I tell wonder-filled stories about hope and healing
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” ~Ursula K. Le Guin
As it is with love so it is with life. We have to constantly renew it, nurture it, and tend to it. When we have a healthy relationship with one, then things seem to fall into place with the other. Love and life, two sides, same coin. Love life, and live with love.
“Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” ~Leonard Cohen
This quote has been an important guidepost for me for many months, now more than ever. It inspired the title of my novel, Where the Light Enters, and it continues to guide me through the many changes that I’m experiencing in my life now.
No matter what’s happening to us and around us, it’s important for us to continue to ring the bells that still can ring. Smile and love and help where and when and how we can. Our actions don’t need to be perfect; we don’t need to be perfect. We can’t be. We live in a world that is wholly imperfect. All we can do is our best, and that means continuing to show up and put our hearts and souls into the act of creating the best lives we can, for ourselves and the people we love.
And that’s the trick of it all, that’s how the light gets in. It gets in with love and gratitude and actions guided by them. It gets in when we let ourselves we vulnerable, when we allow ourselves to learn and change and grow, not in spite of adversity, but because of it. That’s how we make a good life.
I’m a fiercely independent person. I like to be able to take care of myself, and I take a lot of pride in that ability. Yesterday I had to run a few errands in D.C. by car—not my preferred mode of transportation. In the bitter cold. With my dog, Phin, in tow.The packages I picked up were heavy. Phin was uncomfortable in the weather (as was everyone.) It wasn’t easy, but I got it done.
When I parked the car and got back to my apartment, an unfamiliar thought ran through my head: “It sure would be nice to have someone to share the load with.” I sat up a little straighter and looked around. Did I really just think that? Phin looked at me with his big marble eyes as if to say, “Yes. Yes you did.”
First time that idea’s ever crossed my mind so I guess there really is a first time for everything. And maybe here in D.C. I’m going to find that someone who can share the load of life with me in a loving, supportive, and helpful way. And if he could have a sense of humor about it all, too, then I’d be sold on the idea. Time will tell.
“With life as short as a half-taken breath, don’t plant anything but love.” ~Rumi
Love is magic. It heals what’s broken and nurtures what’s already strong. It breaks down barriers, builds bridges across chasms, casts light where there is darkness. It’s not always easy to love someone. It’s not always easy to love ourselves. But I believe now, and will always believe, that love is always possible and the one force that will always make things better. Always. So let’s love.
This is one of my favorite Christmas poems. It’s such a beautiful reminder of what this season is all about—unity, love, and kindness. Happy Christmas.
Alfie, the Christmas Tree
Did you ever hear the story of the Christmas Tree
who just didn’t want to change the show
He liked living in the woods and playing with squirrels, he liked icicles and snow.
He liked wolves and eagles and grizzly bears
and critters and creatures that crawled.
Why bugs were some of his very best friends, spiders and ants and all.
Now that’s not to say that he ever looked down on the vision of twinkling lights,
or on mirrored bubbles and peppermint canes and a thousand other delights.
And he often had dreams of tiny reindeer
and a jolly old man and a sleigh full of toys and presents and wonderful things,
and the story of Christmas Day.
Oh, Alfie believed in Christmas all right, he was full of Christmas cheer.
All of each and every day and all throughout the year.
To him it was more than a special time much more than a special day,
It was more than a beautiful story. it was a special kind of way.
You see, some folks have never heard a jingle bell ring,
And they’ve never heard of Santa Claus.
They’ve never heard the story of the Son of God. And that made Alfie pause.
Did that mean that they’d never know of peace on earth
or the brotherhood of man?
Or know how to love, or know how to give? If they can’t, no one can.
You see, life is a very special kind of thing, not just for a chosen few.
But for each and every living breathing thing. Not just me and you.
So in your Christmas prayers this year, Alfie asked me if I’d ask you
to say a prayer for the wind, and the water, and the wood,
and those who live there, too.
People say they care about issues, but what people really care about are people who have issues they care about. To motivate someone to reflect and then act, we need to give them a flawed character, someone who’s far from perfect but incredibly likable. Give us a hero or heroine to root for in an against-all-odds quest that forces him or her to grow, evolve, and rise up to a seemingly impossible challenge. We care about that, and that is the seed of all fiction. It’s about character.
My novel, Where the Light Enters, is about Emerson Page, a 15-year old girl who’s been dealt a tough hand and is forced to take an improbable journey that only she can take to save a world she never knew existed and that we all desperately need to remain intact. My book is really about the two greatest sources of magic we will ever have: love and stories. It’s about being brave enough to follow the light that is within us. It’s about the goodness we create when we have the courage to manifest the gifts and talents we are all born with and to celebrate our ability to craft a world in which we take care of each other.
Fiction isn’t invented. It’s with us all the time; it’s the very best part of us. It’s grounded in our potential and our aspirations. Fiction is who we are and who we want to be. That’s why I’m writing a novel: to inspire everyone who reads it to figure out who they are, who they want to be, and how to cross the bridge that connects the two. That’s my issue.
“It’s a secular blessedness, to love what you do over a very long period of time. That’s as good as it gets.” ~ John Arras, Professor of Bioethics at UVA
I read this quote in our UVA alumni magazine and it warmed my heart. I feel blessed every minute of every day to do work I love. My days are long and busy, and they are most certainly blessed.
Author James Patterson was on CBS This Morning talking about his new book, First Love. It’s inspired by a woman he was with many years ago. She developed an inoperable brain tumor and to keep their spirits up they adopted this shared philosophy: “Aren’t we lucky that you didn’t die today?” It kept them appreciative, hopeful, and present. We’re all lucky we had today, even if it’s been the worst day, because it’s so much better than the alternative of not having this day at all. It reminds me that there are so many people all over the world who have passed on who would have given anything to have today. On the tough days, that idea keeps me going. It keeps me grateful. It keeps me smiling.
Dear Valentine,
I don’t know your name yet. I’m not sure what you look like, where you’re from, or what you do. I’m not even sure where you are right now. To be fair, you don’t know these things about me either. Here’s what I do know: you’re getting here as fast as you can, you’re not giving up on finding me, and I’m not giving up on finding you. And when we do finally meet, I’ll know and you’ll know and we’ll marvel at what took us so long to sync up our timing. We’ll be glad we didn’t settle for someone else. We’ll be glad we spent so much time and effort improving who are individually so that we can be good to each other. I’m spending this Valentine’s Day with good friends, good food, and plenty of wine. I hope you are, too. I have a feeling by this time next year our paths will have crossed and we’ll realize that actually we’ve been on the same path all along. We just started at opposite ends of it. I’ll meet you in the middle and then we’ll decide where to go next. Together. It’ll be an adventure. Until then, happy Valentine’s Day.
Love,
Christa
When I grow up, I hope I’m as mature as my dog, Phineas. His resilience never fails to amaze me. As a dog who was mistreated and abandoned as a puppy, he still found a way to love and trust people without hesitation. Two weeks ago, he was bit on the ear by another dog in the park. After some veterinary TLC, he marched outside for his walk the next morning with gusto to greet his neighbors, human and canine alike, in that same park without a trace of fear nor anxiety. Yesterday, we saw the dog who bit him and though he didn’t go bounding over to say hello, he also didn’t let that dog phase him one bit.
I think of all the times I stopped trusting people and held onto fear because of past hurt and betrayal. Despite the size and complexity of the human brain, dogs have us beat in matters of the heart. They figure out, in very short order, how to heal, forgive, and love again. They don’t admonish others nor themselves for mistakes and injustices. They recognize that something happened, they learn, and then they move on without the malice, anger, and disappointment that often emotionally cripples people for years. If we could follow their lead, this world would be a happier, healthier place.
Christa Avampato 