“So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact. And remember that life’s A Great Balancing Act.” — Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
One recent weekend I found all of my plans fell through. As usual my schedule had been packed and slowly but surely the plans trickled away until I was left with a completely free weekend. My first inclination was to fill up the time with a whole new set of plans, and then I paused. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a completely free weekend. What an interesting this to try, and it was glorious! I would have loved to follow through on my plans but this turn of events gave me a chance to re-charge.
Enjoying our down time is an important ingredient to for making the most of our productive periods. It gives us a chance to reflect and realign. All of nature takes this time for revitalization. We’re the only beings who consider down time a waste, myself very much included.
That weekend, I basked in the idea that I had nowhere to be at any time. My day could be shaped moment to moment, and not by Google calendar (which does a stupendous job of keeping me organized during hectic times.) “The busy season is on its way,” I reminded myself. “This is your chance to just be, and not do.”
This is balance: to take both the slow times and busy times in stride, grateful for what each set of circumstances has to teach us.
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
2 thoughts on “Beginning: Life As a Great Balancing Act”
After all, Christa, we are human beings and not human doings, so down time is essential for all of us. Type-A personalities especially have a hard time with unscheduled activities and unstructured ways of living. We are so used to planning and moving forward as per our calendars. However, nature teaches us that we don’t have to look at the clock. The natural world is not in a hurry. Nature understands ebbs, tides, flows. Nature, that gifted teacher, wants us to enjoy our state of being. Or, as Mahatma Gandhi once said, “renounce and enjoy.” Bliss to you.
I love that – “renounce and enjoy.” I’ll be using that and crediting you handsomely in an upcoming post. It’s just the quote I needed for an upcoming piece.
After all, Christa, we are human beings and not human doings, so down time is essential for all of us. Type-A personalities especially have a hard time with unscheduled activities and unstructured ways of living. We are so used to planning and moving forward as per our calendars. However, nature teaches us that we don’t have to look at the clock. The natural world is not in a hurry. Nature understands ebbs, tides, flows. Nature, that gifted teacher, wants us to enjoy our state of being. Or, as Mahatma Gandhi once said, “renounce and enjoy.” Bliss to you.
LikeLike
I love that – “renounce and enjoy.” I’ll be using that and crediting you handsomely in an upcoming post. It’s just the quote I needed for an upcoming piece.
LikeLike