I tell wonder-filled stories about hope and healing
“There is a subtle truth. Whatever you love, you are.” ~Rumi
Stuff your life with the people and things that light you up. Art, music, food, travel, stories. Make room for it. Pitch the things and people in your life that don’t add to it so that you have space for what matters most. In time, we become what we see, hear, and feel. The life we build around us is the life that seeps into us so make sure it’s the you want on your own terms.
I was hypnotized by Marc Maron’s recent WTF podcast episode in which he interviews James Taylor, one of my favorite musicians. Taylor’s life has been a winding road that was often dark, twisted, and lonely. To hear his smooth and comforting voice, the voice I first heard as a young teenager and can never get enough of, that harrowing journey isn’t always apparent.
This interview, the most raw and honest I’ve ever heard Taylor give (and as a huge fan I’ve heard many!), often left me teary-eyed and profoundly grateful that he is still with us and still making music. Now 32 years sober, Taylor is in love and making us fall in love with his music all over again via his new album, Before This World. His music and the people in his life, including friends and family, helped him make that climb out of the depths and into the light. Taylor and Maron reminded us that change, growth, and healing are difficult, but possible.
With his trademark familiarity and humility, Maron makes guests comfortable enough to share the stuff that hurts. I felt like I was in that garage in Los Angeles where Maron conducts most of his interviews, and that after we’d all go out and get a coffee. This is the gift of listening to podcasts and personal interviews. It’s an intense exercise in attention, connection, and awareness that’s so personal that it transports us. It’s a meditation of sorts, an opportunity to leave our own cares and worries behind, that helps us to better understand and appreciate another person’s experience and journey. And for this gift, I’m tremendously grateful to Taylor and Maron.
Listen to this interview at http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_648_-_james_taylor.
Over the past week, I’ve been trying something new. When I wake up, the first thing I do is read this quote: “Somewhere something incredible is waiting to be known.” ~Carl Sagan. And then I get up, get ready, and try to find that one thing that I’m meant to learn that day. Some days, it’s wonderful. Some days, it’s not so wonderful. But it’s always incredible because day by day I’m learning about another small layer of life. I trust that the lessons I get are the ones I need and that they appear exactly when I need them. Maybe this is a profound practice. And maybe it’s a fool’s errand. But I do know it helps me go out into the world, no matter what, with a sense of purpose.
“When educating the minds of our youth, we must not forget to educate their hearts.” ~Dalai Lama
The other day I ran into someone I used to know. He’s always had a bit of a melancholy personality, but he seems to have gone even further down that sad, dark tunnel. Though I felt badly for him, I also recognize that there’s nothing I can do for him except hope that someday he digs himself out of it. It’s the tough thing about loving and caring for adults: they make their own choices and we can only influence them through example.
Kids, however, are different. We can have a much bigger impact and impression on them as they grow and develop into adults. And this is why education in the most holistic sense is so critical. A moment in a child’s life, good or bad, can completely change the trajectory of his or her life, and often does. While there’s no doubt that we need to focus on growing their knowledge base, let’s also remember that educating their hearts—letting them know how much they are valued and that they need to value others—is at least as important.
Love can, and should, be taught.
“3 things students want to hear: I believe in you. You have a purpose. How are you?”
This was posted by Edutopia (George Lucas Education Foundation) this week. While it’s positioned as what we need to tell students every day, it’s something we all need. This is something we should give to others and also expect to receive in return from everyone in our lives. We all deserve this level of care and concern.
“What The Welders taught me is to keep walking toward the risk.” ~Caleen Sinnette Jennings, Playwright
I listened to a podcast of The Kojo Nnamdi Show entitled, “All For One: D.C.’s Collective Theater Scene” featuring Caleen Sinnette Jennings and Jojo Ruf, two prominent members of D.C.’s theater community who are enormously involved with The Welders, an organization whose mission is to establish an evolving, alternative platform for play development and production. Caleen’s quote above sums up the great honor and challenge of a creative life, especially one in theater. We have to move toward risk, fully embrace it with both arms, and realize that the risk is worth it even if there is little or no reward. The risk is the journey and the destination, the path and the goal.
The conversation with Kojo was spirited and uplifting, especially for me as a playwright and theater professional who is new to D.C. and getting to know the theater landscape here. There are so many passionate and creative people here in D.C. The vibrant and varied theater community is one of the main reasons I relocated to D.C. and The Welders is one of the most innovative movements here.
Hearing this podcast, I know I made the right choice to make D.C. my home. There’s so much to discover here, and I’m most excited to learn about the person and artist I have yet to become. The risk has already been so worth all of the effort!
“Start ignoring people who threaten your joy. Literally, ignore them. Say nothing. Don’t invite any parts of them into your space.” ~Alex Elle
Look right through people who interrupt, disturb, or attempt to steal your joy. They’re not your work to do. They aren’t your responsibility. They aren’t worth your energy, time, nor effort. You go on being your magnificent, talented, beautiful self. The best you can do for them is to inspire them with the ripples of true joy flowing from you into the Universe. And if that’s not enough for them, then they aren’t enough for you.
Though I’m not a religious person, I do believe passionately in the power of community and love. One of my very dearest friends was dealt an incredible loss last week. If you have any spare thoughts, prayers, and virtual hugs, she and her family could really use them now. Let the goodness flow through you and out into the Universe in the hopes that we can brighten the skies a bit for everyone. Thank you so much.
There’s an older man in a wheelchair who makes balloon animals for all of the kids near the Columbia Heights metro stop. No matter the weather, he’s out there. I walked past him the other day as a little girl ran to him smiling and squealing with delight. You’d think he was her long lost best friend. And he returned that smile right back to her. The two hugged and he immediately began twisting a balloon into a puppy for her.
That unparalleled joy from both of them showed me the power of connection, the power of giving and receiving. It can come from everyone to anyone everywhere at any time. It knows no limits nor bounds. A smile builds a bridge across every divide and level of diversity. It brings us all together.
“Life is about change. Sometimes it’s painful. Sometimes it’s beautiful. Most of the time, it’s both.” ~ Lana Lang
You may find that you’re ready for a change. Change is liberating and difficult. It’s exhilarating and frightening. There is rarely a good time for it. We are rarely truly ready for it. While careful planning can help to create a transition, sometimes you have to do something radical. You have to just leap with the confidence that you’ll be able to handle whatever happens. And you will. You will.
Christa Avampato 