Category: adventure

action, adventure, China, holiday

Inspired: What The Year of the Horse Means for You

Christa Avampato
This beautiful image is from storynory.com
This beautiful image is from storynory.com

The year of the horse began Friday night as the world ushered in the Lunar New Year. What’s in it for you? Fasten your seatbelt – it’s going to be exciting and fast-paced for everyone!

International Business Times offers this prediction:

“For those born on the year of the horse, they will encounter the Year of Birth (Benming Nian). It is believed they will offend Taisui, the god in charge of fortune, so their finances may fluctuate. In terms of career, it is advised to keep the peace between colleagues.

For those not born on a horse year, the year ahead will bring health and prosperity. It is said to be an excellent time to travel, as the next 12 months will bring good luck. You are advised to mingle with the locals, savour authentic cuisine and discover somewhere you have never been before.”

Luck, travel, good health, prosperity, and authenticity. Sounds good to me!

adventure, New Years Eve

Beautiful: Here Comes the New Year. Time for Adventure.

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

As I’m whipping up some goodness from leftover Christmas feasts, my attention moves toward reflection. This year held so many surprises. I had no idea how it would unfold. I just knew that I wanted to focus on being true to myself by making something beautiful. I’ve been writing about his journey every day all year. I went out into the world to find beauty and I worked on creating it in my own life. It’s been a year of purpose and it feels amazing. The year coming up will hold a bit more structure and a bit more focus:

– I’ll produce the play I wrote, Sing After Storms, at the Thespis Theater Festival in New York in June.
– I’m working on my book, Your Second Step.
– I’ll run the New York City marathon in November.
– I hope to take two big international trips – one to Africa and one to China and Japan, both to visit friends who live there.
– I’m hopeful that I’ll add several new steady content development clients in January.

Just writing down these bullets shows me that 2014 will be an incredible year of transformation and growth. Much to learn, see, and do. I’m ready for the adventure.

adventure, dreams, Second Step

Beautiful: Stop Waiting and Build

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

You might think you need a class, or a degree, or more experience, time, or money. Maybe you do. Or maybe too many people have questioned your ideas and your dreams and that’s worn you out. Maybe the doubt demons rally every time you start to think it might be time to take a chance. If I had to place a bet, I’d say you’re abundantly ready to make your move. You have what you need, and most importantly, you have heart. And passion. And ambition. You can learn the rest as you go, and there will be a lot to learn but that’s part of the fun. And the adventure. You can’t continue to bury dreams. You can’t settle for being less than you know you can be. You have to rise up. Take a chance. Let go. And see where the path leads. Put one foot in front of the other. Take it step by step. Day by day. Before you know it, you’ll be running. Then flying. Then taking others along with you. You’ve got what it takes. Now go show the world. Go do. Be. Build.

adventure, animals, creativity, dogs, travel

Beautiful: Roll The Dice of Life Like a Dog

Christa Avampato

When I get out Phineas’s travel carrier, he never knows where we’re going. Sometimes, we get on a plane. Sometimes, we head for a car or the subway. We’ll go over to Brooklyn and visit two of our favorite friends, Amanda and Jordan. Sometimes, we’re going to the vet.

No matter. Without fail, Phin enthusiastically jumps around at the site of his carrier because he knows we’re going somewhere to do something out of the ordinary. He doesn’t need to know where he’s going; he’s just prepared to enjoy the ride. We, and by we I mean me, should live more like Phin.

Thanks to my friend, Alex, for this beautiful photo – and the reminder to enjoy every adventure.

adventure, art, beauty, change, courage

Beautiful: Let. It. Go. and Take A Chance – My Public Contribution Projects

Christa Avampato

Have you seen this sign around your neighborhood?

How about this one?

These are posters for my public participation projects. In my quest to help people let go of things that are holding them back and take more chances to live the lives they want, the sole purpose of these projects is to celebrate participants and to have their stories inspire others. These are promotional posters that I’ll be hanging up around New York City though anyone anywhere in the world of any age can participate. And if you’re so inclined to print them out and hang them in your neighborhood, I would love that! Just contact me through a comment on this post and I’ll send you the PDFs.

Here’s how it works:
Let. It. Go.
Let something go – it can be anything from a possession that is a painful reminder of something to an emotion like anger, greed, jealousy, disappointment – and then tell me about it at onefineyogi@gmail.com. You can let go of something very big, like an old, hurtful disappointment, or something very small, like forgiving the person who cut in line at the grocery store. This can be about something you just let go of or about something you let go of a long time ago.

Take a Chance
Take a Chance – it can be anything from saying hi to someone new to applying for a new job to changing anything about your life that you want to change – and then tell me about it at onefineyogi@gmail.com. You can take a big chance, like moving to a new city, or something very small, like having a healthy snack instead of an unhealthy one.

You can participate in either project (or both!) and email me as often as you’d like. Actually, I’d love it if you emailed me every single day with something you let go and a chance you took. The emails can be very short or they can include a story of any length. They can include photos, too. (I know this goes without saying – please keep all contributions clean.) I will respond to every email I receive. Your chances and things you let go will always be kept completely anonymous unless you specifically tell me that you want me to include your name or initials. I’ll use these contributions to populate a new online project I’m launching in the coming months. You’ll be notified as soon as the online site launches and when your contribution is live.

I hope you’ll join in these exciting new endeavors to celebrate and encourage you and your dreams.

adventure, creative, creativity

Beautiful: Advice from Robin Williams – Hold On to Your Spark Of Madness

Christa Avampato

d835941baf8572e631ec79d744ecfbef If you wrote down 5 things you’d like to do in life if you had no obstacles and were guaranteed to succeed, I’m sure you’d only list bold, incredible feats. Put your reality glasses back on and you might find a list of reasons why you can’t do any of those things. You’d have to be mad to even try, right?

Robin Williams and I think you should try anyway. Go a little mad. Get a little crazy. Actually, get a lot crazy. Surprise yourself and everyone around you.

All this week, I’ll be posting inspirational quotes about madness and telling you about a few mad ideas of my own that I’m trying to bring to life. I hope you’ll join me in the quest to hang on to our own little spark of madness.

adventure, art, career, change, choices, courage

Beautiful: Take A Page from Leonardo da Vinci’s Book on Perspective

Christa Avampato

5235227350a76057ac21cd7a71d149bdThere’s nothing like distance to make us realize what matters most. A painter steps back from his painting, a film maker moves away from the tiny screen on which she’s editing to take in the whole world that she has created, a theatre director moves to the back of the house so he can see the whole stage. Our life and work can be unclear when we are trying to get a sense of it while in the midst of it.

I went 3,000 miles away to look at my life and my work and I stayed there longer than I initially wanted to so that I could take in the view. I liked some of the things I saw about my life and I hated others. And then I got out my trusty three lists to sort it all out – things I can easily change, things I can’t change no matter how much I try, and things that I think I can change if I’m willing to put a heck of a lot of work into it. Leo was right – now I can see where there is a lack of harmony, now I can see where the proportions aren’t quite right. I’m more confident in my judgement even if I’m not entirely clear on all of the pieces of the puzzle.

A big overhaul in my life is underway – long overdue and lots of work ahead of me but I’m excited to be digging in, to be getting on with the life I want and not just the life that I have cultivated until now. It’s easy to walk a road; it’s much harder to pave it in a direction I’ve never traveled before but I’m up for the challenge.

action, adventure, time

Beautiful: Your Wild Day…

Christa Avampato

is every day. Make the most of it!

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adventure, courage, creativity

Beautiful: You’ve Got the Power to Do Amazing Things

Christa Avampato

A powerful lesson for Dorothy, all of us, and our little dogs, too.

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adventure, beauty, California, creativity, dreams

Beautiful: Day 1 of My Creative Break in Santa Monica

Christa Avampato

This photo perfectly captures the serenity I’m feeling in Santa Monica. It’s my first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean on Day 1 of my creative break. Pretty remarkable. I can barely process that I’ve come this far in my life, a place I never thought I’d be.

For my album of photos from Day 1, please like and visit this blog’s Facebook Page by clicking here.

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