Chapter 1 of the new Breaking Bread Podcast is live! Mina and her dog, Phineas, fall into a strange new world where never is now. Tap below to listen:
Month: January 2017
In the pause: Celebrate your unique journey
A friend of mine is resetting his life: new job, new city, new just about everything. Though he’s excited about his adventure into the unknown, he’s also feeling uncomfortable because he’s comparing his life to the lives of others, especially to friends and acquaintances on social media.
In that moment, my friend just needed me to listen to how he was feeling. He didn’t want advice; he just needed support. He just needed to be heard and validated without feeling guilty. So I held that space for him. At the end of the conversation, I told him I was really proud of him for taking his own journey, for not letting these comparisons and fears stop him from redesigning exactly the life he wants.
My hope for him is the same hope I have for all of us—that we celebrate our own unique journeys without any judgement. Our conversations also made me even more grateful that this year I’m making more time to pause and disconnect online so that I can connect more with my own spirit and with the spirit of others in the world.
In the pause: Bravery matters
A friend of mine recently ended a long-term relationship and I asked her why. Her response was beautiful, powerful, and also deeply sad. “He wasn’t brave.” I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of bravery. It’s underrated, and yet it can make a world of difference in the lives we live and the impact we have. So whether you’re going through a big change this year, starting a new project, or standing up for your beliefs, I hope 2017 is the year that personally and collectively we decide to be brave and support one another in its pursuit.
In the pause: The passing of time is your friend
Knowing that we only have a finite amount of time a gift because it helps us figure out what matters. It helps us understand what we want to do and who we want to spend our time with. I was recently offered an opportunity – a wonderful opportunity – but when I put it through the filter of “is this really how I want to spend the next few years that I will never be able to get back?” it was very easy to turn it down. If 2016 taught us anything, it’s that time is the most precious and sacred thing we have. Let’s honor our own time and the time of others as the priceless gift that it is.
In the pause: Redirecting the Breaking Bread Podcast into a satirical comedy set in Trumpville
When I started the Breaking Bread Podcast, I had the idea to invite people over to my home, cook their favorite meal, and talk about the issues that are important to them. While that mission seems simple, it’s operationally more difficult than I anticipated. Booking guests is a time intensive job and it costs a good chunk of money. Also, audio editing is a bear and I don’t enjoy it. I like writing and live storytelling, and I want to do a podcast that’s an extension of those two things that also lets me be creative in new and different ways.
I spent a fair amount of time over my holiday break thinking about what to do with the Breaking Bread Podcast. I also spent a fair amount of time reading and talking to people about the election and Trump and what a complete sh*t-show we’re facing come January 20th. And a few things started to come together for me: truth reaches more people when it’s dressed as satire and comedy, world-building is a fun, creative activity (some of my favorite stories are The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter, and Welcome to Night Vale), and Trump is insane so I’m going to use his own words as material.
Here’s my premise: Mina Montgomery accidentally falls through a hidden portal at the corner of Constitution Avenue and 1st Street NE on the afternoon of November 8, 2016 and finds herself in a strange parallel universe known as Trumpville. Built by Trump himself, it is an idealized version of the world as he would design it and it’s populated by people faithful to his point-of-view. Or so it appears. Every day, there is a press conference delivered by Trump to the citizens of Trumpville that tells them how it’s all going “above ground”. To her horror, Mina learns that Trump won the presidential election on the day she fell through the portal. She thinks she’s alone in this mad, a*s-backwards world, but she’s not. What she needs to do is find her people, and together they will find a way out. Trapped in Trumpville for the forseeable future, she opens a bakery in Trumpville called Breaking Bread in an attempt to bring people together. In the episodes of the Breaking Bread Podcast, Mina processes her thoughts as a living diary of sorts in order to maintain some semblance of sanity while she figures out how to get everyone out of Trumpville and back to civilization.
Similar to a Trump presidency, I have no idea how this new podcast idea will play out. Who knows what he’ll do next? He’s leaving us in suspense, remember? My game plan is to speak out again, and again, and again because I care about this country and the people who live here, and to find and support people who need a friend during this wild ride. I remember the Bush years and they were brutal. My greatest hope for this podcast idea is that it will be a port in the storm where together we can ride out the mayhem while we try to right the ship.
In the pause: Rediscovering awe in CRISPR
“He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.” ~Albert Einstein
In this year of pausing and reflecting more, I try to read, see, hear, or experience one thing every day that seems completely out of this world. Things that make me wonder. Things that make me stand in awe.
Today that thing is something known as CRISPR. In a very small and simple nutshell, it’s a “find and replace” function for cellular DNA. There is research underway right now at Penn, my alma mater, that is attempting to turn cells into cancer super-fighters.
Other scientists are testing the ideas of using CRISPR to take HIV, cancer, and Alzheimer’s right out of the cells where they exist at the genetic level. Elsewhere, they are creating healthy crops and looking at the possibility of reviving extinct species. There is a chance, and a healthy one at that, that CRISPR could change life on earth as we know it. And with it, there are mountains of ethical and moral questions that have no answers.
It’s my hope that in the coming months and years I will find a way to somehow participate in these conversations and help others participate, too. 2017 is poised to be another wild ride, and I’m grateful for the pause to help me process it.
In the pause: Rain, not thunder, grows flowers
“Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.” ~Rumi
As much as 2016 was a year of hype, I hope that 2017 is a year of substance. I hope we stop rewarding the person in the room with the loudest voice and start listening to those who are take action in a thoughtful, collaborative, and inclusive way. I hope we learn to revere love and reject hate. And most of all, I hope we collectively come to understand that caring for people and assuring equality is not a liberal value, but a human one.
In the pause: We’ve been in the wild world of Trumpville before – a message from me and Jon Stewart
Many of my friends are literally despondent about Donald Trump winning the election. I was talking to Jon Stewart (and by talking to him, I mean reading his book The Daily Show (The Book): An Oral History) about it. Jon reminded me that sadly we’ve been here before. There were two dark and stormy nights known as November 7, 2000 and November 2, 2004. It was a time before social media and citizen journalism, and that’s why so few people remember them. The human brain is designed for self-preservation, meaning we minimize the crappy things that happen to us in favor of the good times. So when crappy things happen again, they feel like the worst times we’ve ever had. That’s why we need books like Jon’s.
November 7, 2000 was a horrible night. We didn’t know who would be President for several days. There were hanging chads, the insanity that is Florida, and reports of election day tampering. It all came down to a handful of votes, and the candidate who won the popular vote lost the electoral college. We were the laughing-stock of the world because of the goat rodeo that was our election process. It was embarrassing. Jon is still shaking his head about this. Still.
The next four years brought 9/11, war in the Middle East, racial profiling as an acceptable practice, ethnic prejudice (especially against Muslims), economic recession, fake news (from our very own federal government—Weapons of Mass Destruction!), and ridicule against any U.S. citizens who didn’t support the war in Iraq. You were actually labeled a traitor and Un-American if you spoke out against our President and the war effort in 2002. Jon reminded me that The Daily Show got piles of death threats for pointing out the lunacy and hypocrisy of the Bush administration’s actions and words. And The Daily Show was the only media outlet doing this. Comedy was truth. Their viewership soared as a result because the youngest set of voters were fed up with our President and our government. The media was a complete circus; everyone hated journalists and no one trusted them. They trusted Jon Stewart and his team, and seemingly no one else. Crimes rates were climbing. Despair was climbing. The Presidential elections were around the corner and it was time for a change! Jon, and the country, were sure Bush would be long gone soon.
And on November 2, 2004, the majority of the country elected President Bush and the evil puppet master Dick Cheney. Again. Cries of “Not My President” were everywhere. Protests were common. Violence peaked. I remember watching the results in D.C. I was 28. I cried. Many people cried. How? How on Earth could he be re-elected? After everything we’d been though how could our nation do this? We were very much a nation divided and afraid. It was a brutal time. Many people didn’t think we’d survive. Many people felt another 9/11 was imminent.
The Great Recession began to take hold in December 2007, and by the fall of 2008 it seemed like our economy might not survive. By then I had an MBA, $100K+ worth of debt, and was working in New York City in financial services. Most of my friends were unemployed; some of them were deported because their visas were no longer valid without jobs. That was a terrible time. There was palpable fear on the streets. There was no escape. There was nowhere to run. Widespread depression mixed with panic was everywhere. By then, President Bush’s approval rating had fallen from 90% in 2001 to 25%, one of the worst in presidential history. (The only presidents ever rated lower were Richard Nixon and Harry Truman.) Jon was losing his mind over the state of the country. He was outraged. We all were.
And then, when all seemed completely lost, a pair of even-keel, educated, and diplomatic leaders rose in Washington. Barack Obama and Joe Biden were handed a frightening responsibility. They rolled up their sleeves, and got to work. Against all odds, we survived. They did the impossible amidst a storm of criticism, racism, and hatred. They were unsinkable.
Now, Jon and I don’t think you should just roll over for the next 4 years. Not. At. All. We want you to get out there and keep fighting for what’s right. We want you to fact-check the hell out of everyone. We want you to get educated on the issues, and speak with conviction. We want you to take care of people in your community. We want you to use the online megaphones we all now have to connect, share, and support each other.
And we want you to do this with the knowledge that those 8 years of painful politics from 2000-2008 were terrible, and our nation did survive. Yes, we were battered and bruised. No, we have no desire at all to relive any of those years. Yes, we think we are in for at least 4 years of great difficulty and heartache. And we know this—we will survive, together. I have absolutely no faith in the new administration. (I won’t speak for Jon here. I’ll leave that to him to do when he feels ready.) I have faith in you, and I have faith in me, and that’s enough of a reason for me to get up every day and keep trying.
As for Jon, well he’s retired now. He told me (and Charlie Rose) that he misses the people of The Daily Show, but he doesn’t miss the grind. He’s gone back to screaming at the television in his underwear while surrounded by a literal farm of animals. He’s more than happy to have passed the mantel of The Daily Show to Trevor Noah, who I’ll be talking to right after I wrap things up with Jon. (And by talking to Trevor, I mean finishing his excellent book, Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood.) More on that later.
In the pause: Carrie Fisher’s advice on your voice
“Say your weak things in a strong voice.” ~Carrie Fisher in an interview with Charlie Rose
I think the hard thing about speaking our truths, especially ones that hurt, is that they often make our voice tremble. You know how it goes—the lump in your throat, the tears in your eyes, the shaking in your hands. We’ve all got those truths, some of them buried deeper than others. What Carrie Fisher gave us was an example, a template, to help us say and own these hard truths with a strong and clear voice. You don’t need to be ashamed of things you’ve survived, however tenuous that survival may be. If you are here, then you have the right to stand tall and proud, to speak out, and to claim your place at the table with an experienced and knowledgeable point-of-view. No one can take that from you. That is yours, so own it.
In the pause: Baking bread as a holy act
Tell bread to rise and it ignores you. It will rise of its own accord. You can’t make it rise faster. It often requires work, and lots of it. Baking bread is a contact sport, and you must give it your hands, arms, and heart. In all these ways, it is a holy act. It is an act of patience, belief, and faith.
Lately the only thing that makes me feel better is cooking and baking, and baking bread most of all. I can’t write or read or multi-task while I bake bread. It helps me to pause, be quiet, and reflect. It demands my mind, my hands, and my attention for a certain amount of time, and then it demands I leave it alone for a good long while.
So if you’re feeling lost or disillusioned or confused, even angry or sad or disappointed, I suggest stocking your cupboard with the magic combination of flour, salt, and yeast. Add some water, tuck it away for a while in a warm, cozy place, and magical things will begin to happen. It will rise. And you will rise with it.
Christa Avampato 