Month: December 2010

adventure, books, career, celebration, change, choices, creativity, discovery, experience, family, friendship, grateful, gratitude, growth, happiness, ideas, meditation, New York City, story, writing, yoga

Step 365: What’s Possible? A 2010 Wrap-up.

Christa Avampato

“I am neither an optimist nor pessimist, but a possibilist.” ~ Max Lerner

As I cross over the finish line of 365 days of living and writing about an extraordinary life, I marvel at the passing of another year. On December 31, 2009, I wrote a post explaining that in 2010 I wanted to record something every day that put me one step closer to an extraordinary life.

This December 31st post is always fun to write because it’s a chance for me to reflect on the past year and realize how much has happened. Just like flipping through the New York Times’s Year in Pictures helps us remember what’s happened in the world around us, flipping through my posts from the last year lets me remember all the tiny steps that brought me to do this day.

My road to recovery from my apartment building fire:
I was in denial about the true effect it had on me and that brought me to Brian, my coach and therapist, who has helped my life grow in leaps and bounds. By June, I finally felt safe in my home again and could make my apartment feel like a peaceful space.

Stepping into the writing life:
I moved my blog over to WordPress and for the first time in the 3 years since I seriously began to contemplate living a writer’s life, earned enough money to be a freelance writer for hire. This year I connected with so many talented writers – Josh, Laura, Amanda, Erica, Sharni, Will, Sara, the Wordcount Blogathon writers, Katherine, the fab team at Owning Pink, Elephant Journal, and Michael.

I wrote and published my first e-book, Hope in Progress: 27 Entrepreneurs Who Inspired Me During the Great Recessions, a compilation of 27 of my interviews that I conducted with entrepreneurs through my Examiner column.

Yoga at the forefront of my life:
I completed my 200 hour yoga teacher training at Sonicstarted Compass Yoga, my own small teaching company, and will begin teaching a regular Sunday night yoga class at Pearl Studios NYC. Through Sonic I was inspired by the incredible teachers and the 23 amazing women in my class whom I hold so dear after our journey together. My yoga teacher training helped me to establish a regular meditation practice and cured the insomnia I’ve lived with all of my life. I found the joyful noise of kirtan, which re-ignited my interest in music. Yoga led me toward a true contemplation of my faith and spirituality that continues down a very healthy, peaceful path. There are not words enough to thank the people at Sonic for how much joy they brought to my life, but I gave it a shot in this post about our last class and the closing ritual of the training. I am forever and happily indebted to them.

Some wrong turns, too:
I studied for my GRE and despite doing well on the exam, Columbia sent me an email that began “we regret to inform you that you have not been accepted” [into a PhD program in education]. I wrote a curriculum for LIM College that I was tremendously excited about, and then the class was canceled at the 11th hour for reasons that still make me shake my head. I was so excited to be selected to serve on a jury and sadly realized just how imperfect our system is. I still think about the case on a regular basis.

Making peace with New York living:
In 2010 I fell in love with New York City, again and again and again. It became my home. Our love hate relationship ended its many years of turmoil and now we’re living together in a general state of bliss, with an occasional side dish of annoyance, just for good measure and because, well, it’s a very New York thing to do.

A few unexpected journeys:
I conquered my fear of swimming in open water while on a yoga retreat in Greece. I found that mistakes can be joyful.

Wonderful new additions to my family:
We happily welcomed my new little niece Aubree and after years of wondering whether or not I should get a dog, Phineas, a sweet little dachshund, has graced my life via the Humane Society and New York dachshund rescue.

And 10 valuable life lessons that I’m grateful for:
1.) Goodness is created and remembered by sharing what we have with others.
2.) Shouting dreams helps bring them into being.
3.) Stubborness can be a beautiful thing.
4.) We get what we settle for.
5.) Obstacles in our lives are valuable.
6.) We never have to wait to live the life we want.
7.) Letting go is sometimes the bravest and best thing to do
8.) Trusting our gut is the best way to get to get to the decision that’s right for us.
9.) Be thankful for less.

My favorite and most treasured discovery of 2010:
10.) Truly extraordinary living is found in very ordinary moments.

Wishing you a very happy start to 2011. Thanks so much for being with me on this journey that was 2010.

The image above makes me feel free. Find it here.

food, meditation, silence, simplicity, yoga

Step 364: The Secret We Know

Christa Avampato

“We dance around in a ring and suppose but the secret sits in the middle and knows.” ~ Robert Frost

This quote was sent to me by Archan, a very loyal and supportive reader and commenter on this blog. He is constantly feeding me with encouragement and sending along resources, books, and quotes to inspire me. It’s been the very best thing about taking this adventure to write every day and click the button “publish” – I’ve been able to connect with and be inspired by so many people that I may not have met otherwise. A sacred and precious reward.

Over the Christmas week I read The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide by Mary Lou Heiss and Robert J. Heiss, proprietors of Cooks Shop Here. It’s a gorgeous book that takes readers through so much interesting history and cultural influence wielded by tea, the second most popular beverage on the planet. I was inspired to pick it up after I went to a tea date with my pal, Amanda, at a beautiful little spot in midtown called Radiance, a place I highly recommend, especially if you need some comforting shelter from a monsoon like Amanda and I did that day. My interest in tea has been growing steadily over many years, not surprising since Alice in Wonderland is my favorite book and because it’s a symbol of far off lands, adventure, and intrigue. I love that it is something simple and something so complex at the same time. Dichotomies, you can’t beat ’em for keeping us endlessly entertained.

In The Story of Tea, the Heisses include a section about chanoyu, the Japanese Tea ceremony or “Way of Tea”. It is a sacred art that is part performance, part culinary masterpiece and tea masters study it for years. Sen no Rikyu is the most famous of all Japanese tea masters and said to have been the most important historical figure in the development of chanoyu. His students would ask him how he learned so much about chanoyu, how it became a part of him. He always replied, “boil water and drink it.”

Ha ha, I thought. How flippant. Boil water and drink. Very funny. What else? How did he really gain his vast knowledge? And then I realized that tea, like yoga, like meditation, is really very simple. To know it, we must practice it. There is no other way. For it to sink into our bones, we have to make it a part of our every day lives. Practice – that is the only way. We can read books, study with masters, go to every conceivable workshop or class, but what it really comes down to is Sadhana, personal practice. (I silently apologized for my “ha ha” at Sen no Rikyu.)

My yoga teacher, Jeffrey, told me that during yoga teacher training but in applying the concept to tea, I realized how true that is of everything we want to really know. Practice, practice, practice. We have to sit with that practice and let it reveal itself to us. How right Robert Frost was. The secrets that we want so much to know are already known, we just have to be with them long enough to hear them.

The image above can be found here.

change, meditation, New Years Eve, yoga

Step 363: 4 Ways to Bring About A Transformation

Christa Avampato

“What we think determines what happens to us, so if we want to change our lives, we need to stretch our minds.” ~ Wayne Dyer

On Monday I wrote about caterpillars. Yesterday I wrote about focusing on goals of value rather than success. Some people get Spring fever. I’ve got New Year’s fever! As we take a look toward 2011 just days away from now, we’re reflecting on the lives we had, the lives we have now, and the lives we’d like to have going forward. We’re setting goals, making resolutions, and positioning ourselves to hit that big ol’ restart button when the clock strikes midnight on the 31st.

And if we are to be successful. if we are to really make lasting, meaningful changes, writing it down, finding buddies to help us keep up our resolutions, or any other mechanism to keep us on the straight and narrow won’t do the trick unless we are really willing to take Wayne Dyer’s counsel. To change our lives, we need to change our minds. And that’s no small feat.

I’ve got some ideas to help you expand your mind if you’re a resolution-making kind of person – I certainly am.

1.) Meditation will help – even just 5 minutes a day. Take a comfortable seat, close your eyes, and just breath for 5 minutes.

2.) Yoga will help, particularly if practiced consistently in small doses.

3.) Certainly I believe in writing down goals and getting buddies who have the same ones. There is strength in reminders and numbers.

4.) Getting some good rest and eating well helps just about everything, including the noble and difficult task of expanding our minds.

5.) Pick up a book by someone who has a very different viewpoint on a topic you are passionate about. Nothing expands the mind by having to see a subject through someone else’s eyes. For example, I completely disagree with Condoleezza Rice’s politics but her story fascinates me so I’m going to pick up her new book about her upbringing. Coincidentally, it’s called Extraordinary, Ordinary People – the subject I’ve been writing about every day for the past year. I love synchronicity!)

Now stand in the center of your world as it currently exists, take in the view, and then decide what it is you’d really like to see change in the year ahead, and how you’re willing to change your mind to get that to happen. I promise to share my journey and I hope you will, too!

The image above can be found here.

change, decision-making, design, imagination

Step 362: Success and Value

Christa Avampato

“Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value.” ~ Albert Einstein

2011 is coming at us fast and furious, and I’m getting nervous. Nervous about ideas and plans that I’m putting into action. I’m starting to teach my own independent yoga classes on Sunday, January 30th. I’m starting a new Taproot Project as a Strategic Consultant for Bottomless Closet. I’m thinking about trips I’d like to take, classes that would help me improve some skills I have and gain others that I’ve never tried before. I’m working on some new writing projects and adding some new features to this blog to broadcast my message and enrich the content.

2011 will be my year to try on a lot of new ideas and see how they shape my life. I’m re-imagining just about every nook and cranny of my life, and then some. I’m adopting the mantra, “I’m going to give it a shot and see what happens.” Exciting, and a little daunting if I think about it too much, which I am likely to do several times a day.

What calms me down and talks me down off the ledge is the idea of focusing on value, not success. I’m done doing things that don’t add value, to my life or someone else’s. And it’s A-OK if it only improves the life of one single being. That will be enough. I’m done feeling like I must do A, B, and C. I’ll do any and all of them if it’s useful, if it makes a difference. If an activity doesn’t help me create a world that I’m proud of, then I’m just not doing it. I’ve paid my dues over and over and over again. Those dues have been settled. Success will be on my terms, and be inextricably linked to value that I can feel in my heart.

The image above can be found here.

change, dreams, faith

Step 361: The Caterpillar’s Promise

Christa Avampato

“There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.” ~ Buckminster Fuller

I read this quote over the Christmas holiday as I was learning more about Eric Carle’s work. He wrote the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar (for his sister, Christa, I might add), as well as the Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See Series. My niece loves those books and I bought her a game based on the stories. The butterfly gets a lot of credit in our society as a powerful metaphor, without much mind being paid to the humble caterpillar who believed he could be more.

Think of a caterpillar, a small, wormy looking animal, not particularly attractive or inspiring. He doesn’t don any beautiful colors, he can’t fly, and no one is particularly glad to find him out there in the world. Butterflies, however, are magical. We covet their appearance, and think imagine that a beautiful thing like a butterfly came from a tiny caterpillar. Without understanding the science behind the transformation, would anyone really believe that something that looks like a caterpillar could become a butterfly? No one except the caterpillar.

Think of all the people you know who have wild, far-out-there ideas. People who keep reaching and believing that they can change the world, or at least their small corner of it. People who never say never, who don’t give up, who roll with every punch and every speed bump that pops up in their path. Big thinkers who also get out in the world and do, even if it’s against all odds.

They may just be the caterpillars among us. We would do well to believe in them, and in our own ability to transform if we just believe that we can.

How would you like your life to transform as we start the new year?

Christmas, faith, religion

Step 360: My Christmas Story

Christa Avampato

My faith has morphed over the years. I was raised Catholic, thought for a bit about being a Unitarian and a Buddhist, and then through yoga thought that Hinduism may be a possibility. Finally, I happily settled on being interested in religion and calling myself spiritual without affiliation.

So it came as quite a surprise that Christmas Eve found me in a Methodist Church pondering my faith again. I went with my family to the First United Methodist Church of Orlando. I really went because I wanted to support my sister; she’s on staff there and runs all of the communications for the Church. She and my brother-in-law were married in that church and both of my nieces were baptized there. Plus, I love Christmas carols, of which there are many at the family service.

And then a very odd thing happened. The Head Pastor gave a sermon about people unlikely to call themselves religious. He talked about Joseph and his very serious consideration of leaving behind his family and his faith. After further contemplation, he felt something greater than himself asking him to stay, to persevere, to not give up. He talked about people who have considered giving up on their faith, people who doubt and question, people who feel like they don’t really belong to any affiliation. The remarkable thing is that he didn’t talk down to those people; he didn’t criticize them. Quite the opposite – he invited them in. In a moment of silence he asked us to bow our heads, close our eyes, and raise our hands if anyone felt like they might belong to one of those groups, and would like the congregation to pray for them.

I found that the idea of staying, just sticking around to see how it goes, made my eyes water, and I raised my hand. I did need the prayers he so generously offered. On Christmas Eve I felt a little lost, a little out-of-place, but still moved to further explore my faith, and even considering that spiritual without affiliation may not be enough for me anymore. And even though I felt lost, I also felt that I was in exactly the right place, as if that Pastor, and maybe even the Universe, knew what I needed far better than I did.

We closed the service by lighting candles and walking together out of the church singing Silent Night. I was surprised how warm the light of my candle felt, alarmingly warm. I felt a little message in that flame. If I stayed, maybe some answers would show up, answers that in all of my exploring I have not yet been able to find. Rather than dashing here, there, and everywhere, maybe I just needed to be still, and wait, and listen.

That’s my Christmas story this year. How did it go for you?

The image above makes me remember how much can be found through faith. Find it here.

Uncategorized

Step 359: Holiday Greetings from Christa and Phin

Christa Avampato
Click to play this Smilebox greeting
Create your own greeting - Powered by Smilebox
This free digital ecard personalized with Smilebox
Uncategorized

Step 358: Movement and Change as Seen by The Year in Pictures

Christa Avampato

The New York Times put together its annual review of the year in pictures. Every year I’m stunned by everything that’s happened in our world. The earthquake in Haiti, and then the earthquake soon after in Chile. The volcano in Iceland. The Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The oil spill in the Gulf. The World Cup in South Africa. The rescue of the Chilean miners.

Photographers are such a treasure who capture moments that help us remember these monumental events with great emotion. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I think its worth something beyond words, something we just can’t capture in language. They transport us to a different time and place, they increase our capacity for compassion and empathy, and show us an alternative existence, one often wholly unfamiliar to us. Through pictures, we live many lifetimes.

The ones that truly leave me with my mouth hanging open are the ones depicting the dynamic nature of our planet. We think the ground we stand on is so steady, but it’s no wonder we experience so many shifts in our lives. Everything around us is shifting all the time. It’s in our nature to shift and change, to catch and release, to live on the peaks of mountains as often as we live far below in the depths of the valley. The only thing we’re certain of is that where we are today, what we see, hear, and feel will be different tomorrow.

So take the day today and really look around, take in the view, take in every detail your senses will absorb. We will never pass this way again exactly as it is at this moment. Each one its own special gift made just for us.

The image above depicts the eruption of the volcano in Iceland earlier this year that completely shut down air travel in the northern hemisphere. It can be found here.

meditation

Step 357: Listening for Answers

Christa Avampato

“Put very simply, prayer is when we ask the universe for something, and meditation is when we stop and listen.” ~ DailyOm

At this time of year, people are offering up a lot of prayers. We are looking toward the new year to start fresh, to create and work toward new goals and dreams. We ask for signs to tell us we’re on the right track, that we’re heading in the right direction to actualize our potential, to find our calling. It’s tough work; no wonder we want some reassurance along the way.

But how often do we play the game of asking for assistance and reassurance only to get going as fast as our legs will carry us. When we ask for help, we have to slow down enough to receive it. Putting our questions out into the universe is very important; it helps us to crystallize what we really want out of our lives. It’s equally as important to then close our eyes, breath, and go within to listen for the universe’s response. Meditation, something as simple as just breathing with intention, can help to raise our awareness and recognize the signs that we’re seeking.

Listening intently takes more effort and offers more rewards that we give it credit for.

The image above can be found here.

Christmas, holiday, story

Step 356: Fun With Popular Christmas Folklore – Figgy Pudding, Yuletide, and More

Christa Avampato

I was in church with my family on Sunday morning and the Minister told us the story of the candy cane, how it was shaped like the staff of a shepherd to symbolize the important role of the then-lowly shepherds in announcing Jesus’s birth to the world. At the time shepherds were considered unclean and unfit for enlightened life. The fact that they were chosen as the first people to greet the new-born king is no coincidence, and the idea of fairness and equality are themes echoed through out Christmas teachings. I’ve enjoyed numerous candy canes over the years and never thought twice about why they had that specific shape or how they came to be. That got me thinking about folklore and how many ideas and concepts have roots very different from our current understanding of their meaning.

I took the liberty of doing some holiday research to uncover the origins of several popular Christmas terms that have cool stories on par with the candy cane story I heard in church. Many thanks to Wikipedia for its endless collection of little known tidbits. Enjoy!

Sugar plum: what makes them so tantalizing that they’d be dancing in children’s heads? “Plum” in the name of this confection does not mean plum in the sense of the fruit of the same name. At one time, “plum” was used to denote any dried fruit. Sugar plums can be made from any combination of dried plums (aka prunes), dried figs, dried apricots, dried dates, and dried cherries. The dried fruit is chopped fine and combined with chopped almonds, honey, and aromatic spices, such as anise seed, fennel seed, caraway seeds, and cardamom. This mixture would then be rolled into balls, often then coated in sugar or shredded coconut. Okay, I get it. Sounds delicious!

Yuletide: turns out that Christians know a good party when they see it! Yule or Yule-tide (“Yule-time”) is a winter festival that was initially celebrated by the historical Germanic people as a pagan religious festival, though it was later absorbed into, and equated with, the Christian festival of Christmas.

Figgy pudding: with or without bacon (thank you John Denver and The Muppets), is this dish really as simple as it sounds? Figgy pudding is a pudding resembling something like a white Christmas pudding containing figs. The pudding may be baked, steamed in the oven, boiled or fried.

The history of figgy pudding dates back to 16th century England. Its possible ancestors include savory puddings such as crustades, fygeye or figge (a potage of mashed figs thickened with bread), creme boiled (a kind of stirred custard), and sippets. In any case, its methods and ingredients appear in diverse older recipes. Today, the term figgy pudding is known mainly because of the Christmas carol “We Wish You A Merry Christmas,” which repeats, “Now bring us some figgy pudding” in the chorus, indicating that it was a Christmas traditional dish served during the season and thus might potentially be given to Christmas carolers.

Tempted to make your own figgy pudding for your holiday table? Try this recipe.

Christmas stockings: why did Santa decide to tuck presents into wet socks? While there are no written records of the origin of the Christmas Stocking, there are popular legends that attempt to tell the history of this Christmas tradition. One such legend has several variations, but the following is a good example: Very long ago, there lived a poor man and his three very beautiful daughters. He had no money to get his daughters married, and he was worried what would happen to them after his death.

Saint Nicholas was passing through when he heard the villagers talking about the girls. St. Nicholas wanted to help, but knew that the old man wouldn`t accept charity. He decided to help in secret. He waited until it was night and crept through the chimney.

He had three bags of gold coins with him, one for each girl. As he was looking for a place to keep those three bags, he noticed stockings of the three girls that were hung over the mantelpiece for drying. He put one bag in each stocking and off he went. When the girls and their father woke up the next morning, they found the bags of gold coins and were of course, overjoyed. The girls were able to get married and live happily ever after.

This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas.

Silent Night: I love this story behind one of the most loved Christmas songs of all time. The carol was first performed in the Nikolaus-Kirche (Church of St. Nicholas) in Oberndorf, Austria on December 24, 1818. Mohr had composed the words two years earlier, in 1816, but on Christmas Eve brought them to Gruber and asked him to compose a melody and guitar accompaniment for the church service.

In his written account regarding the composition of the carol, Gruber gives no mention of the specific inspiration for creating the song. According to the song’s history provided by Austria’s Silent Night Society, one supposition is that the church organ was no longer working so that Mohr and Gruber therefore created a song for accompaniment by guitar. Silent Night historian, Renate Ebeling-Winkler Berenguer says that the first mention of a broken organ was in a book published in the U.S.

Some believe that Mohr simply wanted a new Christmas carol that he could play on his guitar. The Silent Night Society says that there are “many romantic stories and legends” that add their own anecdotal details to the known facts. You can still visit the chapel today, and its is known popularly as The Silent Night Chapel.

I’d love to hear any other Christmas time legends and stories you may uncover this holiday season!

The photo above depicts traditional figgy pudding.