Month: January 2014

creativity

Inspired: The Adventure of Disciplined Curiosity

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

My only talents are intense curiosity and a freakishly strong sense of discipline. When something interests me, I go after it with a dogged determination and dedication. It’s the only way I know how to live and I wouldn’t change it. It’s taken me to places of immense beauty and introduced me to people who are kind, inspiring, and full of grace and goodness.

Curiosity and discipline have saved me over and over again throughout my life and I expect that they will go right on doing so for as long as I have breath. There is so much comfort in knowing that. It gives me a way out, up, over, and through every obstacle. It’s lets me know that even when I’m down, I won’t be down for long. Curiosity and determination will ride in on their chariot, scoop me up, and off we’ll go on a new adventure. They make every ending a new beginning.

yoga

Inspired: Compass Yoga Partners with Alzheimer’s Foundation of America

Christa Avampato
Compass Yoga is a proud AFA Member

After a lot of soul-searching, exploring, planning, and just plain working hard, Compass Yoga has found another great partner to help get more yoga and meditation to seniors. I’m so excited to announce that we are partnering with the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. Over the next few weeks we’ll be pouring through the incredible amount of information they’ve sent our way to figure out how we can support the work of others and perhaps create a set of new programs as we work together to turn the tide for those facing Alzheimer’s and their caregivers. Stay tuned!

business, money, writer, writing

Inspired: I’m officially a Staff Writer for Wise Bread

Christa Avampato

personal-finance-blog-logoWise Bread is a site that celebrates living well on a budget and I’m overjoyed to announce that I’m officially a staff writer for this site that I have long loved and admired. I’ll be posting a few times a week on a wide range of topics including food, travel, technology, personal finance, design, and career. My first post “How to Spend Less on Everything in 2014” is now live. I hope you’ll check it out.

Frugal living is how I make my freelance life work. Its principles pervade how I eat, where I travel, what I do, and how I think about money. It’s about saving, spending on things that matter, and smartly using the fuel of money to fund a life we love. It’s about eliminating wasteful habits and expenditures that are draining our bank accounts and limiting our freedom. I’m excited to share the journey with you!

 

action

Inspired: Don’t Think. Do.

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

I believe in an examined life, though only so much so that it gives us the strength, confidence, and courage to act. If you don’t know what to do, then try something. If that something doesn’t work, then try something else. If we continually try, if we never give up, then eventually we will find ourselves on the right course. Life – we’ve got to give it a go to make it go.

celebration, change, creativity, failure, faith, success

Inspired: The Dance of Optimism is the Cha-Cha

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

“Optimist: Someone who figures that taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster. It’s the cha-cha.” ~ Robert Brault

Forward, back. Forward, back. This is exactly what happens whenever we try to build something. It’s the dance of trial-error-and-trial-again. This is true of everything I’ve ever done. Nothing has ever been a linear progression from 0 to 60. The fun is in learning to ride the wave. When the roller coaster pulls up beside you, hand over your ticket, grab a seat (I recommend the front one because you can see better!), buckle up, and learn.

beauty, creativity

Inspired: If You’re Lost, Follow the Light

Christa Avampato

a6a179dc32927e676b95d1c36f22dc35No matter where we are, light guides us to exactly where we need to go. You’ll find it in people, in your work, in everything beautiful, and in you. Trust it.

inspiration, simplicity

Inspired: To Stay Motivated, Keep It Simple

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci

I was recently working on a project and quickly losing motivation. I love my work so it was hard for me to understand why I dreaded even the thought of working on this particular project. Then it hit me: there was a lot of complication entwined in my actual work on it. I crave and relish elegance and simplicity. It makes me happy and it motivates me. I knew what I needed to do – I eliminated the pieces of my work that weren’t necessary. If any step lacked value, I got rid of it even if other people had recommended that’s how it had to be done. I immediately felt better. My motivation returned and I learned a very valuable lesson: simplicity = fun and fun = get it done.

choices, faith, inspiration

Inspired: Move Forward From the Gut

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

We have to live life moving forward though we can only understanding it looking back. The only way we can face this reality is through faith. Faith that what we feel is right, is right. We have to tune into our intuition even when we don’t have a rational explanation for what we’re doing in the moment. Let that intuition spark your action. Some people won’t get it. That little inside voice of yours might not get it either. There will be jeers and questions and criticism. Turn their volume down to zero and amp up the voice from your gut. Walk confidently, gracefully. Head up, smile wide, heart open. Calm, cool, collected. You’ve got this.

beauty, inspiration

Inspired: Seek beauty and you will find it

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

For one minute today, stand and mentally take note of every beautiful thing you see. I do this every morning on my walk with Phin. It’s especially important that I do this when I’m feeling stressed, discouraged, or frustrated. Beauty, in all its forms, heals and it prompts us to create more of it for our ourselves and others. The more time we take to notice it, the more we realize just how much beauty this world holds. Once we see beauty in the world, we find it in our own hearts. And once we feel beauty, we radiate it back to everyone we encounter, everywhere we go.

creativity, health, opportunity

Inspired: Opportunity in injury

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

Over the Christmas holidays, I strained my hip. Now I’m on the mend thanks to my yoga practice, yoga teachers, and rest. I am rarely sick or injured so when it happens I first feel disappointed and then incredibly grateful. Disappointed that despite my desire to be super-human, I am indeed human and susceptible to injury. Grateful because an injury or illness fills me with so much empathy and compassion for those who manage physical pain on a daily basis. Injuries can get us down, and they can also be tremendous opportunities for growth, a source or strength, and proof of resilience. After all, if we were always well we would never experience the magic of healing.