I tell wonder-filled stories about hope and healing
Author: Christa Avampato
The short of it:
Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day.
The long of it:
My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events.
While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series.
A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist.
My company:
I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media:
• I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference;
• I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable;
• I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me.
Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
In the last few weeks I’ve learned about the power of one. One person can’t do everything, but everyone can do something. And that something can either make our corner of the world better or more difficult. We choose our impact through our actions and words, and the impact we make affects everyone around us. Will we help people dream big? Will we encourage people to craft lives they love and treasure? Will we live in a way that shows people what’s possible? I hope for this more than anything—that all the choices I make, regardless of the outcomes, help others to take more chances and let go of everything that doesn’t serve them well. Life’s too short for anything else.
Phin and I are on the road to D.C. today, only our second solo road trip together. We’re just taking it one mile at a time. We’ll have plenty of tunes to keep up company, a couple of pit stops along the way, and with any luck the snow will be cleared off the road by the time we reach Washington on Thursday. The journey really is one of the best parts of life. Here’s to adventure!
“As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.” ~Seneca
Today’s my last day in Florida. Tomorrow I’ll take off for Washington D.C. to start the next chapter of a good life. I don’t know what I’ll find there. I couldn’t tell you what my life’s going to look like a week from now much less a month or a year. I should be nervous or scared or at least hesitant, at least for a moment, but I’m not. Not one bit. I know that something wonderful is there for me, that something wonderful has been there for me for a long time. Now I’m just ready to stand toe-to-toe with that future and say hello. I’ve finally found my way.
Last night I watched the 40th anniversary show of SNL. After a few long days of packing and a long drive ahead of me this week, I needed a good healthy dose of the giggles. I was reminded of the potent power of smiling and laughing, of its ability to get inside our minds and hearts and turn the beat around. On an unsure road, I’m grateful to have laughter as a constant companion. In the days ahead as I incur the stress that always comes from moving and job searching, I’m going to make sure to get my daily dose of laughter. If I forget, please remind me. Jokes welcomed and greatly appreciated.
And we’re set for our next adventure! Phin and I will hit the road on Wednesday to move to D.C. My plan is to stop halfway to rest and arrive in D.C. some time on Thursday. I’m abundantly grateful to my friends, Matt and Alex, whom I’ll be renting from as I get my feet under me and re-establish my life in nearly every way. The constants during this tough time are my amazing friends whose support of my wild ideas never waivers.
The Universe has a wild way of speeding you along the path once you find it. Just a week ago I had planned to be in Florida for another 2 months. I thought I had to stay because it would be safer to do a long-distance job search, let Phin heal in Florida, and secure a D.C. apartment for a few months from now. One by one, the universe knocked down every one of those obstacles I put in my own way. I learned it’s much easier to job search in D.C. if you’re in D.C. Phin’s neurologist said he was doing very well on his healing path and felt completely comfortable transferring his care to another neurologist in the D.C. area. Then Matt and Alex wrote that their former tenant just moved out and they were looking to have someone else move in.
There’s a Buddhist belief that every moment contains exactly the lesson we need exactly when we need it. And that is certainly true now. I need to trust that if I’m willing to take a step there will be safe ground there to support me, even if I can’t see it. It’s an enormous leap of faith to act when we are sure of the what and unsure of the how. It takes a strong belief in our own abilities to overcome obstacles and an equally strong belief in other people to support us when we are brave enough to ask for help. I don’t do either of these things easily, but I’ve learned I can change, that I have changed. Magic happens, and I plan to pay forward all of the magic I’ve received (and then some!)
“And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.” ~J.K. Rowling
There’s something amazingly strange and eventually wonderful about starting from rock bottom. Rock bottom’s a blank canvas, an empty room. It’s space, and within space, we can create something we love.
This quote from J.K. Rowling has been running through my mind this week as I prepare to change everything in the coming days. I’ll pack a few suitcases into my Mini, put Phin in his carrier in the front seat, Fedex my small amount of remaining items, and away we’ll go, headed straight for a new adventure in Washington D.C.
Rock bottom has such a negative connotation, but we don’t have to think of it that way. Rock bottom is solid, stable, unwavering. There really is no better place to build from. I’ve scraped down the walls of my life, removing the old chipped paint to reveal something fresh and new that is ready for color and beauty. I’ve stopped trying to make the best of the old parts of my life that no longer fit. I lovingly and gently packed them up and gave them away to make room for the new and extraordinary.
If you’d like to read the entirety of the speech that Rowling gave at Harvard that includes this quote, click here.
Everything, good and bad, is temporary. It can be hard to remember that in tough times. A while back my friend, Alex, gave me some great advice. She said that in tough times it helps to imagine our lives 3 months from now.
To take Alex’s advice one step further, I decided to write myself a letter as if I were 3 months older looking back at myself now. Sort of like a letter to my younger self, in reverse. I told myself what life looked like then in every aspect that mattered to me, and it helped. It helped a lot.
Sometimes the best we can do is pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and start all over again. And that’s a good thing. We come back stronger than ever. I’m excited to take this letter out 3 months from now and see how it all turned out.
Last night I went to bed thinking about the wonders of meditation, and especially when practicing that long-distance meditation with friends. My friend, Sofia, had just posted a link to a new study that provides further confirmation that meditation changes our bodies and minds at a cellular level.
In a very powerful dream, I arrived at Faneuil Hall in Boston. My friends, Mary and Tom, whom I’d meditated long-distance with the day before, were there smiling and waving. I made my way to them, they gave me a hug, and Mary said, “All will be well.” I smiled, turned around, and found myself facing a maze of paths through a grassy field. There was a street sign nearby with an arrow that read, “On the path to ancient healing”.
With that, I knew that all the plans I’m making now are the right plans. They’re what I need to do now, even if the road ahead seems uncertain and winding. Luckily I have many friends who are lighting the way.
Yesterday, I gave myself the gift of a 30-minute meditation. I needed to shift my energy and state of mind in a big way. I also needed to release a lot of emotions that I didn’t want to carry around with me and I wanted to send more healing energy to Phin. I was chatting with my friend, Mary, and she asked what time I planned to meditate so that she, her wonderful husband, Tom, and their sweet kitty, Jamie, could join me and Phin. I’m in Florida. They’re in the Boston area.
I never long-distance meditated before yesterday, though I now want to make it a regular part of my life. I could literally feel their energy flowing through me and Phin, and I was able to send that goodness back to them. I also strongly felt supported and cared for. As it turns out, Mary actively sent that feeling to me in many forms. Just knowing they were out there and that we were in this practice together made my meditation much richer, and more powerful. When I compared notes with Mary later, we actually had some identical insights rise up with regards to my future. That synchronicity amazed and inspired me. Even Phin and Jamie connected by ending the meditation asleep with their faces resting on their paws in the same way.
I feel so lucky to have had Mary, Tom, and Jamie with us in spirit during this stressful time. Their light, energy, and strength made it down the Eastern seaboard and I’m so grateful for that. United in distance. As Mary said to me, “All will be well.” And so it is.
“To bring the end safely home is the goal of the creative mind.” ~Dr. E.O. Wilson
Creative work is messy. Stay focused on your creative project’s goal as you wade through the chaos of the creative process. Transform the chaos into energy, fuel. Let all the doubt, fear, and difficulty of getting what’s in your imagination out into the world, motivate you to work harder and reach further. Dare to go far beyond any limitations you think you have, and bring back what you find.
