Category: creativity

creativity

In the pause: Embracing uncertainty for one reason

Christa Avampato

“When nothing is sure, everything is possible.” ~Margaret Drabble

Right now, the ground feels a little unsteady. We are heading into uncharted waters that from here look turbulent and dangerous. And they very well may be. In an effort to keep moving forward and making a positive impact in the world around me, this quote from Margaret Drabble is really helping me. In this moment, right now, everything is possible. The good and the bad. The joyful and the difficult. The triumph and the struggle. There is much that is out of our control but here are the things we can hang onto—how we think, what we feel, and what we do. My mind, heart, and hands are engaged in building a better world, even if it is against all odds.

creativity

In the pause: Not getting what we want can be what we need

Christa Avampato

Sometimes not getting what we want is exactly what we need. Last year, I almost bought a home in D.C. Three times. Each of the deals fell through for different reasons. After the outcome of the Presidential election and the uncertainty in the future, I couldn’t be happier that I didn’t get what I wanted even though I felt defeated each time. Those momentary disappointments turned out to be incredible gifts that I didn’t yet understand. If you’re currently facing disappointment, and wondering why what’s happening is happening, I hope my home-buying situation is a comfort to you. Rest assured that eventually it will all make sense; the universe protects us in ways we can’t even imagine.

 

creativity

In the pause: Focus on the three things you can control

Christa Avampato

“You only have control over three things in your life—the thoughts you think, the images you visualize, and the actions you take.” ~Jack Canfield

As we get closer to the inauguration and the situation in our nation becomes more uncertain, the anxiety rises. I can feel it in my own mind and I see and hear it spinning in the minds of many others whom I know and love. Quotes like the one above help me navigate and manage this stress. For the first time this year, I made a vision board on Pinterest for 2017. I look at it a few times a week to stay focused. I’m also making more time to read books and to spend time with art that inspires me. This is helping to calm and shape my thoughts and my actions. So if like me the anxiety of uncertainty and change is affecting you, I hope that these ideas will help keep us connected to each other and to what matters.

creativity

In the pause: Listen and silent have the same letters

Christa Avampato

In my reading yesterday I came across this quote: “Listen and silent are spelled with the same letters. Think about that.” I thought about how much we miss because we’re so busy having our say. This year as I’m pausing, I’m also making a concerted effort to listen more—to my own heart and to the hearts of others. There’s a lot of noise in the world, a lot of people crowing as loud as they can, as often as they can, about as much as they can. In a time like this, I’ve found a lot of comfort in some time set aside every day for silence and listening. Peace of mind, peace of body, peace of soul.

creativity

In the pause: Chapter 1 of the new Breaking Bread Podcast is live

Christa Avampato

Chapter 1 of the new Breaking Bread Podcast is live! Mina and her dog, Phineas, fall into a strange new world where never is now. Tap below to listen:

creativity

In the pause: Celebrate your unique journey

Christa Avampato

A friend of mine is resetting his life: new job, new city, new just about everything. Though he’s excited about his adventure into the unknown, he’s also feeling uncomfortable because he’s comparing his life to the lives of others, especially to friends and acquaintances on social media.

In that moment, my friend just needed me to listen to how he was feeling. He didn’t want advice; he just needed support. He just needed to be heard and validated without feeling guilty. So I held that space for him. At the end of the conversation, I told him I was really proud of him for taking his own journey, for not letting these comparisons and fears stop him from redesigning exactly the life he wants.

My hope for him is the same hope I have for all of us—that we celebrate our own unique journeys without any judgement. Our conversations also made me even more grateful that this year I’m making more time to pause and disconnect online so that I can connect more with my own spirit and with the spirit of others in the world.

creativity

In the pause: Bravery matters

Christa Avampato

A friend of mine recently ended a long-term relationship and I asked her why. Her response was beautiful, powerful, and also deeply sad. “He wasn’t brave.” I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of bravery. It’s underrated, and yet it can make a world of difference in the lives we live and the impact we have. So whether you’re going through a big change this year, starting a new project, or standing up for your beliefs, I hope 2017 is the year that personally and collectively we decide to be brave and support one another in its pursuit.

creativity

In the pause: The passing of time is your friend

Christa Avampato

Knowing that we only have a finite amount of time a gift because it helps us figure out what matters. It helps us understand what we want to do and who we want to spend our time with. I was recently offered an opportunity – a wonderful opportunity – but when I put it through the filter of “is this really how I want to spend the next few years that I will never be able to get back?” it was very easy to turn it down. If 2016 taught us anything, it’s that time is the most precious and sacred thing we have. Let’s honor our own time and the time of others as the priceless gift that it is.

creativity

In the pause: Redirecting the Breaking Bread Podcast into a satirical comedy set in Trumpville

Christa Avampato

When I started the Breaking Bread Podcast, I had the idea to invite people over to my home, cook their favorite meal, and talk about the issues that are important to them. While that mission seems simple, it’s operationally more difficult than I anticipated. Booking guests is a time intensive job and it costs a good chunk of money. Also, audio editing is a bear and I don’t enjoy it. I like writing and live storytelling, and I want to do a podcast that’s an extension of those two things that also lets me be creative in new and different ways.

I spent a fair amount of time over my holiday break thinking about what to do with the Breaking Bread Podcast. I also spent a fair amount of time reading and talking to people about the election and Trump and what a complete sh*t-show we’re facing come January 20th. And a few things started to come together for me: truth reaches more people when it’s dressed as satire and comedy, world-building is a fun, creative activity (some of my favorite stories are The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter, and Welcome to Night Vale), and Trump is insane so I’m going to use his own words as material.

Here’s my premise: Mina Montgomery accidentally falls through a hidden portal at the corner of Constitution Avenue and 1st Street NE on the afternoon of November 8, 2016 and finds herself in a strange parallel universe known as Trumpville. Built by Trump himself, it is an idealized version of the world as he would design it and it’s populated by people faithful to his point-of-view. Or so it appears. Every day, there is a press conference delivered by Trump to the citizens of Trumpville that tells them how it’s all going “above ground”. To her horror, Mina learns that Trump won the presidential election on the day she fell through the portal. She thinks she’s alone in this mad, a*s-backwards world, but she’s not. What she needs to do is find her people, and together they will find a way out. Trapped in Trumpville for the forseeable future, she opens a bakery in Trumpville called Breaking Bread in an attempt to bring people together. In the episodes of the Breaking Bread Podcast, Mina processes her thoughts as a living diary of sorts in order to maintain some semblance of sanity while she figures out how to get everyone out of Trumpville and back to civilization.

Similar to a Trump presidency, I have no idea how this new podcast idea will play out. Who knows what he’ll do next? He’s leaving us in suspense, remember? My game plan is to speak out again, and again, and again because I care about this country and the people who live here, and to find and support people who need a friend during this wild ride. I remember the Bush years and they were brutal. My greatest hope for this podcast idea is that it will be a port in the storm where together we can ride out the mayhem while we try to right the ship.

creativity

In the pause: Rediscovering awe in CRISPR

Christa Avampato

“He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.” ~Albert Einstein

In this year of pausing and reflecting more, I try to read, see, hear, or experience one thing every day that seems completely out of this world. Things that make me wonder. Things that make me stand in awe.

Today that thing is something known as CRISPR. In a very small and simple nutshell, it’s a “find and replace” function for cellular DNA. There is research underway right now at Penn, my alma mater, that is attempting to turn cells into cancer super-fighters.

Other scientists are testing the ideas of using CRISPR to take HIV, cancer, and Alzheimer’s right out of the cells where they exist at the genetic level. Elsewhere, they are creating healthy crops and looking at the possibility of reviving extinct species. There is a chance, and a healthy one at that, that CRISPR could change life on earth as we know it. And with it, there are mountains of ethical and moral questions that have no answers.

It’s my hope that in the coming months and years I will find a way to somehow participate in these conversations and help others participate, too. 2017 is poised to be another wild ride, and I’m grateful for the pause to help me process it.