Category: creativity

creativity

Wonder: Why hope matters

Christa Avampato

Don’t you hate it when you’re having a tough time and someone’s first reaction is, “oh you’ll be fine.” My first thought is always “how the hell do you know that?” And then my second thought is, “they’re right. I am going to be fine. I’ve gotten this far, haven’t I?”

In the midst of any kind of stress, it’s easy to feel down-trodden, to feel like it’s never going to get better. But bit by bit, step by step, day by day, we can and do make things better. I know it’s not easy. I know that it sometimes feels like we’re going backward or in the completely opposite direction of where we think we want to go. And maybe you are. When that happens to me, in time I realize that’s the way I had to go—completely out of the way!—to find something or someone I needed to move forward.

Goodness knows there is plenty to be disappointed about in the world today. Flip on the news in any channel of your choice, and it’s there front and center – violence, heartbreak, and a massive amount of fear. It makes you want to tear your hair out, right? I certainly feel that way at some point every day. And then I have to remind myself that yes, I am just one person and yes, I can have an impact. I can at least shape my very tiny corner of the world through my time, energy, attention, and funds. Once I remember that, I find myself replacing those feelings of helplessness with pure hopefulness. And I’ve found that hope is where all great change begins.

creativity

Wonder: The synopsis of my book, Where the Light Enters

Christa Avampato

When you tell people you’re writing something, the first question they ask is “what is it about?” Here is my brief synopsis (think dust jacket description) of my book, Where the Light Enters. Many thanks to my friends, Alex and Kelly, the first two champions of this story and devoted test readers. Their advice has helped shape Emerson into the character she’s become.

Fifteen-year-old Emerson wants to know who killed her mother, Nora, and why. Nora was a gifted anthropologist well known for her research on ancient cultures and languages. Five years ago, Nora was found dead on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “We’ve never seen anything like it,” the NYPD’s spokesperson said. “Life has gone out of her with no explanation.” And with that, the police gave up their search for answers.

But Emerson didn’t. Her journey to discover the answers about her mother’s death takes her deep below the street of New York City on a dangerous adventure into a secret world of books where the very existence of human imagination is at stake. She must survive and thrive through a battery of mental, emotional, and physical challenges if she is to fulfill her destiny, protect everyone she loves, and continue her mother’s legacy. If Emerson fails, human creativity and imagination will cease to exist.

Time is running out. A dangerous threat looms large and too close to home as Emerson must choose between fulfilling the last promise she made to her mother and ensuring that the human capacity for creativity is preserved forever. Will she defy her mother’s final wish or sacrifice the only living family she has left?

creativity

Wonder: You can change your reality by changing your perspective

Christa Avampato

On Monday, someone was really stressing me out. Or at least I thought they were. I was stressing myself out with things I didn’t need to worry about. My situation wasn’t bad; it just wasn’t what I expected it to be. And I let someone else make a bigger deal out of something than it really is.

I woke up on Tuesday morning after a somewhat fitful night’s sleep, and decided to change my perspective on the incident. I used the trick my friend, Alex, so often reminds me of – 3 months from now I won’t even remember why I got so ruffled on Monday. I probably won’t even remember the name of the person who bothered me. I let myself 3 months older counsel me and tell me that everything is fine now and will be even more fine with just a little bit of time.

And you know what? It worked. And as Brian and my former boss Bob G. so often tell me, once we decide to do something, the universe rises up as a great ally. We change our whole world by changing our mind.

creativity

Wonder: Handling fear that comes with a big step

Christa Avampato

A big step in life, even if it’s a welcome and wonderful thing, still carries some fear with it. That happened to me yesterday. It looks like I’ll be making a big change ahead of schedule. I was planning to make this change in about a year but for reasons I never saw coming, I need to make it sooner rather than later. Off and on all day, my heart would race, my breath would get shallow, and my mind wandered. I needed some grounding so I sat down, closed my eyes, put my hands on my heart, and just focused on my breath.

What I realized is that it’s the anticipation of taking the big step that is scarier than actually taking it, whether that step is a new job, a new home, a move, or a drastic change in routine. Once we know we need to adapt to a new reality, we just do. Then we go on and do the best we can. And so, I did. Thanks to the many friends who helped me to see that this is the right way forward.

creativity

Wonder: A dream emerges from the NYC subway and into the light

Christa Avampato

Alice Tan Ridley is a woman on the rise, literally and figuratively. One of the amazing things about New York City that I always miss now that I live in Washington, D.C. is the presence of music everywhere. It’s especially prevalent in the New York subway, and for 30 years, Alice Tan Ridley was one of those subway performers. She’s 63.

Now she’s about to release a new album, appropriately titled “Never Lost My Way”, and this time that release will be done with an event at the Highline Ballroom in Chelsea. It’s always encouraging to see people’s dreams rise up and into the light. It’s my great hope that she is only at the very beginning of a long line of successes. Let her voice, and the story behind her rise, fill the ears of everyone who needs hope, encouragement, and, of course, the healing power of music.

Read more about her story at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/nyregion/alice-tan-ridley-subway-singer-gets-the-spotlight-after-years-underground.html?smid=tw-share.

creativity

Wonder: Happy 7th birthday to my pup Phineas

Christa Avampato

Happy 7th birthday to this sweet little monkey. Phineas is my dog who is 16 pounds of love and loyalty. I’m so lucky he adopted me! I’m going to make sure he enjoys his day.

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creativity

Wonder: Finding your way forward thanks to Edward Albee

Christa Avampato

“Sometimes it’s necessary to go a long distance out-of-the-way in order to come back a short distance correctly.” ~Edward Albee

Yesterday when I learned about the playwright Edward Albee’s passing, this is the first quote of his that came to my mind. Maybe you feel like you’ve taken a step back on some area of your life. Maybe you’re frustrated because you don’t think you’re making the progress you’d like to make. I understand. I’ve been there so many times. And I can tell you this: life often takes us the long way around because it has something to teach us that we can only learn by taking a journey. The only way I’ve found to survive this without losing my mind is to make every effort to learn as much as I can wherever I am. That perspective has made all the difference for me, and I hope it will for you, too. And Mr. Albee, thank you for teaching all of us about finding our path, boldly, bravely, and honestly.

creativity

Wonder: 71-year-old ballerina at Royal Academy of Dance proves it’s never too late to make a dream come true

Christa Avampato

Doreen Pechey just proved to the world that it’s never too late for any dream to come true. As a child, she loved the ballet and would save up her money to attend performances. Her family didn’t have enough money to pay for lessons nor for the costumes needed to perform. At age 71, she just passed the Grade 6 exam at the Royal Academy of Dance, a record for the company. She started taking lessons 10 years ago at age 61 and continued with her training despite having knee replacement surgery two years ago. We no longer have age as an excuse to let go of a dream. With effort, determination, and love everything is possible. So dust off those childhood dreams. It’s time to make them happen.

creativity

Wonder: Looking fear in the face and writing anyway

Christa Avampato

Yesterday I started a scary process: writing query letters to agents. My fingers hovered over my keyboard, shaking. What was so hard about presenting my work and asking someone to consider representing me? Good old-fashioned rejection.

And then I reminded myself that every letter, every book, every play that’s ever been written is done in the exact same way – one word at a time. So that’s what I committed to write. One word followed by another followed by another. Letter by letter, I got there and wrote my first one. And so it begins…a little scary, a little trying, and ultimately, hopefully, worthwhile. Emerson deserves to have someone fight for her story.

creativity

Wonder: Real estate is a long game

Christa Avampato

Buying real estate is a long game. One thing I’m learning in this house hunting process is that buying real estate, especially in a city like D.C. that is changing so rapidly, requires you to be forward-looking. And I mean way forward. The neighborhood and the home may not be perfect now; they may not even be close to perfect. I have to make some trade-offs and no matter what my budget is, it will cost more than I want it to cost.

What’s helping me is to imagine myself growing into a space as my life changes over the next few years, as I’m sure it will because doesn’t it always? The process also takes a lot of patience and faith, two things that are in short supply in an active real estate market. Whenever I feel overwhelmed by it all, I take a deep breath and remind myself that when this is all over I’ll be moving into a new place that will truly be my own.