We go to yoga classes to find ease. We seek out ways to laugh more, do meaningful work, to blow off steam. We wish every day could be easier for everyone. But anyone who’s been around on this planet long enough has experienced pain in one form or another. Supreme loss, struggle, sadness. Or at the very least we know someone who has and we ask, “Why do terrible things happen to good people?” We question everything in the face of difficulty – our faith, our relationships, our own abilities to generate happiness and abundance.
In my apartment building fire, in my own upbringing, there was a lot of hardship and pain. For many years, I spent a lot of energy being angry and then a lot more energy suppressing that anger in an effort to appear “normal”. The truth is that I needed that suffering, that trauma, to make the most of my time here. The darkness was necessary because it forced me to step into the light.
Last week, The New York Times ran an article entitled “Post-Traumatic Stress’s Surprisingly Positive Flip Side“. Synchronously, Al’s talk at ISHTA last week addressed this idea, too. He commented that we don’t need to let suffering, ours or that of others, discourage us. Suffering leads to transformation. If we were happy with every circumstance, we would have no need to grow. We could just hang out in our current state forever. But what kind of existence is that? This life, on this plane, is about transforming the soul and nothing causes transformation and change as much as discomfort.
In this way, we become grateful for all the crappy things that happen to us and to those we know and love. These circumstances are the Universe’s way of propelling us into becoming the people we are meant to be. That’s a lot to digest and accept. And let’s be clear – it’s really a bummer that we have to suffer to be free, to evolve, to change. I wish there was another way. But the good news is that change is always possible and it’s within our power to bring it into being with our own two hands.
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
4 thoughts on “Leap: The Blessing of Suffering”
So true. And, for me, letting the ebb and flow of suffering and non-suffering just be as it is rather than getting caught up and drowning in one or the other has been an ongoing transformation.
Love the NY Times article about post traumatic growth – amen! And I believe that it’s not that bad things happen to good people but rather the trauma can bring out the goodness in people so others say how come bad things happen to such good people. We all have choices about how we respond to life circumstances. I’m so glad you chose the path of lightness. Namaste
Hi Mary – I believe trauma can bring out the goodness as well. It’s hell to go through, and certainly many times it is totally unnecessary. We must do whatever we can to prevent it, but if and when it does happen, we can find solace in making use of its lessons.
Christa Avampato 
So true. And, for me, letting the ebb and flow of suffering and non-suffering just be as it is rather than getting caught up and drowning in one or the other has been an ongoing transformation.
LikeLike
There’s a great quote that says, “I’m not bothered by life because I don’t mind what happens.” It’s all a learning process!
LikeLike
Love the NY Times article about post traumatic growth – amen! And I believe that it’s not that bad things happen to good people but rather the trauma can bring out the goodness in people so others say how come bad things happen to such good people. We all have choices about how we respond to life circumstances. I’m so glad you chose the path of lightness. Namaste
LikeLike
Hi Mary – I believe trauma can bring out the goodness as well. It’s hell to go through, and certainly many times it is totally unnecessary. We must do whatever we can to prevent it, but if and when it does happen, we can find solace in making use of its lessons.
LikeLike