“Within you there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.” ~Hermann Hesse
I woke up this morning with one pervasive thought—how very different my life was a month ago. Not just my geographic location but also my outlook on my own life. I thought I might lose Phin. I wasn’t in my own space. My career was a giant question mark. I felt like I was spinning my wheels in the toughest way, and I really didn’t know how I was going to gain any traction from that place.
Then last night I went out to dinner to sit and laugh and eat with friends just 2 blocks from the Capitol Building. Phin is on the mend and we’re both settling into our new digs. I’ve got a number of career options on the horizon. I’m hopeful about the many possibilities ahead. For a while I laid in bed and just rested in the stillness, the stillness of knowing that if we can make a commitment one tiny step at a time to make our situation better, then all those steps will eventually add up to something that looks and feels like progress. And while it might seem like an overnight process, there have been so many forces at work for a long time, forces far beyond my control or understanding, that made today’s circumstances possible.
This can be a hard perspective to keep in the moment. Certainly a month ago it was hard for me to imagine what life would be like beyond the very minute I was living. And that has its own gifts. All of a sudden we realize that we are empowered to do anything we want to do. All of a sudden we realize that if we can honestly ask for help and advice and then listen to it, then others will come to our aid. That’s certainly what happened to me. These life changes that happened to me in the last month were largely built on the generosity and kindness of friends. And I’m grateful for every one of them.
Christa Avampato 