“Don’t think. It complicates things. Just feel, and if it feels like home, then follow its path.” ~R.M. Drake
I’ve started 2016 embracing this idea. Our guts are so powerful and wise and intuitive. They know the way home. They know exactly where we should and shouldn’t go, whom we should and shouldn’t be with, and what we should and shouldn’t do. They know far more than our heads, far more than our hearts. And no, we often can’t explain a gut feeling. It doesn’t need explanation. It needs only action. So trust it. Follow it. Believe it. Even if your head and your heart are conflicted, don’t waste time and energy questioning the gut. Just know that, now and always, it has your back.
“Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion.” ~Rumi
How many times have you wondered if you’re good enough for a job, a person, or just something wonderful? Understand this: you are enough. You are so much more than enough. Forget about being too young or too old for something. Forget about your regrets and self-doubt and fears. That thinking doesn’t serve you. You’re better than that. You’ve always been better than that. Now go get the life you want, the whole life you want, because that’s exactly what you deserve.
Here’s the only way to meditate: you have to sit down and close your eyes for some amount of time on a regular basis.
I’d say daily, but that freaks people out. I’d say 18 minutes a pop, but that also freaks people out. A friend of mine recently asked me if I could help her learn how to meditate. I gave her ideas, techniques, and tips of how to make sitting there with yourself tolerable for some length of time, but ultimately whether or not my friend wants to meditate is really the deciding factor.
I shared my practice—every day, at some point, I sit on my couch, turn on the timer on my phone for 18 minutes, turn off every kind of device that makes a sound, close my eyes, and do nothing. (The 18 minutes is purely an arbitrary number that just works for me and take my 18 minutes whenever I can get it – morning, noon, or night.) Sometimes I’m happy. Other times I’m less happy—meaning angry, sad, disappointed, frustrated, sick, or just in a funk of some kind. No matter what my emotional state, I sit there and just be and breathe. Most of the time, Phineas crawls into my lap and goes to sleep. There’s no magic formula. That’s it. That’s all I do. It’s enough for me and it’s enough for you, too.
You don’t need any fancy clothes, sitting apparatus, or pricey classes and workshops. You don’t need permission. You don’t need someone to tell you how to do it. All it takes is practice and a desire to practice. The rest you’ll learn along the way. Your breath and your heartbeat will teach you everything you need to know.
I can tell you this about my daily meditation practice: I never regret it.
Somehow Andra Day’s album Cheers to the Fall had escaped my notice until I saw her on the Apple commercial with Stevie Wonder. Now I can’t stop listening to it on loop on Amazon Prime. There’s something so painful about her lyrics and yet so strong about her voice that strikes just the right chord to keep me hooked until the very last note. If you haven’t yet, give it a listen and get ready to dance, cry, and reflect.
Two things I’d like to do more of in 2016 is teach and be personally involved in theater again. To get that going, I’m teaching a free playwriting workshop, On With the Show!: Playwriting and Performance, for kids ages 6-12 at 826DC’s office at 3333 14th Street (Columbia Heights neighborhood) on Saturday, January 9th, and Saturday, January 23rd, from 1pm – 3pm.
Together we’ll learn about storyboarding, plot development, character development, and snappy dialogue. To register your child, visit the 826DC workshop website and fill out this form. See you there!
To keep myself in a constant pursuit of wonder, meet my Wonder jar. Every day, I’ll be writing down things that I’ve done, seen, heard, and experienced that remind me of all the joy that life has to offer. I love the start of a brand new year. Though every day is a new beginning, there is something particularly special about January 1st. I wake up excited and ready to get going. I was more than happy to say goodbye to 2015 and welcome the start of 2016 with open arms. In this new year, I hope we find ways every day to celebrate the world around us, lift up one another, and pursue our wildest dreams. Happy New Year!
I went to visit the Wonder art exhibit at the Renwick Gallery in Washington D.C. The exhibit sparked a conversation with my friend, Jeff, about the definition and importance of wonder. As I cultivate new personal and professional opportunities in 2016, I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of wonder. For me, it’s about being open and allowing myself to be amazed. It’s the ability to be delighted and filled with joy. This world is wild. Sometimes it’s downright cruel. Wonder is what keeps us going, in times of light and darkness. And I’ve found that the more I look for wonder, the more I seek out opportunities to be happy and free, the more of them I find. As we turn the page today, letting go of 2015 and welcoming 2016, I hope we can all find moments of wonder every single day.
I’ve been talking to a lot of friends this week. It seems that 2015 was a tough one for many people. Disappointment is a painful feeling because it leaves us both hollow and confused. I’d take just about any emotion over disappointment. It’s a tough one to get through and get over, though it’s also a gift in the truest sense of the word because it means a truth, however painful, has been revealed to us. And with truth we can create something new, forge a different path, and become a better version of who we are.
So if 2015 was a tough year for you, if you had your fair share of disappointment, think of it as fuel that can help you build a brighter 2016. Someday, we’ll look back and say this is the year that had to happen.
I’m not great at vacation; I never feel rejuvenated by it. I wish I did. I envy people who do. I just can’t. If anything, I feel overly anxious about the very idea of vacation. About 12 hours into it, I start to get antsy. I need a project and I’ve stopped trying to fight that need. I am who I am, and my idea of fun is creating things. It’s what I do and who I am.
In 2016, I’m not going to fight that anymore. I’m an intense, passionate, and some might say (slightly) manic, person. Moments of calm and peace are necessary (I sit in meditation for 18 minutes a day no matter what my schedule is), though the natural hum of my life exists at a higher frequency and that’s just fine by me. I’m most comfortable when I’m using my mind, body, and heart to build something.
In the new year, I hope we all find that—the way and speed of life that feels most authentic for us. It’s different for everyone, and there isn’t a way that’s better. Just a way that’s better for each of us as individuals. Let’s honor that.
“Art saves lives. I used to think that was corny, but it’s true. It saved mine.” ~Gil Batle, former prisoner and artist
If you ever wanted to see an elegant story, beautifully told and deeply felt, about how art saves people then this post is for you. Jane Pauley interviewed Gil Batle on CBS Sunday Morning and it’s one of the most incredible interviews I’ve ever seen. Gil Batle has struggled with drug addiction for most of his adult life, and he committed a series of crimes to support that habit. At age 53, he’s clean, free, and creating art that channels his painful past. He carves intricate scenes into ostrich eggs using a high speed dental drill that etches the scenes no deeper than 1/16 of an inch into the shell. If you’re in New York, his work is on display at the Ricco Maresca Gallery. If you’re not in New York, take a look at his work through the video below. You can also see his art at http://www.gilbatle.com/ and on Instagram at @gilbatle.
Christa Avampato 