Category: home

change, friendship, home, moving, relationships, social media, social network

Leap: Social Media Provides Us With Room To Move

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

As I think more about my potential move to a new city in the coming year, I realize how much freedom social media provides. I’m able to connect with friends and friends of friends to ask questions about potential new homes. And when I do make a decision of where to move, I don’t need to feel like I’m leaving behind my friends in NYC. I won’t see them as often in person but we will still be close with the lines of social networks drawn between us. I also remember that a number of people whom I consider good friends are people I know through this blog and other channels. I talk to many of them daily in one way or another.

This ability to make and keep connections over long distances makes moving easier than it’s ever been before. Moving to a new city doesn’t need to feel isolating or lonely, even while we are in the process of reestablishing our physical social lives. These reflections make a move from New York a less scary proposition, an exciting new possibility, and they open the way for options that I never would have considered before. As the world gets smaller, individual opportunities expand.

home, yoga

Leap: My 300 Hour Yoga Teacher Training Is Complete

Christa Avampato

I finished up the last of my requirements for my 300 hour teacher training program at ISHTA Yoga. In the aftermath of the intense number of hours, I feel relieved but not in the way you might think. It’s nice to have more time back on my calendar. It’s nice to feel such a sense of pride and accomplishment in completing a program I spent years thinking about. My relief doesn’t come from either of those sources.

I am relieved that there is a little space on East 11th Street that feels like a spiritual home. A place I can go that always makes me feel better no matter what kind of day I’ve had, no matter what pressures or stresses weigh on me. A place where I can go to heal, where there’s always a friendly face, where I always feel like the very best version of myself.

This certificate means much more to me than the completion of a set of training hours. It’s a map. In that handful of words on a page, I found a way forward even when I’m not exactly sure where I’m trying to go. In that tiny space on East 11th Street there is a bit of magic sprinkled in every corner that welcomes every guest who wishes to sit and learn and be. I am proud to be among them.

home

Leap: Is It Time for a New Chapter in a New City?

Christa Avampato

“Home is the nicest word there is.” ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

A few weeks ago I got my lease renewal notice from my apartment building’s management company. They only raised the rent $25 / month and I was elated. I couldn’t resign fast enough. Since sending in that lease renewal, I’ve had a number of conversations that have caused me to reflect on this city that has been so good to me and has been my home for many years. The big question I keep tossing over and over in my mind is whether $1900 / month for a studio apartment is really sustainable given my desire to live a life of my own design.

Since my leap into my own company, Chasing Down the Muse, so much more of my life has become negotiable. Far more things that were set in stone at one point are now on the table for discussion. I love New York. I’ll always love New York. More and more the thought of a new beginning in a new city enters my mind. Maybe life doesn’t need to be this hard, nor this expensive, nor this crowded. Maybe there’s a different way forward. More grass and trees and squirrels, a little more room, a little less noise, a little less dirt.

When I think about what I may want in a city, these are the things that matter most (in no particular order):
1.) Vibrant, creative, diverse, cultured city
2.) Intellectual environment
3.) Public transit
4.) Lower cost-of-living
5.) Major international airport nearby
6.) Easy flight to Florida and New York to visit family
7.) A strong healthcare / wellness / yoga community
8.) More green space, please
9.) Dog-friendly
10.) Temperate weather

I’ve signed my lease renewal until October 1, 2013 so at least until then I’ll be tooling around this city that has been my partner for almost my entire adult life. I’ll also be thinking about whether a change of scene is a needed change in the coming year. Nothing’s set in stone, but the thought of change is there. I’m taking suggestions and ideas of possible new homes – so send ’em on over!

art, creativity, home, inspiration

Leap: Paint Your Space and Get Inspired Thanks to YOLO Colorhouse

Christa Avampato
Image from Yolo Colorhouse

“Color possesses me. I don’t have to pursue it. It will possess me always, I know it. That is the meaning of this happy hour: Color and I are one. I am a painter.” ~ Paul Klee

I went to my friend Amy’s apartment last week. She bought her own place a few years back and has done a lot of renovations. The renovations are amazing – I didn’t even recognize the space! – and the change that inspired me the most was her sense of color. She repainted every room and it gave the space such a lift.

Color changes the way we see the world and our place in it. I’ve shied away from painting because I was never sure how long I’d be here and in New York City landlords usually require that you repaint back to the original color before you move out. That was a roadblock to me until I saw Amy’s place and felt so much different when surrounded by beautifully colored walls. A trip to her home gave me the nudge I needed. So I’ll paint it all back whenever I move – big deal! The inspiration is worth that extra work.

Now that I spend more time at working at home, I really need my space to be a source of pace, sanctuary, and creativity. That’s a tall order for a tiny place but Amy showed me it was possible. I took her advice and ordered 2 gorgeous colors of environmentally safe paint from YOLO Colorhouse, a woman-owned startup based in Portland: Aspire .04 for the walls and Clay .06 for accents.

I’m going to take before and after pictures so I’ll share the color make-over when it’s complete. Want to bring a little more color into your life? Check out YOLO Colorhouse!

books, design, home

Beginning: The Design of Our Homes Affects the Quality of Our Lives

Christa Avampato

“Whatever happens in the world – whatever is discovered or created or bitterly fought over – eventually ends up, in one way or another, in your house…Houses aren’t refuges from history. They are where history ends up.” ~ Bill Bryson

Two things that give me so much joy I squeal – Bill Bryson books and The Nate Berkus Show. Nate hosts a show about making our lives better and he draws much of his inspiration from his career as an interior designer. He has the philosophy that our homes are a reflection of who we are, what we value, and how we regard the future. Because I’m not particularly gifted in the spacial orientation arena, nor really in the interior design arena, I’ve been using Nate’s show and website for ideas and interior design confidence as I redesign my own small space. (Pictures and an update on the redesign to follow in a later post.)

I’ve put a bit of urgency on this redesign because of my New Year’s Resolution to spend more time working out of my home. (There will also be more details about this in my January 1st post.) Soon, my home will have to be more than a refuge – it will need to be a highly functional, productive refuge that doesn’t lose its sense of peace. Actually, it will need to heighten its sense of peace because in 2012 I will be busier than I’ve ever been which means I’ll need to have a home that really lets me get away from it all when I need to recharge. And did I mention my home weighs in at slightly under 400 square feet? How’s that for a design challenge, Nate?

So what the heck does any of this have to do with Bill Bryson? Over the holidays I learned a lot about the history of homes and private space from Bill. After giving us the giggles and sharing his deep wisdom as he recounts a life as an expat, a journey along the Appalachian Trail, and the history of a small subject called the Universe, he has turned his literary attention to the home. He swears his latest book, At Home: A Short History of Private Life,  was written out of a desire to be thoroughly comfortable and write an entire book without taking off his carpet slippers. What he found is that homes are incredibly complex, as complex as the people who inhabit them.

We too often take our shelter, and its history, for granted. This is especially true in New York City where many of the apartments are a century old or close to it. The apartment I live in now was built in 1926 by Emery Roth, the renowned architect and father of art deco. The architect was actually mentioned by the buildings manager as a feature of the building. I became slightly obsessed with the story of his life, of which very little is written or even known. His plans for the building and a personal journal of sorts are in the archives at Columbia University. Thanks to the generosity of a kind librarian, I went to see them and discovered that my building, by a sheer stroke of synchronicity, was the first fire-proof building in New York City. And my particular apartment was the maid’s quarters. Lots of history in that tiny space, and good inspiration for a writer.

I took the apartment right after my previous apartment building caught fire and was declared uninhabitable due to the smoke and fire damage. Inside the walls of that tiny space, I found out who I really was and what I’m really made of. I founded Compass Yoga there, right on my couch, and got serious about my writing. I learned how to really stand up for myself and for others who needed someone to stand up for them. This Fall, I almost moved, thinking I needed more space for the price I’m paying in monthly rent. I did a little look around and found out I have a pretty darn good deal so I stayed and decided to redecorate. Rather than move, I vowed to make the design of my tiny space more efficient, and beautiful.

How we treat the space we live has an awful lot to do with how we treat ourselves and how we treat others. In this redecorating process, I’m learning how much our space reflects who we are, who we’d like to be, and ultimately who we’ll become. Personal transformation doesn’t always require a life altering event like a building fire (though I will certainly admit that trauma speeds personal transformation along.)

Most transformation happens bit by bit, drop by drop, in those quiet moments at home when we wind down from our days and reflect on what we’ve learned. A space that makes room for such an important process deserves care, concern, and good design. After all, it’s going to house our history, too.

adventure, Africa, home, travel

Beginning: Getting Reacquainted with Tanzania, a Place That Still Feels Like Home

Christa Avampato

Today I’m very excited to share a guest post from Nikita Raja. We “met”via this blog over two years ago and since then have kept up a regular correspondence. She’s one of the members of this blog’s community who is constantly encouraging me to continue to share my experience as a way of helping others.

Nikita recently sent me a collection of her photos from her first trip to Tanzania as an adult. She was born in Tanzania and much of her family history is wrapped up in that country. I asked her to share this experience in a guest post as a reminder to all of that new beginnings can be discovered everywhere, even in places from our past. 

This past summer, my sister and I were lucky enough to travel back to Dar-es-Salaam (Dar), Tanzania. Known as my birthplace, and the place I can tie my family’s roots back to – Tanzania is home! Home, because this is where so many of family’s cherished memories and stories have emerged from.

It had been twelve years since I last visited, and my trip ended up being nothing short of an adventure into the wild and a journey back to my roots. Although I was about ten years old when I last visited Dar, it seemed completely unrecognizable to me! But it was refreshing to return to a place that felt both different and familiar and still be able to call it “home”.

While I spent a lot of time bonding with family I hadn’t seen in years and indulging in eating different East African specialities like “Mogo” (Grilled Cassava) and “Kitale” (Coconut filled with potatoes and chillies), I actually got to explore parts of Tanzania that I had never seen before – a two-day safari to the Serengeti National Park, driving through endless running African savannahs and capturing photos of animals in their natural habitat. Simply breathtaking! I also managed to get away for a weekend trip, to the beautiful island of Zanzibar. Known for its paradise style beaches and resorts, spice tours, and rich history.

Through travel, we often gain new layer of wisdom. Wisdom from the experiences we had, the people we met, the food we ate, the stories we heard and the learning we gained made for such an enriching experience. Although life in Tanzania may be worlds apart from life here in North America, it’s through experiences like these that one begins to appreciate travel and cultural realties.

Travel allows us to indulge, learn, and adapt. It was the perfect trip to celebrate my graduation from university and my start into the working world.

Nikita’s photos from Tanzania:

Night time food bazaar known as “Forodhani”, with diverse crowds of tourists
Zanzibar’s Stone Town - a World Heritage Site.
Zanzibar’s Stone Town - a World Heritage Site.
Prison Island, popular beach site in Zanzibar
The Serengeti National Park
The Serengeti National Park
"Kitale” (Coconut filled with potatoes and chillies)
home, meditation

Beginning: A Meditation to Take You Home

Christa Avampato

Yesterday I wrote a post about one of my students at New York Methodist Hospital. In it I referenced a meditation technique that taught, and I got some emails from readers asking if I could send the technique to them so they could practice it at home. For your reading and practicing pleasure on this fine Tuesday, here is a meditation to take you home. This meditation is also available as a podcast if you’d like to listen to it rather than read it. It lasts for 7 minutes.

Meditation to take you home
Come to a comfortable seat, either in a chair or on the floor. You could also be lying flat if that feels more comfortable to you.

Bring attention to the even inhale and exhale of your breath. Begin to arrive at a place that you treasure – a favorite vacation spot, your home – past or present, a place you go to regularly that brings you comfort. Maybe it’s a place you’ve never been to but dream to see. Let yourself go there. Slowly begin to trace your mind’s eye to take in a 360 degree view of where you are. With every inhale, bring more and more detail of the place into focus through the five senses.

What colors do you see? Is there vegetation or wild life nearby. Are there other people around? Are you in the company of others or are you alone? Is there activity happening or is there complete stillness?

What sounds do you hear? Are there voices of loved ones or the sounds of nature – a bird, maybe a pet whom you love. Is the wind blowing or the rain softly failing? Is there music, and is that music nearby or far off in the distance? Do you hear the sounds of ocean? Or is there no sound at all except the rising and the falling of your breath, the beating of your heart?

What scents are present? From flowers or fruit or the salty air. Maybe there’s that deep, rich scent of an ancient forest or the scent of rain. Maybe you’re baking a favorite food. Or is there a scent nearby that you associate with someone you love.

What do you taste? Is it just the clear air that you take in on every inhale or is there a strong flavor associated to this place memory? A favorite meal, a special gift made for you on a special occasion.

What are the tactile textures of your memory? Is there sand or water that you can touch? Is the sun shining on your face? Are you wearing a favorite outfit, and how does that fabric feel against your skin? Are there flowers or plants or rocks that you can glide your fingers along? Is it another person that you hug and can you allow yourself to actually feel that hug again as if it is happening right now, in this moment?

And now take all of that detail and bring it inside your heart. How does this place make you feel? Calm and peaceful? Adventurous and alive? Comfortable and safe? Allow yourself to really be present in that place, to take in each of its dimensions.

And now to slowly come out of the meditation, with every exhale allow the picture of this place to slowly fade, to softly recede into your memory where you can return to it at any time. Release it by counting backwards from 10 to 1. Slowly open the eyes and be thankful for the opportunity to have such a beautiful memory in your heart.

Namaste.

happiness, home, hope, meditation, yoga

Beginning: Finding Your Way

Christa Avampato

San Marino Island, Croatia. http://www.find-croatia.com
“Blessed is the person who finds what she’s meant to do with her life.” ~ Sonia, one of my meditation students at NY Methodist Hospital and a caregiver

I met Sonia at NY Methodist Hospital this past week during one of my meditation sessions in the Physical Rehab Unit. She is from Croatia and is now caring for her elderly mother. Her journey as a child refugee out of Croatia ultimately landed her in Park Slope Brooklyn, where she has lived ever since. That evening we took a traveling meditation in which we focused on a specific place as a point of concentration. Sonia emerged from the meditation with teary eyes and a peaceful heart. Though she has been in Brooklyn for so long, she misses her Croatia even now. Its beauty, its history, its people. “If you go through this life and never see Croatia, you are missing out,” she said. With that kind of endorsement, I dutifully added it to my list for future vacations.

We also got to talking about my work at the hospital. I told her about the transition I’m hoping to make, and surprised myself when I freely said, “I wish I could be doing the work I do here every day.” For some reason that statement made me both sad and glad. Glad that I had that kind of clarity, and sad that it is not yet my reality. Maybe Sonia sensed that wistfulness in me, because she offered up the simple quote at the top of this post. I may have offered her a meditation that night that allowed her to go home for a few moments, but she gave me much more of a lesson. To someone who’s lived a life of struggle, it seemed to her that my clarity of purpose was more than enough of a reason to be happy, to feel whole.

home, luck, politics, war

Step 316: I’m Lucky to Be Home

Christa Avampato

On Wednesday night I went to a debate series run by Intelligence Squared, an organization that brings together experts and thought leaders on a specific topic who debate from two polar opposite angles. The audience votes prior to the debate and then just after. The side who convinces the greatest percentage of people to change their minds wins the debate. the topic on Wednesday night, “Afghanistan is a lost cause.” A very loaded statement.

Afghanistan is a multi-layered, hugely complicated issue that I would argue most experts don’t even fully understand. Our U.S. presence there is hotly debated – it’s not clear if we’re helping or harming the situation, nor if we’re helping or harming our own national security by being in Afghanistan. We’ve spent tens of billions of dollars over many years to make a modicum of improvement. Some argue that improvement is worth it. Others have called it a colossal failure.

I went into the debate confused, and left with a clearer opinions. Yes, I support our troops. No, I don’t think we should be in Afghanistan with any more military than required to get much-needed humanitarian aid to the area. Getting more education, food, electricity, and basic housing to more people would do much more good than more weapons. I’d like to see someone like Gregg Mortensen deciding the US policy in Afghanistan. I hope President Obama calls him.

One statement at the end of the debate really struck a chord in me. Matthew Hoh, who has a wealth of on-the-ground experience in Afghanistan though is a lousy debater, said, “I don’t care who wins this debate. I just want you to go home tonight and think about all of the troops there who aren’t going home tonight, who will never go home again.”

And I did. And I thought about it this morning when I woke up, too. I spent a few minutes snuggled under my covers, counting my blessings that I live in a safe, warm home, that I have friends and family whom I love and who love me, that I’m about to take my adorable dog for a walk, that I live a free life whose limits are only set by the limits I place on myself.

Who’s luckier than me? No one, and I’m grateful for that luck every day.

home

Step 166: Becoming an American

Christa Avampato

“The things that the flag stands for were created by the experiences of a great people. Everything that it stands for was written by their lives. The flag is the embodiment not of sentiment, but of history.” ~ Woodrow Wilson, 28th U.S. president, quoted for U.S. Flag Day, June 14, 2010

Real Simple magazine ran a beautiful feature this month. It features 6 women who became U.S. citizens last year, and each describes why they chose to become American. This article had an intense effect on me because last week I went on a date with a guy who pronounced how not proud he is to be an American. I replied, “The why don’t you leave?” In case you were wondering, we’re not going on a second date. I can’t date someone who profusely explains that he is not proud to be an American and yet happily uses every government service at his disposal.

As I went home from the date I thought about some concrete reasons of why I am proud to be an American. If I had to choose just one reason it would be because here in this country we can dream as big and bold as we want to. Here are the lead in lines to the article in Real Simple that explain why these women became Americans:

“To live free of fear” ~ Lorraine Lamm, 31, from Kingston, Jamaica

“To be in a place where greatness is encouraged” ~ Monika Kochhar, 28, from Lucknow, India

“To escape oppression” ~ Than Than Aye, 51, from Yangon, Myanmar (formerly Rangoon, Burma)

“To be with my soul mate” ~ Avishag Mofaz, 44, from Tel Aviv, Israel

“To break with my past” ~ Michele Mitrovich, 28, from Volgograd, Russia

“To give my parents – and myself – a better life” ~ Maria Yoplac, 35, from Lima, Peru

The image above depicts a study pamphlet from 1907 that helped people to study for the exam taken by all perspective American Citizens.