Well, folks, it’s happening. Despite my decision years ago to not age, Mother Nature is refusing to cooperate. How annoying.
Phin and I were out for our morning walk earlier this week and I noticed that my distance vision was not as sharp as I remember it being. For a number of years I’ve had a very mild prescription for glasses to sharpen my distance vision. I didn’t really need them to see, just to reduce strain caused by an astigmatism. Now it seems their necessity may be upon me.
Of course I went home and immediately started Googling to find eye strengthening exercises that I’ve been doing each night before I go to bed. Mother Nature may not be willing to help me out, but she can’t tell me not to help myself.
This week I also began to find a couple of consistent white hairs, not just stray ones few and far between. At first I plucked them and dropped them in the trash convinced that this was just a fluke. My few and far between white hairs obviously just all decided to show up on the same day at the same time, but certainly others would not be joining them any time soon.
Still, I wasn’t taking any chances. And so I started to color my hair, not just to mix up my look, but because it’s now actually needed. Those white hairs are a reminder of the one thing I will never be able to do, no matter how hard I try – stop time from passing.
Why is aging so tough? Why do we fight it every step of the way (with or without Oil of Olay)?
We hang on to what we know, and we know youth. We don’t know old age. We have no idea what it has in store for us, but we’ve heard stories. Scary stories of illness and pain and difficulty. And those stories are enough to make us want to stay right where we are.
I got home yesterday to find the latest copy of Yoga Journal in my mailbox. This month’s theme? Aging, with grace. The Universe has one wicked sense of humor. It’s also supremely skilled at giving us exactly the message we need exactly when we need to hear it. If only we could quiet down long enough to hear it!
I made my way upstairs to my apartment to begin reading the messages the Universe clearly wanted me to understand, but not until after I finished my eye exercises.
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.
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Christa Avampato 