I tell wonder-filled stories about hope and healing
I am certain that if every person on the planet learned to meditate and practiced daily for 5 minutes, we’d have a better world in no time. We’d have more joy, peace, and compassion. We’d have less fear, violence, and instability. If we could all sit and tap in, we’d find that we are so much more connected than we ever realized.
It’s hard to believe that one year ago today I walked out the door of my corporate job to carve a career path of my own design. It’s been a year of consulting, writing, and teaching. Most of all, it’s been a year of incredible learning and adventure.
A million thank yous to so many of you who supported me and cheered me on during this process of discovery. I’m living my dream. My success is your success, too. Love, Christa
Have you read Hillary Clinton’s Twitter bio?
“Wife, mom, lawyer, women & kids advocate, FLOAR, FLOTUS, US Senator, SecState, author, dog owner, hair icon, pantsuit aficionado, glass ceiling cracker, TBD…”
The part I like best is “TBD…” This especially resonates with me because starting June 26th, my future is completely TBD. I’m heading to Santa Monica for two months to take a break and figure it out. A lot of people I know are surprised, some are shocked, and some are confused. Why go to California? And exactly what is it that I want to figure out?
I need a break from everything
I’ve been go, go, going for years. Maybe from birth. I can’t remember the last time I took a vacation just to rest and relax. I’m always going for a class / some kind of training or a service project or to visit family. I never go on vacation just to, well, go on vacation. So I’ll be doing plenty of relaxing and just having fun. Cali seems like a good place to do that.
Trying out a bi-coastal life
For a long time, I’ve had this dream of a bi-coastal life, using both New York and California as homes from which to live and work. I know New York suits me. I just don’t know if California does so I’m going to try it out. If I come back to NYC missing California, I’ll know I’m on to something.
Figure out my career
I left my corporate job exactly a year ago tomorrow. I forged this career path of my own design and it’s been an incredible learning experience. I got involved in some wonderful projects with wonderful people. I made some huge mistakes. I succeeded and failed in equal amounts, and I’m proud of all of those experiences. A life and career change of this magnitude is worthy of some dedicated reflection so that I can more clearly see the path ahead. This requires me to zone out the noise of everyday life and tune into my sense of purpose and passion. A change of scene will help me do that.
Where will this lead?
I have no idea. Honestly, I’ve put every facet of my career and life on the table for consideration. I have no definitive must-haves and must-gos. Like Hillary, the future is completely TBD for me. If someone of her stature can be okay with total reinvention, then certainly I can, too. Here’s the one thing I know for sure: I’m going to do what makes me happy.
“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” ~ William James, American psychologist and philosopher
With Phin’s hospitalization, my preparation to leave New York City for two months, the move to my new apartment, and the winding down of some of my freelance work, I’ve felt pulled in many different directions, emotionally and physically. Sometimes, I felt completely off kilter (I’ll be giving more specifics on this in an upcoming post). As a meditation and yoga teacher, I have the tools to bring myself back to center. It takes time and patience (sometimes more of both than I would like), but it happens every single time. My practice has never failed me. It’s never failed anyone I know.
So if you’re under the dark clouds of stress and anxiety, sit down. Close your eyes. One hand on the heart, one hand on the belly. Take a deep breath and place your attention right between the eyebrows (the third eye). Your mind doesn’t control you. You control the mind. You are empowered to replace that stress with peace. You can will it to happen. It doesn’t cost you a dime. It doesn’t require any special equipment. And yet, it is the most valuable gift you can give to yourself. Teaching this simple fact is certainly the most valuable thing I give to the world.
On Monday night my dog, Phineas, started showing signs of sickness. Just after midnight on Tuesday, he started getting sick to his stomach at least once per hour. Though his energy was still good in the morning for his walk, he wasn’t able to keep down food nor water. And he was getting sick even more regularly. Something was terribly wrong.
I rushed him down to the veterinary hospital and his x-rays showed extreme inflammation in his digestive track. Our doctor explained that it could be anything from an infection to a blockage of some kind. Rather than diving right into surgery, she wanted to try to treat him with constant fluids and meds for 24 hours. Young, strong, healthy dogs are often able to pass blockages on their own and bounce back from infections quickly. Phin falls into that category. I left him at the hospital overnight and the doctor will call me in the morning after they run another set of x-rays.
I came home to my empty apartment and tried to stay busy. I cleaned my entire home from top to bottom and attempted to get some work done. It worked moderately well as long as I didn’t look at Phin’s dog bed, his blanket still curled up the way he likes it when he makes a little sleeping nest for himself. One look at that blanket and I would fall apart.
Finally, I put my work aside, closed my eyes, and meditated. I said a lot of prayers. I summoned up as many healing vibes as I ever have and I sent them all over to Phin. I asked my friends to do the same and I know many of them did. I kept reminding myself that my meditation and yoga practice saves and serves. Right now, I really need it to do both.
Every morning, Phin and I take at least an hour-long gratitude walk. On our walks, I think about all of the blessings I have in my life. I worked for and live a magnificent life. I’m grateful for good work, good people, and freedom, for the sunshine and the blue sky and the trees. For the ability to feel such a wide range of emotions so fully and authentically. I’m most grateful for my inability to take any moment for granted; I know too well how swiftly it can all disappear without warning. I’m grateful to see opportunity everywhere and be able to action against those opportunities for my own benefit and the benefit of others.
Every once in a while, I ask Phin what he’s grateful for and he just looks at me and smiles. “Back at ya, buddy,” I tell him. He lives in the moment more than anyone I know. He loves fiercely and freely. I try to follow his example. If anyone knows the value of time and gratitude, it’s Phin. He’s an amazing teacher.
“Sometimes, history is destiny.” ~ Adrian Benepe, Senior Vice President and Director of City Park Development at Trust for Public Land
While Mr. Benepe is referring to the development of cities, his quote just as easily applies to our lives. What you do today matters, not only in this moment but in every moment that follows. As someone who spent a lot of time unsure of when I would actually try to create my dream career, I can promise you that time is of the essence. Waiting and talking about what you’re going to do someday gets you nowhere. Action starts the long, winding, sometimes-frustrating but always-interesting road. And that’s what we all need to do – we need to get started. Now.
Traversing this ground toward dreams is going to take time. You’re going to grind along in fits and starts. Some days it all comes so easily and some days you’ll feel like you’re chasing your own tail. This cycle of ups and downs and turnarounds happens to me all the time. Why is it so hard to move forward? And is it even worth trying?
It’s hard because we have to build the foundation, construct the frame, enclose it, smooth out the structure, and then, and only then, do we get to the fun stuff of aesthetics and decoration. But without that underlying organization, without all those incredibly unsexy but totally necessary pieces of infrastructure, the aesthetics don’t matter. Cover it up with spackle and paint all you want. It will crumble without a foundation.
As someone who is still very much in the foundation building phase, who is mired in unsexy structural details on a daily basis, I can tell you that I still find some small victory every single day. Some days, I’m waiting on that victory until the 11th hour. But it always shows up. I think about throwing in the towel and just then some small sign from the universe breaks through and that sign gives me the strength to keep going, to keep trying, to keep waking up and giving it my best shot.
I am certain there are lots of changes on the horizon. Changes I can’t even imagine, much less plan for. Some of them are going to knock me over. They’re going to overwhelm me and cause me to question everything. Well, almost everything. No matter what happens, I’m going to get right back up. I am certain of that. And I will be stronger for it. Destiny-building is strenuous work, but there is no greater joy that pulling it together bit by beautiful bit.
Anna Van Fleet is a wonderful and supportive reader of the Christa In New York: Curating a Creative Life community. She was curious about my writing process, yoga teaching practice, and how I use the two of them to support and bolster creativity. Given that this type of discussion is one of my very favorites, I was honored that she asked to interview me on her blog, Moving with Grace.
Below are a couple of the questions and responses. To read the full story, click here.
Q: You are a prolific and talented writer, on many topics. You have self-published books, and are collaborating with others. You also have a great blog and a lot going on! Can you tell me about your practice of writing?
Christa: I do have a daily writing practice. I sit down every day at some point and write. I’ve been doing that for 6 years. I wanted to become a solid writer and I felt the only way that I could do that is to practice every single day. Sometimes it’s for my blog (which has a daily post) and other times it’s for freelance pieces or personal writing projects I’m working on. It’s become such a ritual now that I actually don’t feel right if I don’t write every day. For me, writing is like brushing my teeth. I see and experience the world as a writer and it makes sense of me to get those observations down in some way.
Q: You are interested in yoga and meditation used as tools for creativity. Have you developed a philosophy on what works in the practice of yoga and meditation specifically with regards to creativity?
Christa: I’ve taught yoga for creativity classes at places such as SXSW (ed. note: The South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conferences & Festivals (March 8-17, 2013)) and NYU. A number of my students are professionals in creative fields. Yoga is a tremendous support to me as a writer and product developer. My yoga teacher, Douglass Stewart, says that our practice both saves and serves. That’s definitely true for me.
Creativity needs boundaries. A painter’s canvas is only so big. A book can only be so long. A songwriter’s tune can only last so many minutes. It’s these boundaries, these guideposts that hone and focus our creativity. We eliminate the unnecessary so the necessary can speak. Discipline and determination are wonderful, useful tools for artists of all varieties. Without them, our creative muscle just becomes one big blob. Organizing our creativity is what gives it impact and that’s what I try to impart in all of my work and my teaching.
Yesterday I opened my mailbox and found intolerance, insensitivity, and disrespect. Despite the usually high journalistic standards, The Economist has failed us. This week’s cover depicts President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping as the two main characters of the film Brokeback Mountain. For those who didn’t see the movie, one of the characters is murdered at the end of the film for being gay.
In their infinite wisdom, The Economist thought this was a good backdrop for mocking these two world leaders. I understand that The Economist is a historically conservative publication, though the last time I checked conservative did not equal bigotry. For the gay and gay-supportive community, this week’s issue is a travesty. It makes light of bullying and hate crimes. The editor(s) who approved this cover should be ashamed and issue a public apology.
My mantra for 2013 is “make something beautiful”. Sometimes in this quest it’s important to point out things that aren’t beautiful, things that are insidious, unacceptable, and rude. Such is the case with this cover of The Economist. I am sickened and saddened by the fact that in 2013 we still can’t celebrate love in all its forms and that a global publication that is held is such high regard feels empowered to ridicule the basic human right to love whomever we want to love.
I can see only one clear and swift way to rise up against this kind of intolerance: don’t buy The Economist and if, like me, you are a subscriber, cancel your subscription. Let them know that this behavior is inexcusable and will have consequences. We vote with our spending. Let the editors know that this type of act has no place in our society.
Last week I watched the movie Robot & Frank. The movie follows the story of Frank, an aging, slightly-reformed thief who is facing dementia-like symptoms. Divorced with adult children who have busy lives of their own, Frank (portrayed brilliantly and powerfully by actor Frank Langella) fights against being moved to a nursing facility. Though the movie takes place in the not-too-distant future, several significant leaps in technology have been made. One of these leaps involves creating robots who serve as caretakers to the aging. Frank’s son buys him one of these skilled-care robots and so begins Frank’s sweet, bizarre, and tangled friendship with his robot who records Frank’s every move, including his return to crime.
Think it’s far-fetched for robots to play the critical role of senior caretaker? Think again.
Earlier this week, Fast Company ran an article about the NAO humanoid robot. Though invented about 5 years ago, it is now available commercially and helps autistic children in schools. Why has a robot proven effective with autistic children? Interaction with other people is a key challenge for many people, adults and children, who have autism. Because robots have predictable behaviors (after all, we program them and they can only do what we tell them to do) and offer far less stimuli during interactions than humans, people with autism can relate well to them.
The days of personal robots are quickly moving from the dreams of science fiction writers to members of our society. With the collaborative vision and determination of programmers, designers, and product developers, they may well be the critical component to solving some of the greatest social challenges in our society. To take a peek at videos of the NAO humanoid robot at work, click here.
