My friend, Sol, posted this on his Facebook page. How about we make our health our priority, live in the present, and make the most of the time we have together?
Leap: How We Surprise the Dalai Lama
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
I had some friends from Egypt. Nabil said to me: In America you work all day, then you go home and work some more. When you reach retirement, all you are good for is to die.
I was in my thirties when Nabil said that to me. I worked 12 hour days and went home to take care of 4 kids on my own.
To my way of thinking, Samia and Nabil came from a place of luxury before they came to the US. They had an arranged marriage, lucrative careers and servants. They worked six days a week, from 10AM-2PM. Their servants did all the work at home.
Samia and Nabil came to the US to escape religious persecution in Egypt.
I am happy that i am not an anxious person, and need worry very little about my own persecution. Still, in my 61 years of life, I have begun to think that man makes his own stress. When he his stress-free, he goes out and finds some. It is often difficult to live in the moment. There is no stress in being; no tug, no pull, no forward, no back
.
Floating is so much harder than swimming.
LikeLike
“Floating is so much harder than swimming” – truer words were never spoken. And I think you just inspired me to write another post. Keep floating.
LikeLike
Wow! I look forward to your next post.
LikeLike
Thanks for mentioning me in your blog Christa!
This is a great quote by the Dalai Lama, and a profound observation on the tragedy of the modern lifestyle Western civilization has foisted upon us. Yoga, Buddhism and other spiritual paths have been powerful forces of awakening for more and more of us, shedding light on the folly of living anywhere else but in the present moment.
I couldn’t agree with you more that life is about making the most of our fleeting time here; celebrating our health and supporting the health of others is a powerful way to do that. And I know that you are engaged in doing just that in many ways.
Best to you and your readers here! Namaste.
LikeLike
Hi Sol – thanks so much for this inspiration. I love his sense of humor that gets us to open out minds and then the profound thoughts he shares that stick with us.
LikeLike