“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
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
“You cannot be lonely if you like the person you‘re alone with.“ ~ Wayne Dyer
Christa Avampato 
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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