“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci
I was recently working on a project and quickly losing motivation. I love my work so it was hard for me to understand why I dreaded even the thought of working on this particular project. Then it hit me: there was a lot of complication entwined in my actual work on it. I crave and relish elegance and simplicity. It makes me happy and it motivates me. I knew what I needed to do – I eliminated the pieces of my work that weren’t necessary. If any step lacked value, I got rid of it even if other people had recommended that’s how it had to be done. I immediately felt better. My motivation returned and I learned a very valuable lesson: simplicity = fun and fun = get it done.
We have to live life moving forward though we can only understanding it looking back. The only way we can face this reality is through faith. Faith that what we feel is right, is right. We have to tune into our intuition even when we don’t have a rational explanation for what we’re doing in the moment. Let that intuition spark your action. Some people won’t get it. That little inside voice of yours might not get it either. There will be jeers and questions and criticism. Turn their volume down to zero and amp up the voice from your gut. Walk confidently, gracefully. Head up, smile wide, heart open. Calm, cool, collected. You’ve got this.
For one minute today, stand and mentally take note of every beautiful thing you see. I do this every morning on my walk with Phin. It’s especially important that I do this when I’m feeling stressed, discouraged, or frustrated. Beauty, in all its forms, heals and it prompts us to create more of it for our ourselves and others. The more time we take to notice it, the more we realize just how much beauty this world holds. Once we see beauty in the world, we find it in our own hearts. And once we feel beauty, we radiate it back to everyone we encounter, everywhere we go.
“Within and without, the voice holds the key.” ~ Kara Johnstad
All projects need doing and listening. We observe the outside world and our own inner world. We hear and see what happens around us and then tune in to what is happening in our own hearts, bodies, minds, and spirits. To do our best work, we must have this balance. The place where the inner world and outer world meet is our greatest source of inspiration, where we realize that what we have to give is exactly what the world needs.
When you hear a brigade of motorcycles roaring down the highway, they might just be on their way to save a life. Bikers Against Child Abuse International (B.A.C.A.) is a global network of bikers who are devoted to stopping child abuse cold in its tracks.
I saw an interview with a few members last week and contrary to their gruff exteriors, they were very emotional. This mission is personal. Many of them were victims of abuse and / or knew children who were victims. They have banded together to bring an end to it. Help and inspiration can come from the most unlikely places. Now more than ever it is important for all of us to stand up for children who can’t stand up for themselves. B.A.C.A. is leading the charge.
“We exist as a body of Bikers to empower children to not feel afraid of the world in which they live. We desire to send a clear message to all involved with the abused child that this child is part of our organization, and that we are prepared to lend our physical and emotional support to them by affiliation, and our physical presence. We stand at the ready to shield these children from further abuse. We do not condone the use of violence or physical force in any manner, however, if circumstances arise such that we are the only obstacle preventing a child from further abuse, we stand ready to be that obstacle.”
We’ve all got something to give. Anthony Cymerys, a barber in Hartford, has been giving haircuts to the homeless in exchange for a hug for 25 years. He sets up shop at Bushnell Park. I read about this inspiring story on DailyGood.org and it filled my heart with joy and my eyes with tears. Giving is a powerful antidote for what hurts and it benefits the giver as much as the receiver. What can you give?
“There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” ~ Zora Neale Hurston
One of my blog readers, Aimee Johnson, sent me this quote and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Wonderful, magical, inspiring bricks. We need both – years when we question everything and years when we vow to answer those big life questions. Which one will 2014 be for you? For me, it’s time for answers.
We can fight anything, even cancer, with the power of music. Patients and staff members of Unit 5 at the University of Minnesota’s Amplatz Children’s Hospital showed how they’re brave when they set this 4-minute video to Grammy nominee Sara Bareilles’s song, Brave. This video may inspire you to get up, run outside (when the weather gets warmer!), and change the world. You’ve been warned. Oh, and grab a kleenex. This is powerful.
Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn’t people feel as free to delight in whatever sunlight remains to them? ~ Rose Kennedy
The most exciting (and terrifying) project I have planned for 2014 is the production of my first play, Sing After Storms. It will be staged as part of the Thespis Theater Festival in New York City on June 18th at 8:45pm, June 21st at 9:00pm, and June 22nd at 9:30pm at the Cabrini Repertory Theater, 701 Fort Washington Avenue in Washington Heights. What led me to write the play and ultimately submit it for production can be summed up in one word: priorities. On the surface, it’s not such a sexy word, but it made all the difference for me.
I wrote the play while I was in California this summer on a creative sabbatical from my work. I went there with about a dozen personal projects I wanted to complete and quickly realized that even if I worked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for the entire 8 weeks I couldn’t get them all done. They were so massive I couldn’t even get 2 of them done. (I live by the philosophy of “make no small plans.”) I quickly realized I had to choose. I tried to wiggle out of choosing and tried to select a few. It didn’t work. I had to sit down and decide what mattered most. And though it was the least lucrative and least likely to generate anything other than happiness, I spent my last 4 weeks writing my play. With much coaching and encouragement from my dear friend, Trevin, I finished the first draft. It felt amazing to do what I loved simply because I wanted to. That experience also helped me make up my mind to focus on writing and content development full-time.
When I returned to New York, I completed the second draft and submitted it to Thespis. That was the first time I ever submitted the full play to anyone for review and I expected to be rejected about 100 times before anyone even gave it a second look. I’m proud of the work, though I worked in professional theater management for a number of years. After managing Broadway shows and national tours, I know how difficult the industry is. I know how much work doesn’t make it, how many artists never get any shot. I wanted to be passionate and realistic. I wrote that play simply because I loved the story. I never expected anything else to come of it even though I knew I would keep trying to get it produced.
When I got the acceptance from Thespis five days later, I was shocked. And nervous. And excited. And overwhelmed. I spoke with Trevin immediately, and then with my dear theater friend, Amy, who also read the script and encouraged me to give it a shot. Should I do this? Both emphatically said, “Yes!” So I reviewed the contract and accepted the next day.
Now there are many months of hard work and long hours ahead. Trevin is going to direct the piece and I’ve started to look for other people who want to play a part in this new project – actors, a stage manager, designers, technicians, stage crew members, marketing and publicity, investors. (If any of these opportunities sound interesting to you, please email me at christa.avampato@gmail.com.) While I will now be consumed by this next phase of the process, I remind myself that this all happened because I put the wheels in motion by following my gut this summer, by doing what made me happiest. I made a choice. One single choice. And that was enough to get started.
Last week Aimee Johnson, one of my blog readers, wrote me an email to thank me for helping to inspire her on her path to healing. She started her own blog as a result: http://aimees-apothecary.blogspot.co.uk. I’ve never met Aimee in-person though she wanted to make sure I knew how important my writing was to her, that my daily posts give her the motivation to keep going. I am humbled by her sentiments and her thoughtfulness to send me this note.
Just that morning I had been wondering how to structure this blog in 2014. I try to stick with a theme every year and 2013 was a year dedicated to making something beautiful, in my case a life and a career. Until I got Aimee’s email I was struggling with what to do for 2014. Aimee helped me solve that problem – 2014 will be about inspiring others and shining a spotlight on people who inspire me. I want to help people let go of things that don’t serve them and take more chances. Stories give us the courage we need to make that happen.
I’ve got a good feeling about 2014. Something tells me it’s going to be one of those landmark years with twists and turns and wild rides. I’m ready for it. I’m ready for all of it. Happy New Year!
Christa Avampato 