Category: creativity

creativity

Wonder: Will another dog fix my dog’s separation anxiety

Christa Avampato
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Gabbi – is she the next member of our pack?

The great gift of this last year is that I got to test out having a second dog to keep Phin company without the risk of it not working out. Otis was a fantastic companion for Phin, and still is. Now that we live across town, Phin is missing his buddy and today we’re going to meet a potential forever match for him.

This morning we’re trekking out to the great wilds of Arlington, Virginia to meet a terrier mix named, Gabbi. According to her foster mom, who is a professional dog trainer, Gabbi is about a year old, 20 pounds, loves every single dog and person she meets, and is equal parts playful and calm. Apparently, she is also a real clown who loves belly rubs. She’s housebroken, crate-trained, and quiet with a penchant for chewing on antlers.

I’ve got high hopes for her. I want her an Phin to be best buds. I want her to put Phin’s mind at ease and keep him company day in and day out. I want her to move seamlessly into the pack and settle into her forever home with us. That’s a lot to put onto the shoulders of a little girl like her, and I have a good feeling about this. I mean, look at that smile!

creativity

Wonder: Aim higher

Christa Avampato

“For most of us the problem isn’t that we aim too high and fail – it’s just the opposite – we aim too low and succeed.” ~Sir Ken Robinson

We tell ourselves frightening stories: we will fail and be humiliated, we will try and be disappointed, or we will put ourselves out there and be rejected. Those fears are real, but don’t let them weigh you down and don’t let them stop you. Use them. Use them as fuel. Stack a plan against those fears that will help you overcome them. Don’t aim lower. Aim higher, higher than even your wildest dreams would allow. And then work to meet them. We are so much more capable and deserving than we think we are.

creativity

Wonder: Telling stories takes you back in time

Christa Avampato

I’m working on a piece of writing for my dear friend, Amanda. She’s the best editor I’ve ever worked with, bar none. Whenever she asks me to write something for her, I jump at the chance every time. This particular assignment involved traveling back in time to the dark days of September 2008 when the world, my career, and my life was turned upside down by a frightening, unprecedented economic recession. I was working for a financial institution, an industry I swore I’d never join, and I was, in a word, terrified.

Rather than cower and hide, I rose up. To this day, I’m not sure where I found the strength. I guess the fear of losing my job and my livelihood was adrenalin for me. I took that energy that gets wasted by fear and used it to drive me forward, headfirst, right into the abyss of the unknown. I still shiver thinking about it. And then I smile. Time travel is a wild ride. We are so much stronger than we think we are.

creativity

Wonder: My moving angel

Christa Avampato

20160619_174243When I was a kid, I used to watch the show Touched by Angel with my mom. Since then, I’ve always felt that angels walk among us. And on my moving day, I came face-to-face with one of them.

I was stressed on my moving day, and I left the house to take Phin on his morning walk. There was a Scooby-Doo like blue van parked right outside the house exactly in the place that I had hoped my moving van could park in a few hours provided no one else had taken it.

I’d never seen the van before. A man who looked like Santa Claus, long white beard and all, was in the driver’s seat. The van was stuffed with all kinds of items from what I could see, and I assumed that the man was living in his van. I didn’t recognize him but I felt like I knew him. I smiled and waved, and he smiled back. When I returned with Phin, he was still there and again I smiled and waved.

Right around noon, the blue van pulled away and my moving van pulled right up to take the space. When I went out to greet the movers, I found the note pictured here stapled to the tree outside. Angels are all around us, especially when we need them most. Just when you think you’re down and out, all of a sudden you find support in the most unlikely places.

creativity

Wonder: Settle and root

Christa Avampato

I’ve been laying low in the evenings this week and over this weekend. After so much activity with traveling, packing, and moving, I need to take some time on my own to settle and root. In yoga, our safety, security, and feeling of home base lies in our lower chakras. They are our foundation, the seat of our intuition, and they house our sense of well-being. We need them to be strong to build upon them.

Finally I am starting to feel that sense home and security. My art is slowly filling my walls, papers are being organized and put away. Even Phin, very slowly and somewhat surely, is beginning to settle into this new space and routine. (Well, at least he’s sleeping more than 3 hours a night!)

Transitions can be tough, no matter how wonderful they are. So if like me you’re going through a lot of change right now and making plans for new beginnings, give yourself a break. You aren’t going to get everything right. I certainly don’t. You’re not perfect. I’m far from it. Let yourself have the space and time to adjust. Take it a step, a moment, a day at a time. You can’t rush roots.

creativity

Wonder: Shine – a lesson from U Street street art

Christa Avampato
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U Street serenity

I saw this street art a few weeks ago. I was rushing around trying to get ready for my move. My stress level was running high and my energy level was running low. I saw this mural on U Street, and a calm washed over me. I can’t explain it really. There’s something about her serene expression and the light around her that made me believe I could do the task before me, whatever it is with whatever I have.

So be shiny. Be real. Raise your voice with your heart. Speak up. Be honest. Rise, and take others with you. That’s the only work we have to do.

creativity

Wonder: If it’s meant for you, you’ll have it

Christa Avampato

Last Saturday, I hit a wall with unpacking and settling into my new apartment. As luck would have it, I had a chance to go to Washington Animal Rescue League to play with puppies. I’ve been looking for a companion dog for Phineas since he loved having Otis as constant company for the past year and a half. My friend, Jen, offered to go with me, and her friend, Julie, said she had found the potentially perfect match for Phin. Tired, worn, and reluctant, I went. And as luck (or providence, if your beliefs tend toward the divine) would have it, Julie and Jen were 100% right. We found the perfect match. She wasn’t what I thought she’d be. She was even better.

But I wasn’t ready. My apartment was a mess of boxes, piles of belongings, and bubble wrap. I had no furniture. I could barely keep my eyes open. This was not a time for a new dog. And still, I couldn’t stop thinking about that beautiful pup that we met. I kept imagining her in this apartment, rolling around on the floor with Phin. I thought about her meeting all of my friends. I thought about all the fun places I would take her and Phin, and how relieved I would feel that Phin had the perfect forever friend. The shelter doesn’t hold animals, and for good reason. I decided that if this sweet girl is meant for us, she would be available next weekend for us to take home into an apartment that is ready for her.

And now it looks like, yes, we will get her on Saturday. No one has adopted her yet, and I put in my application. No guarantees until everything is 100% complete, but the odds are looking good for us.

The lesson isn’t lost on me. Be clear about what you can and can’t do. Trust the process. Know that what you are seeking is also seeking you. And you don’t need to have it all figured out to move something forward. You just need the next step. And that’s exactly what we’ve got. Expect an update over the weekend on our new pack member!

creativity

Wonder: When you commit, the universe commits

Christa Avampato

“The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.” ~Goethe

9 years ago, my former boss and always mentor, Bob G., sent me this quote. And since that day, its truth consistently rings in my mind. Once I decide to do something, against any odds and without any thought of turning back, the way opens.

A few weeks ago, I went through a tough disappointment and backed out of buying a condo for very sound and very unfortunate reasons. In the following weeks, I realized that I what I really wanted was a house, a whole house, not a condo. In D.C., that will take a lot more money and a lot more saving. Undeterred by the bigger price tag, I put myself on an aggressive savings plan. Some might say it is an impossible plan, and at the time, it absolutely was. I actually had no idea how I was going to hit that savings goal by the end of the year. Rather than shy away from it, I just decided to figure it out.

Then a strange thing started to happen: I began to get pings for new and interesting contract work that is completely doable (and fun!) in my free time. I couldn’t have foreseen any of these occurrence. I didn’t event know they were options.

Commit to a goal, and the universe rises up.

 

creativity

Wonder: Be an explorer every day

Christa Avampato

Since moving to our new apartment, Phineas has become a morning dog. He’s up at the crack of dawn, and that means I am, too. This morning we took a long stroll / walk / run past Union Station, the Folger, the Library of Congress, and on to the Capitol. Phineas was rolling around in all the grassy areas and greeting everyone who wanted to talk to him. He had the time of his life.

It reminded me that we are constantly explorers, everywhere we go, every day. We take in what’s around us, we learn, and we make the most of it.

creativity

Wonder: Happy sad days are here again

Christa Avampato

We can hold so many emotions at once without compromising any of them. Yesterday I was relieved, heartbroken, and joyful. I was relieved that my move is complete. I was heartbroken by the hateful and despicable tragedy in Orlando. I was joyful and inspired watching the Tony Awards with the incredible breadth of talent and passion that art and artists hold. It’s one of the most marvelous things about life—we can feel everything if we open our hearts and minds to the world around us and the people we meet. The show goes on, and on, and on. And so do we.