“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?
This blog is also available as a podcast on Cinch and iTunes.
Published by Christa Avampato
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
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
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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