Month: December 2010

faith, nature, religion, science, season

Step 355: Faith and the Total Lunar Eclipse

Christa Avampato

This morning there was a total lunar eclipse coinciding with the Winter Solstice – it ended about an hour ago. The next time that will happen will be in 2096. My brother-in-law, Phineas, and I went out to see the beginning of it. I won’t be around to see the next one. My brother-in-law has a shot at the next viewing. We both figured it was worth the sacrifice of sleep to bear witness.

Astronomers must be the happiest people on Earth, the ones most at peace because any everyday annoyance actually doesn’t matter. 100 years in the life of the universe isn’t even equivalent to the blink of an eye. It’s practically insignificant. Every disappointment, sadness, loss, betrayal. None of it is really worth being that upset over when we consider that the night sky that we’re looking at actually happened a minimum of 100 years ago – the stars are that far away from us. It’s mind-blowing. What we were looking at last night, for the most part, doesn’t even exist anymore. When we gaze up at the starts we are staring centuries back into the past. It’s mind-blowing.

And it makes me think that to be in the presence of something so awesome there must be more out there. It just couldn’t all be placed this way by luck. Beauty of that magnitude, concepts that stretch out minds and move our hearts so much, can’t be generated solely by chance. I looked up at the Earth’s shadow crossing the moon so perfectly, feeling our insignificance and greatness all at once. And all I could think was that there must be some reason, and that we must have faith.

The image above depicts the beginning of a total lunar eclipse and can be found here.

television, writer, writing

Step 354: Matthew Weiner, Creator of Mad Men, Gets Nostalgic at 92Y

Christa Avampato

“I spent my entire complaining that no one ever listens to me and now look what happened. I can’t believe I’ve gotten to have this experience. I say this at every talk I ever give and no one ever prints it: Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for caring this story.” ~ Matthew Weiner, Creator of Mad Men, at the 92Y on Thursday, December 16th

I went to the 92Y on Thursday night to hear Matthew Weiner speak. I’m an enormous Mad Men fan because I love the intensity of the writing and how true he is to the time period. I left the talk loving Matthew Weiner as an inspirational writer who believed so much in the power of good content and in his Mad Men concept. He used the pilot script for years as a writing sample, his calling card, to get writing jobs. When he began to seriously shop it around after finishing his time as a writer for The Sopranos, HBO turned it down.

Weiner talked a lot about nostalgia, “the pain from an old wound”, and its place in the lives of the characters and fans. “In the 1960’s, being an intellectual was in style,” he said. “Advertising used to be a dead-end, a haven for creative people with lofty aspirations.” Now advertising, in its traditional sense, has fallen out of favor as viral and social media mechanisms have become more effective and efficient. The men of Madison Avenue must shake their heads and wonder how their world changed to drastically. “I’m writing a story that everyone knows the ending to,” Weiner stated. “It’s really a recipe for disaster.” And still, we watch. The power of nostalgia, of the desire to know and understand a time so different from ours and yet not that far into our past.

The concept of “The Other” also dominated quite a bit of airtime at 92Y. Weiner is fascinated by the concept of a foreigner, an outsider, someone who doesn’t belong. These Others are the truth-sayers, the mirrors for the rest of us who try so hard to push away any story that doesn’t fit our own narrative. The Other, in life and in good storytelling, has the ability to expose injustice and get at the reality underneath> They foreshadow what’s to come, just around the corner, no matter how much we deny the impending events. So long as The Other stands with us, we are forced to face the music, to recognize that life as we know it will never be the same. The Others are what cause heroes to rise up and villains to fall, eventually.

I loved Weiner’s raw honesty on stage. he was fully and unapologetically himself, neuroses and all on display. He didn’t put on airs. He didn’t try to be someone he’s not. He didn’t hide or dodge a single question or comment. His emotions and responses were authentic and genuine. Success seems to have had little effect on him except to shock and surprise him. He’s at once enormously proud of the work and pinching himself to make sure this is all real. He’s the kind of writer that should serve as an inspiration for anyone trying to make it in the world with this demanding craft. “If you push stories away, they’ll destroy you.” Better to tell the tales we have as fairly as possible, take whatever praise or lashings they garner, and keep going. It’s the only way to both persevere into our futures and preserve the pasts we come from.

commitment, creativity, imagination, inspiration

Step 353: Clearing the Mind for Creativity

Christa Avampato

“Clean out a corner of your mind and creativity will instantly fill it.” ~ Dee Hock

A few nights ago I was having trouble falling asleep. It’s a condition I used to be very used to having had insomnia for so long but now I’m closing in on a year of relief from that condition. Now a minimum of 7 hours is the norm for me and I never let myself get up out of bed anymore should I wake up in the middle of the night. So the lack of sleep a few nights ago was a surprising and disturbing event. Something was bothering me. There seemed to be no good solution to the situation I was grappling with and no matter how many times I turned it over in my mind, I couldn’t find my way out of that rut. The worst part was that it wasn’t even my problem to solve; a friend of mine is struggling with a personal issue at the moment and I was trying to think of an encouraging plan to pass along that might be helpful. No luck, and it really irked me. At first, I didn’t understand why.

I’ve read stories that say Isaac Newton did his best work by thinking of a problem and then promptly taking a nap. Einstein used his music and water-color painting to take his mind off of physics. Thomas Jefferson believed that having a lot of interests, and creating his own productive distractions actually made him even more productive when he focused on one specific task. E.B. White commented that walking away from a piece of writing for at least 24 hours before doing any editing aids our perspective. All of these methods help us find fresh eyes.

So to get myself to sleep and hopefully help my friend simultaneously, I made up my mind to forget about the problem. The moment the thought entered my mind, I said hello and promptly showed it the door. I was determined to do whatever I need to do to make the situation blur out of focus in the hopes that when I came back to it, I would have a better understanding of it.

The next morning, I realized why I was so stuck: 1 or 2 different turns about a year ago, and I would have found myself in the same situation as my friend. I would have made some very rash, heady decisions and felt crushed by the consequences. That fear mixed with relief, and the accompanying guilt and sadness for my friend, was clouding my vision. I couldn’t provide any help because the thought of being in the same situation myself scared the daylights out of me. Once I separated myself from the situation by taking a break from it, I was able to more creatively and compassionately assist my friend with some honest, actionable advice.

The next time I find myself turning a predicament, I’m taking the same course of action. I’m clearing out the clutter before I even attempt to focus. I’ll write down the problem and then immediately take it off my mind, letting it rest in the background of my mind. We want quick resolutions and immediately, correct answers but creativity doesn’t always work like that. Sometimes we have to take the counter-intuitive approach and let it go before we can really embrace it.

I didn’t create the cartoon above but it made me laugh out loud. Truth in comedy. Find the image here.

creativity, imagination, loss, love

Step 352: Re-imagine

Christa Avampato

“They say improve and maintain. I say destroy and Re-imagine.” ~ Tom Peters

Last week I was really struck by the beautiful op-ed that Yoko Ono wrote about John Lennon, how when she thought about their life together and their relationship what she remembered most were the simple moments of laughter. John Lennon encouraged us to imagine a life very different than the one we currently have, to expand our sense of what’s possible and to not accept things as they are but to work toward something better.

I’m not one for maintaining. I get bored maintaining what already exists. Once I’m in maintenance mode chances are I’m moving on soon. Movement makes sense to me. Movement helps to keep my imagination alive and active, and my imagination is one of the sole reasons I have the really wonderful, blessed life I’m grateful for every day. There are pieces of my life that could always be better, pieces that I would like to tear down and start over. It’s always possible to begin again, it just takes some extra strength and faith, and some courage, too.

Re-imagining is the activity I’m turning to post-holiday. For now, I’m in Florida, hanging out with my family and mixing some fun and some relaxation. Just the idea of that re-imagining work ahead makes me giddy with excitement and keeps me looking forward just beyond where I stand now. It is work, for sure, but it’s work worth doing.

The image above depicts Yoko Ono and John Lennon and was taken by Kishin Shinoyama.

choices, courage, creativity, curiosity, decision-making, design, work

Step 351: Beauty – One of Life’s Non-negotiables

Christa Avampato

“I think “beauty” has a (prominent) place in every project.” ~ Tom Peters

I’d go one step further than Tom Peters and say if you are living somewhere, doing something, or learning something and you can’t find any beauty it, then move, do something else, and pick another topic. I know that this week I espoused about how life is long and we have more time and space than we actually realize. But your life and the amount of time you have is not enough to warrant the wasting of it.

I’m one of those efficiency junkies. I despise waste of any kind, whether the resource is tangible or intangible. I especially hate having my time wasted. I kind of self-implode without a vertical learning curve. Actually, I don’t know how to live without one so if I feel even a tinge of boredom, my mind is off and running. What never fails to captivate me is beauty, and I especially treasure ironic beauty – moment and places that don’t seem beautiful on the surface but with a little digging have a great abundance of beauty underneath.

In 2011, I’m not doing a single personal project that doesn’t have a kind of beauty that inspires me. Truly, I refuse to struggle through projects or experiences or someone else’s decisions that don’t make any sense to me. I can’t do that anymore. I’m done with dreading any place, or project, or event. If what I’m doing isn’t useful to me, or you, or the world at-large, then I’m going to find something else to do. The world needs so much help right now and we need eachother.

I have a lot to offer in the way of resources. We all do. Talent, time, experience, care, and concern (perhaps the most underrated resource of all!) We can no longer afford to do work that doesn’t matter. We are what we do.

The beautiful image above is not my own but I think it’s stunning. It can be found here.

career, decision-making, discovery, education, encouragement, work

Step 350: It’s Not Knowing that Really Counts

Christa Avampato

“Education would be so much more effective if its purpose were to ensure that by the time they leave school every boy and girl should know how much they don’t know, and be imbued with a lifelong desire to know it.” ~ Sir William Haley, British newspaper editor and broadcasting administrator

If Sir Haley were standing in front of me right now, I’d give him a hug. I love him for stating exactly what an education should be about – unending discovery. Rather than people striving to be the smartest person around, what would our world be like if for every answer we found we had two more questions? What if every time we became an expert in one area, we marveled at how many areas we know nothing about?

This quote reminded me of a post I wrote for my friend, Amanda’s, blog about being a beginner. It’s going to be the spring-board for this blog in 2011 – more details to come on this in a not-too-distant post. Life’s more fun as a beginner. We don’t know what we don’t know and therefore we ask lots of questions, we try out ideas, we explore unencumbered by any notion of what’s been done before. Beginners are the best innovators because the word “should” is not part of their thinking. They have no idea what they should do. Sometimes the resource or experience you don’t have is the real blessing.

We may not know what our life’s purpose is. We may not know what’s next for us as we turn our attention toward 2011. We’re just beginning – this is where the fun starts.

The image above can be found here.

career, happiness, work

Step 349: 4 Ways to Turn Your Work Into the Fountain of Youth

Christa Avampato

“To find joy in work is to discover the fountain of youth.” ~ Pearl S. Buck

Imagine if 40 hours a week you worked at a place that felt joyful? As long as there are people there will be politics and disagreements, but what if on the other side of those aspects there was a firm common belief among the entire team that everyone’s goal is to build as strong and vital a company as possible. What if egos could be put aside for the sake of the common good. That’s the kind of place I’d love to spend my time, and I’d be more than happy to offer up as many as hours as needed.

Somewhere along the way toil and work became synonyms in our society. Americans started to do whatever they needed to do to earn the title, the paycheck, and all of the prestige that goes along with both of those things. My friend, Amanda, and I were talking about how difficult it can be to walk away from a job that looks so good on paper and to the outside world. Stay in that type of job long enough and we’ll lose a little part of ourselves. Don’t be seduced by the check and the title – what we make matters, and if what you’re making doesn’t matter to you then we’re all missing out.

4 Ways to Love Your Work and Find the Fountain of Youth:
1.) Follow the energy
2.) Make 3 lists: what you would do for work, what you might do for work, and what you will never do for work. Then spend 2 weeks roughly keeping track of how much of your current work falls into those 3 buckets. If you’re spending too much time in the might and the never buckets, it might be time to find something new.
3.) Use your performance review time wisely. This is a great time of year to clearly (and calmly) let your employer know where you want your career to go. Can’t have that type of conversation with your boss? Then it’s definitely time to think about what else you’d like to do.
4.) What did you want to do when you were 8? Or 9 or 10 or the first time you remember being really excited about having a career? Can you get back there?

What’s worked for you?

The image above is not my own. It can be found here.

apartment, New York City, rent

Step 348: More Space Than I Thought I Had

Christa Avampato

In New York City we are used to small spaces. 1000 square feet, a modest size for many other cities, feels like a palace in New York. the size of our apartments is a normal topic of conversation, as is how much we’re paying for it, what amenities our neighborhood has, and our dreams of a private outdoor area just outside our door. We are a city obsessed with the idea of space, and we usually think we don’t have enough.

Since getting Phin, I have had a little wire playpen set up for him. I leave the door open and within its tiny perimeter I kept his food, water, bed, toys, and yoga mat. (Yep, he has his own yoga mat where he does all his deep thinking, just like me!) Now that we’ve been together for 3 months, he’s chilled out and I folded up his playpen and just placed it against the wall. I couldn’t believe how much room I had once I took it down! My tiny studio (and I mean seriously tiny, not just perceived tiny) seemed so much bigger.

I was reminded of how much room and time we have in our lives. I’m one of those people who is regularly guilty of over-stuffing my schedule. It’s ridiculous, and I have no one to point the finger at except the lady in the mirror. When we work to fit something into our lives, when we consciously make room for it and then have that time or space free up again, we realize that we aren’t time or space starved. We’re awash with it. Life seems so short, and yet if I think back on everywhere I’ve been, everything I’ve done, and the great volume of living that lies ahead, I realize that life is long. The opportunity to do an abundant amount of extraordinary work, is constant.

The photo above is a New York City studio apartment. Tiny but made to look big by a wide camera angle.

New York City, rent, yoga

Step 347: I Booked a Room For My Yoga Classes

Christa Avampato

After a solid month of looking intently for a room to teach my own yoga classes, I found one. I looked at over 50 spaces in total.

I was picky. I wanted:
– beautiful space
– bright
– shiny wood floors, sprung (meaning they have some cushioning to them)
– well-maintained
– housed in a place with lots of artists around
– quiet, ideally sound proof
– good subway access
– doorman
– elevator
– affordable
– professionally managed
– amenities like clean restrooms, wi-fi, and a comfortable space for students to wait if they arrive early
– ability to move to a smaller or larger room to accommodate the class size
– mirrors
– easy cancellation / re-scheduling policy

I asked for the world. In truth I was pickier about the space than I was about finding my own apartment. I wasn’t willing to live with less. If I’m going to ask people to come to my class and pay to be there, even if it is a modest $10 a class with $2 donated to a charity of the student’s choice, I’m going to make sure it’s perfect. And as Brian always tells me, “You get what you settle for.”

Pearl Studios NYC located at 500 8th Avenue between 35th and 36th Streets will be home to my very first independently run yoga classes as part of Compass Yoga. Classes start on Sunday January 30, 2011, 6pm – 7pm. The class on the 30th will be free to anyone who’d like to attend. Thereafter, they will run every Sunday from 6pm – 7pm. Schedule will always be posted here and on this Facebook page. I hope you’ll join us!

The photo above is a picture of the room where I’ll be teaching yoga at Pearl Studios. (We’ll move the piano!)

gifts, good fortune, happiness

Step 346: The Blessings We Don’t Expect

Christa Avampato

“When we lose one blessing, another is often, most unexpectedly, given in its place.” ~ C.S. Lewis

After seeing the off-Broadway show Freud’s Last Session, a possibly close-to-true meeting between Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis at the start of World War II less than a month before Freud’s self-prescribed passing, I’ve been seeing C.S. Lewis everywhere. Not literally of course, he passed in 1963, but in quotes, in the advertisements of movies and theatrical productions based on his books, as the topics of numerous blog posts. So many authors are known for being brooding figures, dark and sometimes troubled individuals. One of the things I love about C.S. Lewis is his true belief in joy and his long journey to find it. His own autobiography is entitled Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life.

In this season of counting our blessings, I came across Lewis’s quote above. I’ve seen lots of quote on how to turn lemons into lemonade and the like. This quote is different – it recognizes that we may lose people and things we love and cherish, that we will be disappointed not by not getting what we want, but by getting what we want, exactly what we want, and then grappling with it slipping through our fingers. Lewis counsels us to hang on, to keep searching, to believe that even in the hour of our grief another happiness is just beyond our doorstep.

I like the sentiment and today, on a rainy, gray Sunday, I’m celebrating it. It keeps me believing that life is always full of surprises and that we should constantly be prepared to be delighted.

The image above is not my own. It can be found here. I have no idea where this place is but I believe that in a place so beautiful it must be overrun with unexpected blessings.