This week I met with an artistic director of a theater company as I investigate ways to get involved with Washington’s creative community. He likes my variety of business and art skills. This was also true when I interviewed for my current job at my ed tech startup. My weird and winding road, my New Yorkiness, is of value in Washington where being unique isn’t always seen as desirable. This has been a welcome surprise for me and I feel like I’m in just the right place at just the right time. I’m not sure exactly where this next chapter of life is heading, but I’m excited for the adventure and possibility!
“How hard is it to decide to be in a good mood and be in a good mood once in a while?” ~Say Anything
Believing in happiness and magic, and believing that they are one and the same, is a choice. And it’s a choice I’ve decided to make. In the last few weeks, I’ve felt a heavy cloud lifting a little bit every day. I’m exploring more, reaching out more, experiencing more in a fuller and more complete way than I have in a long time.
The rain is tough to trudge through, but it does clear away the grime that weighs us down. So if you’re in the midst of trudging, please know that I’m cheering you on to the other side. I know the road is long and difficult, but it can be traversed. You got this.
I hate setbacks. They are a drag with a capital D. They’re also a natural, albeit nasty, part of life. Anyone who tries to create something or change something experiences them. I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Come close and listen. Those setbacks are jewels. They are roadblocks in the best sense of the word. They make sure you don’t go down paths that aren’t meant for you and that you stay focused on the people who are meant to be in your life. Not everything, nor everyone, is your work to do.
So take the roadblocks as they come. Take a deep breath and look around for the clear way forward. It may be a different road than you envisioned but that’s the nature of adventure. It’s never how you imagine it to be. Relish the surprises and take them in stride. They’re there for a reason, and someday that reason will be clear. Trust.
“I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” ~ Mary Anne Radmacher
“I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” ~ Mary Anne Radmacher
One of my coworkers mentioned this quote to me yesterday and it really struck me as so insightful. When we travel, we open ourselves to seeing the whole world with new eyes. It changes our hearts. It grows our spirits. Traveling helps us to reimagine our purpose and path. If we can change our minds, we can change anything and that is the most empowering benefit of travel.
Miracles start as difficulties. If everything in your life was great, you’d never change. You’d never evolve and grow. You’d never have adventures that lead you to become the best version of yourself.
Adversity is difficult and painful. It’s also what helps us find and fulfill our potential. I wish life were easier. I wish we could just evolve without being pushed to do so. But that’s not how life works. It’s not how we work as wonderfully complex and complicated human beings.
Next time life is throwing you challenges, and in my experience that happens every day!, take a deep breath and gives thanks for them. They are leading you along the path that’s meant for you. Choose to rise up, over, through, and beyond them. Choose to let them make you strong, courageous, and wise. Choose to learn from them and not be broken down by them. They’re there for a reason, and in time that reason will come to light.
Marian Cannon Schlesinger is 101 years old and the ex-wife of Arthur Schlesinger Jr., historian and special advisor to President Kennedy. She’s also my new idol.
“She’s still painting, writing, watching Rachel Maddow, and reading two newspapers a day,” said The Atlantic in a recent interview with her. What struck me most about the interview was her advice to free-spirited women: “Do your thing no matter what…Early on I decided being a painter was what I wanted to be but I wanted to be a lot of other things too. I wanted to write…play tennis…have a lot of friends [and] beaus. I think I’ve been very lucky. But I think that I’ve made some of it for myself. I never gave up. I wanted it all, in other words, and I think I really almost got it all too…Just keep going.”
There’s something so hopeful about lights in the distance. Though they may be out of focus from where we are now, we can be confident that as we continue to move forward everything will become clear.
Like me, you might be in the midst of a transition. A change in job, city, relationship, or a new realization about the world and your place in it and the people around you. We know we’re going to stop doing something and start doing something else. Right now we’re in that in-between space. And that can be unsettling. It certainly is for me.
Honor that space, that pause. It’s okay to reset and reconsider and reconfigure. It’s okay to try something on for a while and see how it feels. You can also toss it away if it doesn’t work. It’s also okay to decide to not try anything on at all. You can just be. In the In-between, you can see your past and your future and decide if or how the two could and should relate to one another. This is your show and you can play if you want to, or not.
This is a special place and a special time to not compare options to one another, but to what you really want. I know how hard it is to enjoy this time. In many ways I just want to move on and get it over with. What helps me is to remember that this isn’t permanent, that nothing is permanent. This is a rare and precious occasion, and I want to make sure to treat it as such. It’s challenging and I’m doing the best I can. I’m trying.
A friend of mine posted this link a few days ago. You plug in your name and it tells you the hidden meaning behind it. This was mine. Ha! No wonder I need to meditate daily.
“The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift is yours — it is an amazing journey — and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins.” ~Bob Moawad, author
This is a magical moment. It’s also scary as hell. All of a sudden you wake up and you realize your life is really all up to you. You steer it. You make the choices. You build your own road. It’s a lot of responsibility. It’s also one of the greatest privileges of being an adult. You aren’t trapped. Starting right now, you can make choices to change anything and everything in your life. The road to where you want to go may be long and winding but you can start your journey in that direction right now. One tiny step leads to another.
Christa Avampato 