Month: November 2010

celebration, Christmas, holiday, New York City

Step 314: The Holiday Season

Christa Avampato

Around this time of year, a lot of people complain about retailers pushing along the holiday season. “Christmas candy is already out and it’s not even Thanksgiving yet!” they say. I’m okay with that – retailers, put the idea of Christmas in our heads for as long as possible. I’d do just about anything to lengthen the holiday season – the joy, the decorations, the music, the cookies. New York City becomes a truly magical place during the holidays. I’ll take as much of it as I can get.

This past weekend I walked by Bryant Park and saw that the ice rink and holiday market was already busy. And you haven’t even packed away your Halloween costume, you say? Who cares?! It’s the holidays. Bring it on! Get the most out of this holiday season in New York City – see the Nutcracker, check out the holiday windows at Bergdorf’s, listen to some carols, pay a visit to Santa, and go see one of the great big beautiful trees decked out in more lights that you can count. Here’s a comprehensive guide to all of the festivities in NYC – http://www.nycgo.com/?event=view.article&id=245898. Make the most of it and happy holidays!

risk, teaching, yoga

Step 313: No More Waiting

Christa Avampato

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~ Mark Twain

The anticipation of beginning is always more frightening than actually taking the plunge. At the edge of the cliff, we hesitate. We look back and see all that we have to lose by moving forward. Even if what we have isn’t exactly what we want, it’s comfortable. So long as our dreams live “out there”, in our mind’s eye, they remain perfectly intact. No disappointment. No embarrassment. No potential admission of failure.

There are few things that make me cringe more than the possibility of regret. I’ve been putting off the effort I’d like to put into Compass Yoga because of the risk. “I have to wait to get space,” I tell myself, but the truth is that I’ve been scared to go for it. My biggest fear: what If I offer weekly classes and no one shows up? What if I can’t break even? Or worse, what if people come to the class and they hate it? These are the nagging fears that have kept me making only incremental progress in my yoga teaching.

On Sunday morning, as I was enjoying my extra hour in bed thanks to the end of Daylight Savings, I woke up with such a clear idea of what to do. I couldn’t think of a single good reason to continue waiting. It’s time for me to throw caution and fear to the wind, rent a space for a weekly class, and get going on the marketing of it. I’m going for it. Starting in January, I’ll be giving a weekly class for $10 / person, donating 20% of the class fees to charities selected by the students, giving them the tax deduction. I get to teach a weekly class, students get affordable yoga, and the world gets a little brighter with the donations made to nonprofits that the students care about.

Bye bye, safe harbor. Weekly class details to follow in the coming weeks. I hope you’ll join me.

change, choices, creativity, imagination

Step 312: Growing Imagination

Christa Avampato

“Even as you research, you are filtering out the things that do not resonate with your inner ideals and choosing what does. In doing so you are telling the universe to narrow down the infinite possibilities, focusing all the combined energy of co-creation on what you have chosen. This creates a channel through which your goals can find you, like a beacon in the vast darkness of the universe. Today you are the creator of your future, and your only limits are the boundaries of your imagination.” ~ My horoscope from DailyOm on Friday, November 5th.

My friend, Laura, introduced me to DailyOm horoscopes about a year ago and I am always amazed by their ability to strike just the right chord and help me to feel okay with where I am. I read the horoscope above on my phone just as I was leaving Brian’s office. I was talking with him about a shift in my career that I’m hoping to make in 2011, as well as some other plans I’m making for new projects. I’ve been toying with different ideas and filtering as needed. I explained to Brian that the filtering process can be a little frustrating because it seems to take so much time and the pay-off builds in such small increments.

I’ve started to believe that every creative act requires more editing than content. The initial recording of the idea is important, though the culling down, the focus, and the distillation of what matters and how to execute it are equally important. And that focus is needed if we want to truly expand and grow our imaginations to their full potential. And the incredible thing about imagination is that once we choose to embrace it, celebrate it, and nurture it our goals really do find us. This isn’t magic; it’s only the harvesting of all the seeds we’ve sewn for so long.

change, time

Step 311: An Extra Hour

Christa Avampato

“All my possessions for a moment of time.” ~ Elizabeth I

I never believed it would happen, that life would go by faster as I got older. This year has flown by for me, and the holidays are just around the corner. So many of my friends have talked recently about the passage of time, how one day falls into the next and before we know it too many days have gone before we’ve all gotten together again. I know every second of every day passes by at the exact same length as every second that came before it and everyone that will come after it.

I think times goes by more quickly once we fully realize just how fleeting it all is. When we see the lines start to creep around our eyes, when we see our parents start to grow older, and when we have to start checking the next demographic box on market surveys we realize time doesn’t have to ask for our permission to pass by and it doesn’t care about whether or not we accept it’s passing. It has a stubborn mind of its own. It will go on, with or without us.

I thought a lot about time yesterday as we got an hour of it back. The end of Daylight savings time is the one day when we get that 25th hour we so desperately crave. And you know what? It didn’t really matter that much, just like it doesn’t really matter if we have a little more money or a little more luck. We are remarkable creatures of adaption. If suddenly days shrunk to 23 hours, we’d find a way to still get everything done. We’d flex. We always do.

care, health, teaching, yoga

Step 310: Healing by Example

Christa Avampato

“The physician who knows only medicine, knows not even medicine.” It would follow that the care-taker that does not care for themselves cannot care-“fully” for others.” ~ Mark Twain

Yoga City NYC is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in yoga and wellness, two giant common interests among many New Yorkers. In their newsletter last week they published this quote by Mark Twain. It reminds me of how important it is as a teacher to not only compose a well-organized yoga class, but to practice what I teach in my daily life for my own benefit. To give care, we need to receive care, too.

For the new year, I am exploring new opportunities to teach yoga to under-served populations in unconventional spaces. Caregivers are a population I’m particularly keen on because it would help me to lever up my impact. If I can help caregivers be well, then they can take care of others more effectively. Caregivers come in many forms – doctors, nurses, teachers, coaches, mentors. They give of themselves every day, but how often does anyone give to them?

I hear a lot of people, especially moms, say that they just don’t have time to take care of themselves because they’re too busy taking care of everyone else. The truth is that taking care of themselves is the best way that they can care for others. We can’t give from a deficit – the math just doesn’t work that way. So if we really want to heal and care for others, we need to heal ourselves first. And there’s not a single selfish thing about self-care; it’s actually the most generous thing we can do. What we give is rooted in what we have.

Uncategorized

Step 309: A Review of Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

Christa Avampato

“I’m going for it. You only go around once.” ~ Anthony Bourdain

I’m a phenomenal eater and dinner guest. I always bring a gift, I will wash dishes, and the only thing I don’t eat is mayonnaise. I remember starting college at Penn in West Philadelphia, a very ethnically diverse neighborhood, and realizing just how many kinds of food there were in the world. Ethiopian, Indian, Vietnamese, Korean. I learned that although Spaniards, Peruvians, and Venezuelans all spoke the same language, their food was vastly different and was decidedly not the Tex-Mex I once associated with all Latin cooking. Philadelphia was my introduction to the world of food.

History was one of my majors at Penn, and I love food history. I love cookbooks that read like adventure stories and convery the cultural understanding and insights that are wrapped up in food from a specific country. You can learn a lot about people by what they cook and eat. I started reading Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, the journey of Anthony Bourdain’s mad ride from lowly summer dishwasher to Executive Chef at Brasserie Les Halles, one of the top restaurants in New York, and am entranced by his storytelling.

I had a brief and unremarkable career in the restaurant business, composed of:
1.) 2 weeks as a server at the Rocking Horse Ranch when I was in high school. I was terrible.

2.) A summer as a cocktail waitress at a local bar in my hometown. I was also terrible. I didn’t drink then, and therefore didn’t know what any drinks were when people ordered them.

3.) A summer hostessing job at the Ground Round. This I was pretty good at because all I had to do was smile and say “right this way”.

4.) A barista at several coffee shops through college and during my early career. I was actually a decent barista, even though I didn’t drink coffee then. (Now I drink it every day and realize I missed out on this pleasure for far too long.) It kind of felt like I was inventing every drink I made, and I loved the scent of coffee and the baked goods that went along with it. That counter between me and the customers made it far less stressful than being a waitress.

5.) After I left theatre, I worked in a restaurant for about 2 weeks as a waitress – I sadly realized I had gotten even worse at this skill as I got older. So I threw in the towel on any possibility of taking up a career associated with a kitchen and have never looked back.

Kitchen Confidential made me realize why people take up careers slaving over a hot stove, torturing themselves with long, irregular hours, and working their way up a very long, unforgiving chain. There’s nothing glamorous or sexy about life in a kitchen. What food does offer is a pathway into the hearts, minds, and souls of others. It can heal, nurture, and teach. It brings people together, fosters friendship, and sparks love. Food is at the heart of so many cherished memories. It can transport us.

I don’t think my career will ever take a turn back into the food business, but I certainly have a new-found respect and admiration for the art of cooking and serving thanks to Bourdain’s brutally honest culinary tales. Chefs are societal heroes. Do yourself a favor and take the trip down memory lane with him. It’s well worth the time.

(Warning – this book contains some pretty crude language, which I find fabulous because it’s wrapped in unbelievably good storytelling. I marvel at the power of a well-placed profanity because I have no idea how to use them in writing, mostly because I don’t use them very often in my every day life. I have a feeling Bourdain spends a good deal of his day practicing the use of curse words so he’s a master at it. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, so I wanted to provide a word of caution. Cheers!)

government, hope, politics

Step 308: A Letter to President Obama

Christa Avampato

Dear President Obama,

While last night’s election results may seem like a referendum on the policies you’ve advocated for over the last two years, I think they are a greater reflection of the fear that so many people feel about this new economic level setting. It can be tempting to voters to think a change of power will bring a change of scene. People want the good ol’ times again, or at least what we thought were good ol’ times.

I graduated from the Darden business school in May 2007 into what my classmates and I thought was an unstoppable economy. 6 months later it was all-to-clear to us that we had built our short-term career aspirations on a tremendously unstable house of cards. We had to rethink those dreams, at least in the short-term. Maybe even delay them a bit or alter them.

But our underlying confidence in our abilities to make positive contributions to the world around us did not waver, and your confidence shouldn’t either. We needed you to take up the seemingly insurmountable challenge of the Presidency two years ago, and we need you now more than ever.

Change worth having takes time to build. There are a lot of people in this country who haven’t lost heart. I haven’t, and I hope you don’t either.

Uncategorized

Step 307: Gratitude for Ordinary Moments

Christa Avampato

“Do not wait for extraordinary circumstances to do good action; try to use ordinary situations.” ~ Jean Paul Richter

On Sunday morning, Phin and I were taking a walk in Central Park. It was so beautiful outside, one of those picture-perfect New York Fall mornings that confirm my belief that New York is my home. We wondered for several hours enjoying the foliage, the soft wind, and the sunshine. A little girl who is ordinarily afraid of dogs thought Phin was so cute that she put aside her fear and gave him a pat on the head. “This is huge for her. Thank you so much,” her mom said to me. I was glad we could help. We then walked under the footbridge that leads to the Met, and as we emerged on the other side I was unexpectedly overwhelmed by a sense of happiness and peace. Everything in that one moment was just perfect.

I’m nearly finished with writing a post a day that focuses on extraordinary living. I have seen, experienced, and learned so much on this journey. It has been a year filled with surprises, some happy, some sad, and all worthwhile. The most surprising discovery has just recently started to make itself known to me – that extraordinary living doesn’t really have anything to do with exotic vacations, a fancy job, the amount of money or prestige we have, or how well-received our ideas are by others. It has much more to do with finding extraordinary joy in very ordinary moments – taking a walk with my dog, cooking a meal, commuting to work, and having coffee with a friend. If we can find happiness in those everyday moments, then there’s nothing that can impede an extraordinary, well-lived life.

The photo above depicts Central Park during the height of Fall. It was taken by BrownRice.

books, election, government, politics, vote

Step 306: Review of More Davids Than Goliaths by Harold Ford, Jr.

Christa Avampato

I saw Harold Ford speak at a Hudson Union Society last month. His talk prompted me to get his book More Davids Than Goliaths: A Political Education. Mr. Ford comes from a political family, and has spent the majority of his career in public service. In the past few years he has held positions in the private sector, and interesting and educational detour from his life in elected office.

It was especially interesting to read about his history. We went both went to Penn, and his stories about his undergraduate life held a special place in my heart because I understood the backdrop and context. My mom has my siblings and I volunteering on political campaigns as far back as I can remember. This was true for Mr. Ford as well. He’s passionate about education and health care, issues that are at the top of my list when I consider how I’ll vote during an election.

Some of his insights were new learnings for me. Though I’ve volunteered on political campaigns, I have never managed one or developed a campaign strategy. I’ll admit that prior to Mr. Ford’s book I never really understood how or why certain decisions are made on political campaigns. The routes traveled by candidates and the messages they deliver along those routes are so carefully plotted. His book tells his own personal history and bids for office; it also serves as a primer for understanding national political campaigns on a very detailed level.

What struck me the most throughout the book is how hard he worked for his offices, the ones he won and the ones he lost. The effort he exerted never wavered. He was relentless in his efforts, and all he asked in return was to be heard honestly and fairly. And he did sincerely ask for every vote he received. Through his words I have a new-found respect for anyone who runs for office. Putting yourself out there and withstanding judgment is an uncomfortable thing to do but it’s the only way to make societal progress on a broad scale.

Despite his loss in Tennessee’s Senate race, I hope he doesn’t give up. He has a long run way in politics ahead of him and our country needs political leaders with his integrity and charisma. Our future depends on them.

Today is election day, please cast your vote. Not sure where your polling station is? Click here.

writing

I’m featured today on ZENyc

Christa Avampato

My friend, Amanda, write ZENyc, a blog that’s both beautiful and helpful to New Yorkers looking for a little more peace in their hectic lives. This morning I have a post featured on ZENyc about the joys of being a beginner. Check it out here.