Category: creativity

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.

creativity

Wonder: Journeys great and small

Christa Avampato

Journeys

Go slowly in taking the step;
and fast when counting stars.
Make music with your heels,
give back the place to Place,
sing to the sound of the road
and break the spiritful track
with your wide beliefs
in what passes underground
and rises wrung and right: unbound.

~Dolores Kendrick, 2002

In my new neighborhood, there is a sculpture by the metro stop called Journeys by Barbara Grygutis and it has a poem also entitled Journeys by the Washington poet laureate, Dolores Kendrick. I walked by it this morning with Phin and it gave me a magical, cosmic sense of well-being. While these last few months have been intensely stressful in many ways, I now feel a new chapter has opened.

I have so many stories to share in the coming days – about my moving day angel, the value of journeys great and small, taking time to play with puppies, lower chakras, and taking time to settle and root. I am taking it all in—the good and the challenging—and learning.

creativity

Wonder: We live and move bit by bit

Christa Avampato

13435309_10102751897676806_5171304354613830104_nAfter a restless night, Phin and I are making progress. I put together a reclaimed wood entertainment center, bought a cool rug, set up my wi-fi, and got my roku TV working. Phin unpacked his toys and got his bed just the way he wants it. Little by little, it’s getting done. Now we’re going to go play with puppies.

Right now, everything feels scattered but I can see it starting to take shape. I’m looking forward to the day when this feels like home.

creativity

Wonder: Theater saved me while I was moving

Christa Avampato

I’m moving to my new apartment today. As I was taping up the few remaining boxes, I felt another wave of nervous wash over me. And then theatre saved me, again, the same way it’s saved me so many times before.

I started humming the beautiful song I’ve Been Here Before from the musical, Closer Than Ever. I have been here many times before. I’ve felt these feelings. I’ve dealt with uncertainty and change in inordinate amounts. And you know what? I’m always, eventually, just fine. By some miracle, it always works out because I work. And work and work and work.

This time is no different. If anything, it’s far easier than my last move. I took one more (very) deep breath and went back to taping boxes. That’s how every move everywhere gets done: one box at a time.

creativity

Wonder: Music saves us

Christa Avampato

“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” ~Frederick Douglass

I heard this quote over the weekend during a tear-jerking story by journalist Steve Hartman. This story is about a 78-year-old partially paralyzed pianist, Norman Malone, who learned to play with only his left hand after his father almost bludgeoned him and his brothers to death with a hammer. I sobbed. The light and beauty in this man is present in his voice, his eyes, and his music. Even that horrid night couldn’t take music from him. He grew up to become a choral instructor so he could share his love of music with children. After all, it saved him, so of course it can save others.

Recently, finally, he had the opportunity to give his first public performance and it was stunning. And on that stage, through that stream of tears, he couldn’t find the words to express what that performance and what music means to him. He kept it to himself. And I couldn’t help but see that somewhere in him that sweet boy who survived such brutality lives on. And shines on, 70 years later.

Frederick Douglass was absolutely right. It is so much easier to build children up than to repair adults from the trauma of life. The arts, music, dance, writing, and all creative outlets help us hang on to our very essence and give us the opportunity to share it with others. I am heart-broken by Norman’s story, and I am also immensely inspired by it. Art saves. Art heals. Art perseveres.

 

creativity

Wonder: Face this week with a wink and a smile

Christa Avampato

“A strong woman looks a challenge dead in the eye and gives it a wink.” ~Gina Carey

Challenges are all around us—at home and work, in our community, in every relationship, and even within us. It’s easy to get pulled into them and not seeing anything else. This weekend as I was in the midst of packing I read this quote by Gina Carey.

Given my schedule and move, this week will be filled with challenges so I’m going to try an experiment: every time I meet a challenge (or a challenging person), I’m going to smile wide before I say anything. In my mind, I’m going to look my challenges dead in the eye and wink. That’s my choice. Care to join me?

creativity

Wonder: How to survive packing and moving

Christa Avampato

I started packing up my apartment this weekend to get ready for my move on Friday. I’m excited about my new home, adopting a second dog, and learning a new neighborhood as well as I know my current one.

And then a funny thing happened yesterday. I started to get nervous, really nervous. I was worried I was running out of time, supplies, and energy. So I sat down, right in the middle of my packing supplies, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. And another and another. Phineas and Otis climbed into my lap. When I opened my eyes, things looked different. I had made progress.

Moving is stressful. My job’s stressful. I’m tired. I’m worried about so many things, moving-related and otherwise. I just got overwhelmed by all of it. It’s going to be okay. I’ll get it all done. I’ll figure it out. And in the mean time, I’ll just keep breathing.

creativity

Wonder: Imagine your life 3 months from now

Christa Avampato

“Imagine your life 3 or 6 months from now. It looks better,” said my friend, Alex, who always knows exactly what to say when I’m having a tough day. I often call her when I’m at a loss and just don’t know what to do or how to think or feel about something.

I felt that way this week, and she repeated this advice to me again. She’s right. She’s always right. No matter what’s upsetting me, chances are I won’t even remember that it happened a few months from now. This day will likely fade into the distance as unremarkable, and what seems like such a big deal today will be completely insignificant by then.

After Alex gave me that advice, I instantly felt better. The future does look sunny. I got through my day holding my head a little higher, standing a little taller, and feeling a little lighter. I hope you do, too.

creativity

Wonder: Kids need the arts

Christa Avampato

Our First Lady said it best on The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC: “No one should ever think that dance and music and theater are a luxury…because for so many of our students, they are truly necessities. They’re the reason these kids show up [to school].”

The arts give a lot of people meaning in their lives. They aren’t an extra. They aren’t a luxury. They are the reasons that many of us get out of bed in the morning. Let’s do everything we can to ensure that every child has a right to express themselves through art.

Are you with me?