Okcupid tells me that now the world is my oyster“

Uncategorized

Changethis.com accepted my e-book

Christa Avampato

Changethis.com accepted my e-book, Hope in Progress. Voting has begun. Would love your support and it only takes a click! http://ow.ly/29ku6

career, passion, work

Step 189: A Good Enough Day Job

Christa Avampato

I went out last night with a friend of mine and we got on the subject of day jobs, a job someone has that financially supports their pursuit of interests that may have nothing to do with how they earn their paycheck. I’m passionate about writing, yoga, and teaching, and I’m slowly working my way toward making more of my income from those sources. In the mean time, my student loan collectors require payment so it’s off to work (at a day job) I go.

Lately, I’ve been feeling a little badly about my day job situation, wanting to make more of my income from activities that I’m truly passionate about. My friend whom I spoke with last night is a tremendously gifted writer and comedian. She’s a freelancer who makes her living as a content strategist and project manager. She’s found her freelancing work gratifying enough to make her living, and not too taxing so that she has plenty of energy and creativity to pour into her writing and comedy. She has such clarity about the role of her day job in her life, and her attitude made me feel much better about my own situation. Making a living from a passion takes time, and that’s okay.

I thought about my friend in light of the many statistics that I read about the job satisfaction of Americans. These stats only look at day jobs. They don’t account for the real passions of American workers, which may be far different from the jobs where they earn their paychecks.

Everyone owes it to themselves to have a passion. If you can turn that passion into a career, then make sure to applaud your ingenuity and efforts. And if for a while you need a day job to keep those passions alive, know that you’re not alone. There are plenty of us in that same boat. Some people find that they prefer this arrangement, that they want their passion to stay their passion rather than tying a paycheck to it that may diminish their enjoyment of it. It’s all about finding the balance between work and passion that works for you, and that’s something that we all control individually.

schedule, time, writing

Step 188: Routines and Rituals

Christa Avampato

For most of my life, I have fought routine. I thought routine would make me boring. I thought routines were a waste of time and lacked creativity. That changed when I started writing every day about 3 years ago. I’ve liked writing stories since I was a little kid, but I never really made a routine out of it. I just wrote when the inspiration hit me.

Later in life, I realized that practice makes better. Even with natural talent, practice is a necessity for mastery. And I wanted to be a master writer, so I set myself on the path to writing every day no matter how tired or uninspired I felt. I went to the screen or the notebook, and recorded some thought. Like a physical muscle, my writing chops improved considerably. I look back at some of my early blog posts and laugh at how bad they were. I think this is healthy – laughter and the realization that practice does indeed help.

I noticed a marked change in my writing about two years ago. I could write more quickly and with greater clarity. My mind started making connections and developing deeper insights. My readership started growing too, because I was promoting my writing and also because my content improved considerably with daily practice. My writing routine crossed the line into ritual, becoming not a chore, but a pleasure I looked forward to. And writing made my life easier because it helped me make sense of even the most complicated, messy situations.

This morning on my way to work, I began to consider other routines that I could develop into rituals with more practice. I’ve started taking a nicer route to my office. I meditate every day. I do at least 10 minutes of yoga every day, even if that means just a few sun salutations or seated postures. I love to watch CBS Sunday morning with my coffee and the paper. I’m thinking of finally getting a dog in New York, and that care will develop a routine of its own.

Routine isn’t the boring, tired-out activity I once saw it as. It’s what gives our lives purpose and focus and very often, peace.

Do you have routines that have become rituals, or are you starting some new routines in your life? I’d love to hear about them!

I found the above cartoon here.

travel, yoga

Step 187: A Greece Recap

Christa Avampato

I’m finally back from Greece! Despite 24 hours of flight cancellations, delays, security issues at the Charles de Gaulle airport, and too-long lines for luggage and customs, I prevailed and made it back in one piece. I wasn’t actually home until today but the fact that I’m not still in Athens (thank you, Air France) is somewhat of a miracle. I feel like I’ve been away for a month.

The yoga retreat was entirely different than anything I expected it to be. Greece is beautiful and I practiced with a group that has many more years of yoga experience than I do. Most of them are teachers so I was able to get to the edge of my practice every day. I did write in my notebook daily, though I have to admit I really didn’t enjoy the unplugging. I missed being on this blog every day and interacting with my on-line pals.

In Greece, I did learn quite a bit about myself, and for that I’m extraordinarily grateful. The retreat environment is interesting, though I have to admit that I am so happy to get back to my life. Here are the lessons I reflected on each day that lead me a bit closer to an extraordinary life:

Step 179 – June 28th:
Life is a balance of being and becoming. Too often I get hung up on where I am or where I’m trying to go. The key is to balance out the two on a daily basis.

Step 180 – June 29th:
If you let go, you will float. We had a boat and swimming trip in the Caldera just off the coast of Santorini. I was nervous about it because I only learned to swim a few years ago and feel very uncomfortable in the open water. No one in my family swims so the open water is not a natural medium for me, despite my love of being near the ocean. In Santorini, I put myself into the open water, trusted I could swim, and be okay. And I was. I trembled and released my grip on the shore and swam in those crystal blue waters. I let go of fear and disappointment and the need to know exactly what would happen. I learned that if I give myself the space, I will rise.

Step 181 – June 30th:
Knowing what not to do is helpful. There were some things that I loved about the retreat, and some things that I really didn’t like at all. At first, I grew very disappointed with some experiences on the retreat, and then I realized that these disappointments were tremendous opportunities for learning. They taught me how to be a better teacher, and ultimately if I end up ever organizing a retreat of some kind, I’ll keep this list of “do-not-do”s handy.

Step 182 – July 1st:
Take unexpected invitations. I met a fantastic group of women that I think I’ll be doing some traveling with in the future. I was loping home from practice one afternoon, exhausted, when I was greeted by one of my fellow yoginis on Santorini’s main drag. She was going to dinner with a few others and asked if I wanted to go, too. I was planning on just slinking back to my room, and instead took the kind offer for dinner. So glad I did. We ended up going on a fun road trip around the island, hanging out at the local beaches, and swimming in the ocean. Their presence made my retreat so much better!

Step 183 – July 2nd:
While I enjoy vacations, I love my life. After a few days, I grew tired of the oppressive afternoon heat and the split shift yoga sessions. Santorini is beautiful but it didn’t hold my attention for long. I found myself re-invigorated about living in NYC, something I very much needed. I met a woman from France who explained that she has 9 weeks of vacation and she spends all of the others weeks looking forward to and planning vacations. Sad. 80% of her life is lived for the other 20%. I never want to have that. If 80% of my life isn’t working for me, I need to change something in that 80%.

Step 184 – July 3rd:
I really am a city mouse now. I grew up in the country surrounded by trees and grass and squirrels. I loved it, though now I’m glad I live in a vibrant, dynamic city with loads of variety. The city is the place for me, and that was helpful to learn. Santorini was beautiful, but Athens made me feel alive.

Step 185 – July 4th:
Yoga is a path whose ultimate destination is a happy, fulfilling life. If I can use yoga to improve the lives of others, I’ll be thrilled. And if I find that someday yoga doesn’t make me happy, then I’ll stop doing it. On the retreat, I found that I have no interest in being the world’s most flexible, accomplished yoga superstar. I have no desire to devote my entire being to everything yoga and nothing else. Some people do, and I support them in that quest. For me, it’s a tool and a way to let the light into my life in great quantities, just like my writing and the people I Iove.

Step 186 – July 5th:
You don’t have to take what you’re given. The powers that be at Delta airlines told me I’d get home on Thursday, two days from now. I spent hours running back and forth between Delta and Air France trying to get a flight back to New York City yesterday. There were a lot of hurdles, starts, and stops. And for some reason, despite the long lines and constant stream of no’s, I kept persisting and it paid off. It took me over 24 hours to get from Athens to New York, but I made it. If we really want to get home, we can always find our way.

I hope you had a lovely week and holiday weekend. I’m back in full writing force, and so grateful to be here with you.