January 12, 2017 – Christa Avampato

“You only have control over three things in your life—the thoughts you think, the images you visualize, and the actions you take.” ~Jack Canfield

As we get closer to the inauguration and the situation in our nation becomes more uncertain, the anxiety rises. I can feel it in my own mind and I see and hear it spinning in the minds of many others whom I know and love. Quotes like the one above help me navigate and manage this stress. For the first time this year, I made a vision board on Pinterest for 2017. I look at it a few times a week to stay focused. I’m also making more time to read books and to spend time with art that inspires me. This is helping to calm and shape my thoughts and my actions. So if like me the anxiety of uncertainty and change is affecting you, I hope that these ideas will help keep us connected to each other and to what matters.

In my reading yesterday I came across this quote: “Listen and silent are spelled with the same letters. Think about that.” I thought about how much we miss because we’re so busy having our say. This year as I’m pausing, I’m also making a concerted effort to listen more—to my own heart and to the hearts of others. There’s a lot of noise in the world, a lot of people crowing as loud as they can, as often as they can, about as much as they can. In a time like this, I’ve found a lot of comfort in some time set aside every day for silence and listening. Peace of mind, peace of body, peace of soul.