Month: October 2011

loss, New York City, sadness

Beginning: My First Visit to the 9/11 Memorial

Christa Avampato
Freedom Tower

A few weeks ago I visited the 9/11 memorial site for the first time. The last time I set foot in that area was just a few days before September 11, 2001. I was home for a few weeks during a break from The Full Monty tour. I had never been to the World Trade Center, it was a beautiful day, and I decided to be a tourist in my own town. On September 9th, 2001 I flew back to Chicago to rejoin the tour and from there I watched as those towers came crashing down. I still have a hard time believing how those events unfolded, even though I now work right across the street from the site.

I was not a fan of the design when I first saw it. I wanted it completely covered over in grass, a sanctuary to honor the thousands of souls who lost their lives there on that ground. And though I do think a park would have been better, the designer really does pay tribute to all the people we lost. A great deal of care was taken in constructing the design. There will be no way for any future visitor to forget what happened on that ground.

Flowers to honor those lost on 9/11

The fact that hit me hardest during the visit was the idea that for many families and friends, this site is a cemetery – the only place they have to visit to commemorate the loss of their loved ones. I didn’t realize this until I saw flowers stuck into the craved names of the frames that surround the giant running pools of water. These pools take their shape and position from the bases of the towers. Every visitor is hit by the enormity of those buildings and the force it took to bring them down.

The idea that I could not shake, and continue to think about every day I go to my office, is all of the lost potential that still lies in the wake of that awful day, that will continue to lie there perhaps forever. 10 years on in Afghanistan, many more lives lost, and we are no closer to a free and safe world. I wonder if that collective societal sting will always be there. On the site of this memorial, I got a very tiny glimpse of what it must feel like for all these families and and friends who are not able to move on. It’s a lovely tribute to all of those people but sadly it doesn’t seem to offer us any hope of closure or healing. The overwhelming sadness and injustice of it all is still raw and palpable.

But maybe that’s the trick. Maybe we need to confront that sadness head on. Perhaps we need to sit with it and ask it what it needs to heal. The memorial does give us a physical place to go and grieve, and to be with others who are on the same journey. It does give us a place to go to say goodbye, and in that goodbye there may very well live the opportunity to let go in some small and necessary way.

art, creativity, Muppet

Beginning: Museum of the Moving Image Celebrates Jim Henson

Christa Avampato
Jim and his colorful, famous friends

“Jim was like a sailor who had studied the compass and found that there was a fifth dimension in which someone could sail.” ~ Jerry Juhl, head writer of The Muppet Show

My pal, Dan, and I recently went to the Jim Henson exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image commemorating his 75th birthday. Being enormous fans of the Muppets, we have had this date on the calendar for many months. I was skeptical that any exhibit could do his depth of work justice. I had no reason to be. the Museum of the Moving Image does a superb job of capturing a glimpse inside his genius mind.

Like Steve Jobs, Jim Henson inspired us to be the very best versions of ourselves. His vision was uncompromising. He was unreasonable in his expectations and it never crossed his mind that he couldn’t do something he really wanted to do. He had a different way of seeing. And even if the world around him appeared bleak, he never seemed to be discouraged. If anything the darkness around Jim just seemed to make his light shine brighter.

He is such an inspiration for those of us at the start of a new beginning, for those of us trying to do something that has never been done before. “It’s such a wonderful challenge to try to design and entire world…I love to feel I’m doing something for the first time…There are many ways of doing something. Look for what no one has tried before.” Beginnings held such a sense of excitement for him. He never sought to follow any lead but his own. Jim emphatically wanted to do things differently and personified the idea of the Apple commercial that the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do.

I left the museum grateful and nostalgic for the world that Jim opened up for all of us to share. He sought to huddle everyone together. In his imagined worlds, there is a seat at the table for everyone interested in playing a part. With its collection of ragtag unique characters, we are all welcome – and please bring your quirks and eccentricities. Afterall, they are what makes each of us special and Jim Henson wants us to come out and play, just as we are.

He showed us that it pays, quite handsomely, to be fearless.

Jim Henson’s Fantastic World is on display at the Museum of the Moving Image until January 16, 2012.

adventure, change, choices

Beginning: The Kind of Woman I Want to Be

Christa Avampato

My friend, Susan, posted this up on Facebook last week and I love it so much I’m having it framed to hang in my apartment. This is exactly the kind of woman I aim to be. There are a lot of things in the world that I’d like to change, fix, and influence. It’s easy to get bogged down by the enormity of tackling even just one of them; quotes like this keep me going.

The only thing crazier than putting all of our efforts toward crafting a better world is leaving things just as they are.

healthcare, hospital, war, yoga

Beginning: Compass Yoga Begins Classes at the Manhattan VA Hospital

Christa Avampato

Yesterday I taught the first Compass Yoga class at the Manhattan VA Hospital. At the New York State Health Foundation Conference on Community Readiness to Assist Returning in June I met someone from the VA who referred me to one of the doctors at the VA who has been working on a staff resiliency program. We met and then worked through how a class would be structured for the mental health staff, and then we went through the paperwork process, scheduling, and promotion. Yesterday’s class was the culmination of all of that work. The doctor I am working with has practiced yoga and Tai Chi for a number of years and is a strong believer in the power of mindfulness practices. Her passion makes this class possible.

The class is a result of a great many influences conspiring together. I tapped into a calling to help returning veterans just as the NYS Health Foundation was having their conference in New York, as this enlightened doctor had been pushing for yoga at the VA, and the VA happened to be ready to give this idea a try. Had I called the VA last year, it may have fallen on deaf ears. Timing is everything.

I was up before the crack of dawn to walk Phin, get ready, and hop the train across town. As usual, I was a bit nervous to teach in a new place. I always get this twinge of stagefright before I start a class, particularly in a new environment with new students. I’ve been waiting to teach this class for a long time and I couldn’t let the jitters get in the way.

One class in and the students are talking about how to get more yoga into the VA. They started talking about how to get this practice to patients and families for mental and physical health benefits. One is even looking into how we can get grant money to build up the program. By showing up and giving my best, the way seems to be opening slowly but surely. A little focus goes a long way.

Classes will continue every Friday. I’ll let you know about more learnings as they happen…

creativity, imagination, innovation, media, Muppet, Steve Jobs

Beginning: Steve Jobs, Tim Russert, Jim Henson, and How to Honor an Icon

Christa Avampato

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” ~ Steve Jobs from his 2005 commencement speech at Stanford

I audibly gasped when I got the nytimes.com breaking alert that Steve Jobs had passed away. I turned to Twitter and saw that in the past few minutes the outpouring of gratitude and empathy had begun to build and would reach dizzying heights within the next 10 minutes. My favorite tributes were from Wired Magazine and on the Apple site itself. His was a passing heard and felt round the world, mostly by people who never had the honor to interact personally with him. Yet, he is with us all the time, in our homes, cars, and offices. We take Steve with us everywhere through his ingenious inventions and as the spark that so often lights our own imaginations. The legendary Apple ad “The Crazy Ones” continues to be an anthem for innovators all over the globe. Steve gave us something to aspire to – our highest selves.

I remember having this same wave of thankfulness flow over me when I heard about the passing of Tim Russert several years ago, and I remember the exact moment when I learned Jim Henson had passed away. They all died long before their time – Steve was 56, Tim was 58, and Jim was 53. All taken in the very prime of their careers, and in a short time they grew to be a part of our lives. They all share the magical gift of being able to make the seemingly complicated simple, approachable, and knowable for people from all walks of life – Steve in the field of technology, Tim in politics and government (particularly elections), and Jim in education and the power of television. All of these men were intensely involved in media, the creation and dissemination of information and knowledge. They defined our times.

Though the sting of Steve’s passing is obviously still being felt by so many, we can take comfort in how the legacies of Tim and Jim have thrived. Tim Russert’s CBS Sunday Morning, though not the same as when he anchored it, is still a top-rated show and a source of enjoyment and education for millions of people each week. At election time, we still miss his wipe board where he demystified the numbers for us. Jim Henson’s tributes can still be found in every corner where education is discussed and debated. Sesame Street is still a much beloved show. The Muppets are still iconic figures in our lives and the much-anticipated new Muppet movie will be released next month. The Museum of the Moving Image is currently showing a retrospective of Henson’s brilliant work in honor of his 75th birthday. (My post on that outing will be run this weekend.)

And while tributes to the work of these three icons are touching and thought-provoking, their greatest legacies live in the people whom they inspired, including you and me. They set a fire in our bellies and in our imaginations to do something extraordinary with our time. The best way to honor them and show our gratitude is to make our days as meaningful and creative as possible.

Steve, we miss you now and will continue to turn to the counsel you’ve left in speeches, in writing, and in your creative work as we wrestle through our own creative processes. “What would Steve do?” will be a phrase we turn over in our minds again and again as we try to design a better world. You showed us how to be a beginner and love it. Thanks for being here with us and showing us the way. We’ll do our best to carry on the great adventure into the imagination that you started. 

[I am a firm believer in the power of a well-crafted letter. If you’d like to send your thoughts, memories, and condolences for Steve, click here.]  

writer, writing

Beginning: Lessons From Crafting My First Book Proposal For A Literary Agent

Christa Avampato

Last week I wrote about taking the scary step of starting to contact literary agents through query letters. I have been pleasantly surprised to hear back from a few of them (which I was not at all expecting since I just started to send a handful of emails.) Yesterday, I heard from an agent who requested a formal proposal – the next step in the agent finding process.

While a query letter is very concise (a few paragraphs), a proposal is much more detailed. Again I consulted my guidebook on publishing, and found followed the formal format of a proposal. It contains:

  • Title
  • Synopsis
  • Author’s Background (narrative)
  • Market Potential
  • Competitive Works
  • Detailed Table of Contents
  • Sample Chapter(s)

My query letter is less than a page while my proposal clocks in at 22 pages (double-spaced). Proposals are a much larger undertaking, for the writer and the agent. It’s the next step in the “getting to know you” process and feels as much like a business plan as it does like a piece of narrative.

In addition to understanding the heft of the proposal, I also learned a few lessons through its writing that I thought would be helpful to those of you considering a similar route:

1.) Exercise great care in a proposal’s composition. One of the main tenets of Zen cooking is, “Treat your pots and pans as if they are your own eyes.” This is wonderful advice for all chefs. A book proposal in many ways is the writer’s equivalent to pots and pans. That proposal makes the creation of the book possible. 

2.) Read the agent’s bio again, as well as agency’s website (particularly if it offers submission guidelines.) Initially, the writer reads the agent’s bio on the agency website to find out if he or she is accepting proposals, and if so what genre those proposals should address. A word to the wise – if an agent says either A) he or she is not accepting submissions or B) they list the genres that interest them, abide by their wishes. No matter how great your cookbook is, if the agent isn’t accepting cookbook projects at this time, don’t submit one. All you’re doing is clogging their in-box with spam, even it’s eloquently written spam. You’re wasting your time and theirs. 

3.) Clearly understand your audience and competition. Who are you writing for, what do they need, and how does your book fulfill that need? I use the same construction that I use on a daily basis as a product developer. It might feel great to say, “My book is for everyone.” It’s not. You are writing on a particular topic that has a particular appeal to particular people. Talk to them. And know who else is talking to them so you can differentiate what you have to offer. Your book may certainly be useful to others beyond your target audience, but your target is your main concern. Focus – in trying to serve everyone, you serve no one.

4.) Have the proposal ready to go before you ever hit “send” on a query letter. You never know how fast the turnaround will be on your query and you want to have the proposal ready to go at a moment’s notice. If an agent writes to you and asks for a proposal, you don’t want to keep them waiting for weeks while you put it together. Also, the query letter takes most of its cue from the proposal and the proposal forces you to get clear on why you’re writing the book and what you have to say. My advice is to write the proposal first and then craft the query, even though you send the query to prospective agents and the proposal only to agents who express interest in reading it.

5.) Don’t get discouraged. Just as some agents may never respond to your query, not all agents who request a proposal will be interested in your book. It’s also helpful to know that when reading a query or proposal, an agent considers whether or not they have the connections (or can easily get them) to make the book successful. While your writing is a very personal matter, the agent’s decision-making process has more to it than whether or not they like a potential client’s writing.

choices, decision-making

Beginning: Let Your Mud Settle

Christa Avampato

“Do you have the patience to wait
till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
till the right action arises by itself?

The Master doesn’t seek fulfillment.
Not seeking, not expecting,
Is present, and can welcome all things.”

~ Tao Teh Ching by Lao Tzu

We are raring to go. I know. I hear you. I’m with you. We want to will and action every idea we have into being right now. It’s understandable. We are ambitious people on a mission that the world needs fulfilled yesterday.

Retail enlightenment
I was at ISHTA Yoga last week for Douglass Stewart’s class (which by the way is one of the very classes I’ve ever taken in my 13 years of practice.) I was early and browsing around the little retail area by the entrance. I came across a t-shirt with the first two lines of Lao Tzu’s poem. I took note and went into the class.

Board member enlightenment
Compass Yoga held its second board meeting this weekend and I asked the board members to give their thoughts on whether or not we should begin to build a second program. There was a resounding call to get our program for vets running smoothly before diving in to assist a second population with serious healthcare needs. Noted. They are brilliant and thoughtful people.

Therapist enlightenment
Several days before the board meeting, I spoke to Brian about a bit of my angst around Compass Yoga. There is so much need and I’m growing impatient with the slow grind of legal, government, and nonprofit wheels. I’m looking for a way to grease the skids and get our projects moving faster. Brian listened to me with his trademark empathy and simply replied, “Christa, there are some things that are out of your control.” Noted, unhappily. I love control. Brian continued, “Go to your mat. Do your yoga and see what you find.” Okay, I like that advice better.

I finally get it
Brian, Lao Tzu, and the Compass Yoga board members are all sharing the same wise advice. It took the advice of all of them to get me to see the light. I am by nature unreasonable and restless. I have high standards for others and even higher standards for myself. Waiting is not my forte. But sometimes waiting is all we can do.

When the mud of our lives is clouding our vision and nothing is clear, we must wait for more information before we move. It doesn’t mean the right path will be easy; in my experience, the path has never been easy but I have always made more progress when the direction was clear. So these days I unroll my mat more often that usual, grab my bolster, sit, and listen. I breathe in and breathe out, and ask for guidance. The path forward will appear; it always does.

finance, guest blogger, money, yoga

Beginning: Yoga and Personal Finance Come Together in My Guest Post on Glassheel.com

Christa Avampato

My friend, Phyllis Neill (CEO of Buzz12), recently sent me a link to Glassheel.com, “a career, lifestyle and networking site for professional women. Glass Heel is an online community of bloggers, experts and professional women of all ages — with room for thousands more. This site was designed to connect you with networks, individuals, events and other useful information to help you succeed professionally and build relationships.  More importantly, through the network of learning, communication, and support, Glass Heel aims to see its members reach new heights in the professional world — breaking through the proverbial glass ceiling.”

I loved the site at first look and wrote to them to see if I could contribute my writing to the cause. Happily, my first guest piece, Yoga, Meet Finance: Applying Ancient Teaching to a Modern World, posted yesterday. It is an excerpt from the introduction of a book project I’m working on that uses the principles of yoga to develop solid personal finance habits. Hop over to Glass Heel, have a read, leave a comment, and share!

My thanks to Molly Cain and the outstanding Glass Heel community for including me in their movement to break through this glass ceiling once and for all! I’m already at work on my next post. More to read shortly…

animals, eating, food, nature, work

Beginning: Be Here Like a Duck in the Ocean

Christa Avampato

“The little duck is at ease in the heaving Atlantic because it is in the Atlantic. Rest in the immediate as though it were infinity.” – Edward Espe Brown, Buddhist monk , chef, and star of the documentary How to Cook Your Life, reading from a poem written by his mother as she was preparing for the end of her life

The kitchen holds an abundance of wisdom and life lessons if we choose to show up in it day after day with an open mind and heart. As I have recommitted to cooking more and teaching myself to bake, I find myself growing more and more present in my own life, in and out of the kitchen. I have long thought of myself as a recovering multi-tasker, trying again and again to foster a life of consciousness and presence. Too often this is the moment we miss, and knowing the preciousness and fleeting nature of life, I don’t want to miss any more moments.

I also try to be conscious of when I am fighting life, when I am plotting, planning, and charting my actions toward a specific outcome with little regard for present circumstances. I don’t believe in the road of least resistance. Every road has its hardships, every path its detours, and every life its suffering. I have never actually felt the easy way break open as some people have. Everything I’ve ever done has taken effort so I am quite used to and comfortable with work that feels like work. I’ve grown to enjoy it so long as it’s work that feels worth my time.

As for the little duck in the ocean, he is not just bobbing along carefree. Beneath the surface of the ocean, his little duck feet and legs are churning. Rather than having his efforts fight the ocean, they are working in tandem to the rhythm. It still takes energy and effort and attention. He isn’t floating along; he’s paddling and taking his directional cue from the ocean. He’s present and realizes the awesomeness of the ocean’s power. He channels that power in his own work below the surface. He is there, in that moment, and nowhere else. I try to follow his example.

change, environment, food, New York Times

Beginning: The People’s Republic of Food

Christa Avampato

“There’s plenty of good work to do. With food it can really have an impact, not only on your life but on everyone’s.” ~ Mark Bittman, New York Times Magazine

This weekend the New York Times Magazine revolves around one of my very favorite subjects – food. A few weeks ago I posted about my most recent obsession with food documentaries and my continued growing interest in sustainable agriculture. I’ve always loved to cook and have been rather dismayed that I can’t really bake that well. (I’m working on remedying the later.) Now I am putting a great priority on this activity.

Bittman’s interest in food extends not only from his interest and passion in personal health, but also public health and activism. A world that is increasingly interconnected and complex can leave us feeling paralyzed by the pace and degree of change. one person can and does make a difference. We are what we eat, and our world is also what we eat. Our food choices and how we consume our food has countless implications on the world at large. It’s an act in which we participate every day, several times per day, and it extends to all demographics. Change the way you eat, and you have the ability to change the world in a very tangible way.

The world of food is a true democracy – every person can and does make a difference.