Month: May 2015

change, creativity, determination

This just in: Lose yourself. Be daring.

Christa Avampato
Life is a daring adventure or nothing.
Life is a daring adventure or nothing.

“To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself.” ~Soren Kierkegaard

To dare, to try something that may not work, especially if it’s highly unlikely to work, is a brave and powerful act. In the best case scenario, you gain everything you’re hoping to find. In the worst case scenario, you get knocked off-balance for a bit and realize something new and exciting about yourself in the process.

Putting ourselves in the role of student, risking looking like a fool for the sake of learning, is the most daring act there is. We admit we don’t know something. We admit that we don’t know what we don’t know, and then we go on a quest – sometimes a short jaunt and sometimes a long journey – with discovery as the only goal.

Go ahead and dare yourself. Lose yourself. Allow yourself to fall into the experience and emerge from the other side. That’s always a good way to go.

choices, risk

This just in: Go on, break the rules

Christa Avampato
Kindred spirits

Sometimes your only choice is to break the rules. I’ve spent a lot of time building a rule book for my life, and last week I felt the need to break with my own conventions to go outside the bounds and boundaries I had set. I can’t say why that impulse took over. I knew in my gut that the right thing to do was exactly the opposite of what I’d always done before.

The chance I took paid off in spades, and continues to pay off. It was a risk I’m glad I took. And I’m certain it won’t be the last. Sometimes the strongest move we can make is to let all of our vulnerability show. The reward is in the risk.

creativity

This just in: B.B. King’s gift

Christa Avampato
B.B. King
B.B. King

Today I’m having a B.B. King dance party. What an incredible gift he left to all of us – the ability to put all of our deepest, most soulful emotions into music that can wash over us always. Forget resting in peace. May he rest in his songs forever. And may we be lucky enough to do the same. “All I can do is wish you well.”

action, courage, decision-making, determination

This just in: Getting things done Amelia Earhart style

Christa Avampato
Don’t quit. Just do it.

“The best way to do it, is to do it.” ~Amelia Earhart

I’m a planner by nature. I love nothing better than a good decision tree with many intricate branches accompanied by an extensive pro/con list and supplemented with a healthy dose of if-then statements. However, if I’m really honest with myself, 99.9% of the time I know exactly what I need to do. My head, heart, and gut operate in lock-step most of the time. The decision tree, pro/con list, and if-then statements are usually just reassurance. To do something, I need to just do it. I’ll learn from my mistakes. I’ll get up if I fall down. I’ll manage through the bumps, bruises, and disappointments. I’ll keep going.

In recent months, I’ve done a much better job of letting go. I’ve stopped second guessing myself. I’ve reminded myself, very often on an hourly basis, that I really am going to be fine no matter what. I’ve learned how to ask for and accept help and support. And perhaps the most amazing discovery is that if we bet on ourselves, really put all our faith in our abilities, the Universe comes through with a pair of aces. Every. Damn. Time. Once we decide to commit, once we really decide to go after something with everything we’ve got, the world rises up with us.

Trust—in ourselves, in others, and in the greater forces that have a hand in good fortune—is hard. The older I get, the more I realize that every once of the difficulty to cultivate it is more than worth it. And once we have trust, action naturally follows.

books, courage, creativity, fear

This just in: What FEAR really stands for

Christa Avampato
FEAR - Forget Everything And Rise
FEAR – Forget Everything And Rise

“FEAR – Forget Everything And Rise.” ~ Dan Romanelli, Happy is the New Healthy

My friend, Inna, gave me this book for my birthday and this definition of fear really resonates with me. We can’t stop fear. It’s a natural and protective human response. We can move over, under, and through it in our pursuit of what really matters to us. Forget Everything And Rise. That sounds exactly like the kind of fear I can embrace and use.

change, creative process, creativity, determination, work

This just in: The way forward

Christa Avampato
“I know you’re tired but come, this is the way.” ~Rumi

“I know you’re tired but come, this is the way.” ~Rumi

Invention, reinvention, and creation is a difficult, messy process. Change is tiring. Transformation wears us down. I’ve remade my life so many times, in so many places, through so many career paths, that I’ve almost lost count. I create a life, and then either it’s ripped away from me or I toss it away when I realize there’s no way to make it work going forward. And yes, it is tiring. Yes, sometimes I want to give up. Yes, it’s always hard to try again.

Luckily, I just can’t help myself. I like hard work and I have a real aversion to remaining stuck. I don’t wear hopeless or helpless well. I roll up my sleeves and get down in the weeds and make, again and again and again. That tenacity, that ambition, has been my savior all my life. It’s made my life, literally and figuratively. I want what I want, and honestly, nothing else is good enough unless of course, I stumble upon something that was better than what I imagined. And that happens a lot.

Rumi puts it perfectly. Yes, we do get tired but we can’t give in or give up. We have to keep going. Our way is right in front of us, and we are the only ones who can take it. When we feel depleted, we can find strength in others. We can ask for help. We can remind ourselves that on the other side of tired, there is a whole world waiting for us, and it’s exactly what’s meant for us.

balance, beauty, care, choices, creativity

This just In: Magic is all around you, everywhere you go

Christa Avampato
Sombrero Galaxy in infrared light (Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope)
Sombrero Galaxy in infrared light (Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope)

“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” ~W.B. Yeats

Sometimes we pray for signs—an insight, hint, or direction of what to do next when we can’t see our way out of where we are. The very thing we want—the guidance, love, and concern from the Universe—is already here. It’s everywhere. Around every corner, in every step we take.

I noticed it last week in the morning doves in Rock Creek Park. I felt it in smiles from the people in my neighborhood whom I see every day as I come and go from home. I found it in the light and the sky and the breeze. It was a quiet but still strong whisper. “Keep going. This is the way for you.”

The trail of magic is always there for us to pick up and follow. We just need to open our eyes, and heart, and ears, and let go of the many fears and doubts that keep us down. Sharpen your senses. Attune and align yourself with magic. It’s waiting for you. It’s a choice.

creativity

This just in: Happy Mother’s Day – a broader perspective

Christa Avampato
Happy Mother's Day!
Happy Mother’s Day!

Wishing a very happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms out there and to all women who play a part in making the world a better place for others through their care, concern, and compassion. I’m grateful for the many mothers in my life, those who’ve supported me and encouraged me throughout my life. I wouldn’t be who I am without you. Thank you and enjoy the day!

action, change, education, imagination, work

This just in: A Mister Rogers Kind of Work Day

Christa Avampato
Mister Rogers costume change
Mister Rogers costume change

When I was a kid, I loved Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. I loved that he spent his day making people smile and using his imagination to help them learn. I especially loved that he transitioned his wardrobe when he got to work and before he went home.

It occurred to me that I do similar things with my job. I walk from my home through Rock Creek Park to my office in about 40 minutes. It’s a walking meditation really. I use the time to plan the day ahead and transition into work mode. I’m usually the first person there, and the first thing I do is put on my sweater and change into my work shoes. I spend the day with a fantastic team doing imaginative work to help children make the most of their potential.

Then when the day is done, I put my sweater away, change into my walking shoes, grab my backpack, and walk back home the way I came. I use the walk home to think about what I learned that day and to give thanks for the opportunity to do work that matters so much.

Mister Rogers taught me well. There’s something to be said for transition time, for having a dedicated place for work and play. I missed that time and space when I worked primarily from home. I’m grateful to have it back.

courage, creativity, determination

This just in: What it really means to be humble

Christa Avampato
Let your light shine
Let your light shine

“True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” ― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

So often we think that humility means self-deprecation or waving our hand when someone says that they appreciate something we’ve done or accomplished. I prefer C.S. Lewis’s definition. Let’s take it upon ourselves to use our many gifts and talents, not discredit them, to make the world better for all its inhabitants. Don’t spend any effort to dim your light. Spread it around. The world needs you at your best so serve it up.