San Marino Island, Croatia. http://www.find-croatia.com“Blessed is the person who finds what she’s meant to do with her life.” ~ Sonia, one of my meditation students at NY Methodist Hospital and a caregiver
I met Sonia at NY Methodist Hospital this past week during one of my meditation sessions in the Physical Rehab Unit. She is from Croatia and is now caring for her elderly mother. Her journey as a child refugee out of Croatia ultimately landed her in Park Slope Brooklyn, where she has lived ever since. That evening we took a traveling meditation in which we focused on a specific place as a point of concentration. Sonia emerged from the meditation with teary eyes and a peaceful heart. Though she has been in Brooklyn for so long, she misses her Croatia even now. Its beauty, its history, its people. “If you go through this life and never see Croatia, you are missing out,” she said. With that kind of endorsement, I dutifully added it to my list for future vacations.
We also got to talking about my work at the hospital. I told her about the transition I’m hoping to make, and surprised myself when I freely said, “I wish I could be doing the work I do here every day.” For some reason that statement made me both sad and glad. Glad that I had that kind of clarity, and sad that it is not yet my reality. Maybe Sonia sensed that wistfulness in me, because she offered up the simple quote at the top of this post. I may have offered her a meditation that night that allowed her to go home for a few moments, but she gave me much more of a lesson. To someone who’s lived a life of struggle, it seemed to her that my clarity of purpose was more than enough of a reason to be happy, to feel whole.
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
6 thoughts on “Beginning: Finding Your Way”
Thanks for documenting your journey, Christa. Every time I read your blog, I gain some new insights about work and life.
It’s great to know that your meditation sessions are working out and that you are making an important contribution to the lives of people. The service you provide helps to heal them.
Nostalgia is like a bitter-sweet experience for a lot of immigrants. The new home is embraced: there is a feeling of gratitude for all the new opportunities. However, this is tempered by a yearing for the old smells and flavours.
Many immigrants meet up with other immigrants on the weekends. While partying, they talk about the home they left behind. They carry this home wherever they are in the world.
It is not easy to forget the past. Even people who have wealth and success can become nostalgic when they listen to a folksy tune that reminds them of cherished moments.
Hi Archan,
The meditation does help. It really clears my mind and allows whatever needs to surface to surface, and then gives me a way to let it go as well. It’s an amazing gift to have the practice and to be able to share it with others.
Yoga is a new and exciting thing right now because its out of the ordinary for you. After a regular day of Monday work (or a weeks with of work that always feels like a Monday), yoga is the escape. it gives you a new feeling of accomplishment that the routine 9-5 doesn’t provide any longer
Unfortunately, there may be Yoga instructors that feel about Yoga the way you feel about your regular job…
Enjoy the ride while it lasts..if you feel that teaching Yoga as a full time job it is what you should be doing with your life, then find a way to make it pay the bills for you
Christa Avampato 
Thanks for documenting your journey, Christa. Every time I read your blog, I gain some new insights about work and life.
It’s great to know that your meditation sessions are working out and that you are making an important contribution to the lives of people. The service you provide helps to heal them.
Nostalgia is like a bitter-sweet experience for a lot of immigrants. The new home is embraced: there is a feeling of gratitude for all the new opportunities. However, this is tempered by a yearing for the old smells and flavours.
Many immigrants meet up with other immigrants on the weekends. While partying, they talk about the home they left behind. They carry this home wherever they are in the world.
It is not easy to forget the past. Even people who have wealth and success can become nostalgic when they listen to a folksy tune that reminds them of cherished moments.
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Hi Archan,
The meditation does help. It really clears my mind and allows whatever needs to surface to surface, and then gives me a way to let it go as well. It’s an amazing gift to have the practice and to be able to share it with others.
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Do what you have to do to make yourself happy.
Yoga is a new and exciting thing right now because its out of the ordinary for you. After a regular day of Monday work (or a weeks with of work that always feels like a Monday), yoga is the escape. it gives you a new feeling of accomplishment that the routine 9-5 doesn’t provide any longer
Unfortunately, there may be Yoga instructors that feel about Yoga the way you feel about your regular job…
Enjoy the ride while it lasts..if you feel that teaching Yoga as a full time job it is what you should be doing with your life, then find a way to make it pay the bills for you
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The foolish and the dead alone never change their opinions.
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Не that will eat the kernel must crack the nut.
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I recommend you to take care of the minutes: for hours will take care of themselves.
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