“You cannot be lonely if you like the person you‘re alone with.“ ~ Wayne Dyer
On the heels of my post about the value of quiet time alone, I read two articles in the Times – one of the age of anxiety and one of the danger of the new groupthink a.k.a collaboration. Both articles, from different vantage points advocate for the same course of action – disconnecting from others in order to alleviate stress, free our creativity, and do our best work. Both articles recognize the importance of interaction – we are social creatures – though they favor the idea of casual interactions as a break from intense personal work as the sure way to breakthrough ideas that generate valuable contributions to humanity.
Though my weekdays are jammed with work, classes – as a teacher and student, events, and seeing friends, I have tried very hard to guard my weekends as mostly me time with a special exception here and there. (Well, me time with Phineas, if you must know.) It’s felt a bit selfish, and also incredibly wonderful. I often shut off my phone, turn on my music, and spend time in my cozy little uptown apartment in the sky doing exactly what I want to do, exactly when I want to do it. It’s liberating to not dash from here to there and back again.
Silence is proving to be golden – for my creativity, curiosity, happiness, and confidence. I have time to think, dream, plan, and wonder. There’s a magic in it. By the time Monday rolls around, I’ve literally forgotten any stresses from Friday.
In Sunday’s Times, I also read an article in the real estate section about the virtues of dark apartments, of which New York has many. Writers, artists, musicians, and entrepreneurs featured in the article talk about their dark homes as places where they can get away from it all whenever they feel the need for escape. The beauty of making a home a sanctuary is the ability to come and go from solitude on a whim, at any moment. Walk through the front door, and they’re in a place of peace and tranquility. Walk outside the front door, and interaction is available everywhere. It is the best of both worlds.
As the year of the Dragon, 2012 is ripe with opportunity. And I can’t help but think that the very best way for us to seize the day is to seize every chance we get for some peace and quiet wherever we call home.
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
“You cannot be lonely if you like the person you‘re alone with.“ ~ Wayne Dyer
Christa,
Existential alone-ness is the way to inner liberation. Celebrate being alone and discover that you best and true friend wants to get back in touch. We find that long lost friend when we get back in touch with the essence: the self. I love to sit in the dark, all by myself, and meditate. Even when I am not meditating, darkness is a wonderful companion. You wrote a fab post and thanks for jogging my memory. Cheerio.
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Archan! So great to see you comment – it made my day. I’m learning the sweetness in alone time.
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