Category: adventure

adventure, change, community, determination, work

Leap: Rise Up to Meet Difficulties and Change Them Into Opportunities

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest.com

“There are two ways of meeting difficulties: you alter the difficulties or you alter the way you meet them.” ~ Phyllis Bottome

Challenges and difficulties abound in our lives and in the world. We can run from them for a while, but they’re patient. They will wait us out with dogged determination. They never get tired. They never give up. They are relentless.

Eventually, we have no choice but to get moving, to chip away at them bit by bit until they reach a manageable size. This work of whittling is incredibly important. Do not underestimate it.You may think you aren’t doing enough; you make think that you are one person fighting to turn a much larger tide. Don’t give up. Something amazing is about to happen.

You have to start somewhere and the miraculous thing is that once you start to work on a challenge, you will find that there are other people in the world working on the same difficulty. You can then join forces and the whittling begins to move faster. Many hands make light the load. And there’s no shortage of loads in this world that need more hands, and hearts. Find the one that draws you in and just do your part. I promise you that it is enough.

adventure, India, travel

Leap: I Finished the First Draft of My Ebook about My India Trip

Christa Avampato
One of the many signs I stumbled across in India that let me know I was going in the right direction

Yesterday I finished the first draft of my ebook about my Indian adventure. I’m using it as my research project for my advanced yoga teacher training which wraps up next weekend. This research project was one of the main drivers for writing this ebook so quickly after my return.

I felt an amazing sense of relief writing that last sentence. It was difficult and wonderful to relive everything captured in my journal, particularly with the perspective of 2 months of elapsed time. So much has changed in that 2 months since I returned from my trip and I am grateful for every ounce of it.

More than anything, I am in awe of our ability to change our lot once we simply commit to making a change. Overcoming inertia is no small feat though once we get ourselves moving in the direction of radical change, the train will keep moving and take on a life of its own. It’s empowering and inspiring to realize our own strength and courage.

This week, I’ll be doing some very light editing of the ebook and adding in pictures. Then I’ll wrap it up in a bow, post it up on my blog, and set it free. I hope you’ll download it, read it, and let me know what you think.

adventure, choices, courage, strengths

Leap: You Are Your Best Navigator

Christa Avampato

It’s about choices. It’s all about choices.

Every morning you wake up, you have the opportunity to stand in the midst of life, take it all in, and then decide what to make of it. You figure out where you are, where you’d like go, and the path you’ll take to get there. There’s no map. It’s just you, your desire to make a unique contribution to humanity, and your gut. Those are the tools of this grand navigation. They’re all we have and they are enough.

adventure, choices, commitment, community, creativity, dreams

Leap: Go Out on the Edge

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

“You’re not going to have a lot of people you can talk to about this. There is never a crowd on the leading edge.” ~ Abraham Hicks

My friend, Trish, had this quote on her Facebook wall last week and it captures a truth that can be tough for us to hear. Opportunity is glaring at us and growing bigger by the moment. We want to believe that everyone can see what we see and when they don’t we get frustrated, discouraged, and uncomfortable in our own skin. We begin to doubt our own abilities.

Don’t despair. Out on the Edge there is something beautiful and miraculous waiting for you – your kindred spirits. They are a small but mighty crew. They think like you think, believe what you believe, and understand what you understand. They will inspire, encourage, and support you. You are all in the same boat, paddling around looking for each other, and you’ll come together out on the Edge. It is better out there than where you are now. This time, the grass really is greener elsewhere.

But here’s the trick of it: you have to go out there. This is one of the few things that you can’t do virtually. You have to go there fully – mind, body, and soul. The only way to realize the gift of the Edge is to be there. And to make the journey you will have to trust your gut more than you trust the opinions of those around you.

Commit to the Edge and the Edge will commit to you. Now start paddling.

adventure, writing

Leap: Diving Off the Cliff is Only the Beginning

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

Every year, I choose a theme for my posts on this blog. In January, I made the New Year’s Resolution that I would Leap into entrepreneurship full-time by December and write about that journey every day.

I left my corporate job last Friday, 6 and a half months ahead of schedule. Many people came forward to tell me that my Leap inspired them and that they want to make a Leap of their own. They asked for my advice, help, and encouragement, and I’m completely happy to offer up all 3 and then some. Leaping isn’t the end; it’s just the beginning!

To that end, I’ll be writing daily about the following topics for the remainder of the year:

  • My own journey as I start my new company, Chasing Down the Muse, and continue to grow Compass Yoga. You’ll hear the ups, the downs, the challenges, and the rewards.
  • The journeys of other people who have taken a Big Leap in their lives. Originally, I planned to post these stories under an entirely new site, The Geronimo Project. Instead, I am going to host The Geronimo Project series here.
  • Pictures, quotes, and tidbits of inspiration that I find useful and that I hope will be useful for you, too.
  • Guests posts from writers who want to share their Leap stories.

I hope you’ll join in the conversation, share your own stories, and be inspired. Let’s go – we’ve got a lot of living to do!

adventure, business, career, community, creativity, work

Leap: My New Company – Chasing Down the Muse

Christa Avampato

I am so excited to announce the launch my new business, Chasing Down the Muse. I create products for companies on the leading edge of their industries and teach classes that help people build their own creative habit. To learn more about my services, click here.

Thank you so much for all of your support leading up to this big day. If you’re interested in this new business, here are a few ways to be involved with the company:

1.) Be an Inspired Instigator! As I craft products, services, and programs, I will be reaching out to a small group of people to get their feedback and advice prior to launch. I’d love to have you as part of the group! The time commitment is very small (mostly done in short 10-question surveys every other month), entirely optional, and fun. Plus, there will be prizes and plenty o’ recognition. Contact me if you’re interested in learning more.

2.) Keep me in mind for any projects you or your company have that match my experience and pass on the URL of Chasing Down the Muse to anyone you know who would be interested in learning more.

Thanks again for all of your energy and excitement around my leap into a freelance life. I’ll be sharing the journey with you every day right here and I hope you’ll share your journey with all of us, too!

adventure, India, travel

India Takes It To the Limit, Everytime

Christa Avampato
The store where people who live along the backwaters of Alleppey buy just about everything they need.

I’m not sure why I have Eagles songs running through my head as I’m re-reading my India journal. I’m sure there’s a cosmic reason for that but it has yet to strike me. I’ll get back to you on that.

India is a land of contradictions. It is at once limitless in its diversity and possibility and yet it tested my personal limits every moment of every day. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, or at least had figured out the tiny footprint of ground I happened to be standing on at any one time, it would flip head over heels into a different realization.

One concept of limits that India revealed to me was the idea that every object has a full life.

“In India,” Jose said, “we use everything until the end of its life.”

Indians don’t run out and get everything bright, shiny, and new because there’s a sale or just because they feel like it. They replace items when they need replacing, and not a moment sooner. In the mainstream throw-away American culture, we’re more likely to toss something away because we’re tired of looking at it than we are to use it until it’s used up. We’re changing our ways, some more quickly than others, but we’re a long way off from collectively using everything we have until it’s no longer useful.

I love the idea of honoring everything we have for the lifespan it’s intended to have. It’s caused me to think and re-think my own buying and tossing habits. In actuality, we don’t need much in the way of possessions to get by and what we do have we should use to its full extent.

This is the thing that stunned me more than anything else about India: in the smallest of moments lie the greatest of lessons.

adventure, generosity, India

Hotel India: You Can Check Out Anytime You Like But You Will Never Be Asked to Leave

Christa Avampato
View from my hotel room in Munnar, India, at sunrise

” ‘Get out’ is not a phrase in any of our languages. Indians don’t know that term,” Jose said.

Rob laughed loudly. “Well come to the U.S. and you’ll learn that phrase quickly. We use it a lot.”

“That’s a shame,” Jose replied. “If you are in a restaurant here, no one would ever tell you they’re closed and it’s time to leave. It would never happen.”

And I thought Southerners had cornered the market on hospitality. I was skeptical of Jose’s reply. Actually, I thought he was flat-out lying. Every one has a closing time and India couldn’t be an exception to that universal truth.

In Munnar, Jose took us to an authentic shop to get Ayurvedic massages.

“You can come by any time you like,” said the shop owner.

“What time do you close?” I asked.

The shop owner just stared at me and blinked.

“We can come by later on tonight after our tours?” I asked. A bit more staring and blinking followed. Ha! I knew I’d find a closing time in India.

“Sure, whatever is good for you,” he said.

“7:30?” asked Jose.

“Sure. 7:30 is perfect.”

“Done.”

Jose took us up the mountain to the hotel so we could check in. After they upgraded us to one of the private cottages (just because they could and wanted to), we learned we were going to miss the last dinner slot there due to our massages. (For the record, I felt like a complete jackass for having such a touristy excuse.) The proprietor said it was not a problem. They would hold a separate seating just for us.

“Yeah, right,” I thought to myself. Thank goodness I still had some chocolate chip cookies in my bag for dinner later on tonight.

When we returned from the massages (and that will be a separate post in and of itself!), sure enough dinner and the staff were all waiting for us with a delicious several course meal. I was floored. How could this be happening?

But this kind of scenario kept happening everywhere we went. Once again, India made a fool out of me, or rather I made a fool out of myself, to myself, by doubting her. Jose was right to an alarming degree. In India, they will always leave the light on for you. I wonder what the Eagles would think of that.

adventure, community, India

India Proves That We Can All Just Get Along

Christa Avampato
An example of the diversity of India

With the election season fast approaching, we’re already hearing the painful cries of what divides us. Religion, race, political party, ideology, money or lack there of. Anyone from the outside looking in on our politics would think that what divides us will split us apart.

Enter, India.

This photo is one of my favorite snapshots from my trip to India, not because the sign itself is aesthetically pleasing in any way. However, the principle it embodies is a thing of beauty. India is everything. If ever we wanted to see an incredible melting pot, India is it. Its multiple layers of diversity in every aspect of human life are overwhelming. If you are looking for your pack, it is somewhere here in India. You will have to root it out of the quagmire, but rest assured your efforts will be rewarded with like minds who invariably know other like minds. Seek and eventually you will find.

When I asked Jose how so much diversity can exist in relative peace, he was a bit confused by the question. “We don’t judge the opinions of others. We may not like them. We may not agree with them. But we recognize that they have a right to exist. I believe what I want to believe and so can others. All others.”

Not a bad principle to live by. Not bad at all.

adventure, change, choices, courage, creativity

Leap: The Day After

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

“What saves us is to take a step. Then another step.” ~ C. S. Lewis

A lot of people take about the day they made a change, a big decision, a new commitment.

But what about the day after? Do they wake up panicked by what they’ve done? Does their conviction grow each day after? Here is how I felt: just fine. Oddly fine.

Sometimes people fear staying too long in a situation that no longer suits them. I believe in my case I stayed just the right amount of time. I got my finances in order, my direction became clear and focused, and then leaping was the next logical step.

There were certainly moments of trepidation and fear. I’m sure there will continue to be these moments. They do pass. I just take another step, and keep going. Today is that second step, the second step on a new path. Of course it will feel rocky and of course I will feel unsure. It is new. It doesn’t know me. And I don’t know it. Yet. But we will grow together.