“The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything but they make the most of everything.” ~ Anonymous
This quote was posted on Twitter last week by @FamousWomen and retweeted by Kimberly Wilson, a yoga teacher I follow. I read it on a day just after hearing a friend of mine confess how small her life felt. She’s in a tough place at the moment, facing a lot of challenges that she doesn’t want to face because they’re painful and scary and overwhelming. Throughout the conversation I heard her lament about all of the things she doesn’t have and wants. I listened, though felt at a loss for words.
Twitter to the rescue
On the way home from seeing my friend, I scrolled through Twitter on my phone and found Kimberly’s tweet at just the right moment. We live in a society of deficits. We constantly obsess about what we don’t have and what we don’t feel. Money, material goods, time, space, fulfillment, peace. We want more and more, though when we get more where does it really lead us? Along the same circuit of attachment and attainment. Something wonderful happens, something we supposedly really wanted, and we barely give it a glance before we’re on to the next to-do list. That’s a lose-lose game.
Knowing how to really live
Whoever coined the quote above really knew how to live. There’s so much more joy to be found in being happy with what we have as opposed to striving for what we think we want. And that doesn’t mean settling and losing our ambition. I’m all for ambition and I’ve got it in spades.
Lately I’ve been feeling the soft and constant presence of true gratitude in my life. Thankfulness for my family and friends. For my apartment, as small as it may be, and my job. My yoga, writing, and art. My freedom and courage and strength and confidence that took so long to cultivate and really own. I live a blesses existence, despite its frustrations, set-backs, and disappointments. Those moments are a miniscule minority compared to the incredible number of opportunities and moments of happiness that are accessible to me all the time.
So that’s the message I’m going to give to my friend. Take the time and list out, on paper or simply in our mind’s eye, just how much you have, not what you lack. The more often we actively give thanks, the more we have to give thanks for.
Has that been your experience? Have you ever felt like you had nothing left to be happy about, and if so, how did you pull through?
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Published by Christa Avampato
The short of it:
Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day.
The long of it:
My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events.
While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series.
A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist.
My company:
I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media:
• I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference;
• I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable;
• I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me.
Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
View all posts by Christa Avampato
“The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything but they make the most of everything.” ~ Anonymous
Christa Avampato 
Anyone who knows you is blessed just for the knowing! I hope your friend finds her way through this maze of challenges.
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