“Human beings have two ears and only one tongue. Why is this? Probably so that we have to listen twice as much as we speak.” ~ Henning Mankell
I read Henning Mankell’s article in the Sunday Times on the edge of my seat. He is a brilliant Swedish author who has spent almost 25 years off and on living, working, and creating in Mozambique. In the article, Mankell explains how African storytelling and narratives are about to burst onto the world literary stage.I couldn’t be happier about this development!
I went to Africa for the first time in 2007 after decades of dreaming about it. Immediately, I felt at home in a place that should have felt incredibly foreign. It was as if I had been there before, many time before. It felt like comfortable. It must have been our mutual love affair with great stories that made it feel so familiar.
We have the opportunity now to listen and share stories across continents, over oceans, and through the decades. The stories we tell today will be preserved in some way for people to read hundreds of years from now long after we’ve crossed over to whatever is next. Whenever we feel most alone, most frightened, we can take comfort in the stories of others who have had similar experiences. Go to Google. You’ll find them there, just waiting for you – your people, all holding a seat of your to sit around the proverbial campfire and share.
Storytelling in an act and art as old as time. It began with the very first person and will end with the very last. Storytelling and listening are more innate, more human than anything else we do. And its craft is within all of us.
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
“Human beings have two ears and only one tongue. Why is this? Probably so that we have to listen twice as much as we speak.” ~ Henning Mankell
Christa Avampato 
Of course you felt at home in Africa — since the time you came home from school when you were in Middle School and asked at supper if we wanted to know what you had learned that day about Africa, it has been a part of your soul with all its intrigue, beauty, danger, cultures and history!
LikeLike