moving – Christa Avampato

I made myself a little crazy on Friday racing around trying to finish all those tasks that come with starting over—unpack, organize, get groceries, and figure out where the heck I am. I’ve done this many times before. All of a sudden I’m looking for things I used to have, things that cost more to move than they do to buy new – a colander, a roll of tape, furniture – and I’m faced with the task of re-acquiring.

A trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond always brings out my reflective side. Maybe it’s all those colorful kitchen gadgets that I never knew I needed. (An avocado dicer? How have I lived without THAT for so long?) My recent trip there was no exception. Suddenly, the weight of starting over, again, hit me hard. It quickly passed but having it at all left me a little shaken.

I focused on my breath. I put one foot in front of the other as I weaved my cart through the aisles. The tightness in my chest gave way to something like freedom mixed with curiosity and a dash of confusion. How did I get here? And how do I get there, to that place where I feel settled and stable again?

Breathing, walking. That’s all I needed. It’s usually all I ever need to get through any flavor of fear. Starting over is a process that takes time. I can’t get it all done today, but someday soon I’ll look back for a moment and say, “Wow. I did that. I made this life and I love it.” And that shining moment that I know is on the way keeps me going; it helps me enjoy the journey.

action, adventure, dreams, faith, moving, Washington

This just in: Move date for Washington, D.C. is set

February 15, 2015February 14, 2015 Christa Avampato

D.C. - my new home city! — D.C. – my new home city!

And we’re set for our next adventure! Phin and I will hit the road on Wednesday to move to D.C. My plan is to stop halfway to rest and arrive in D.C. some time on Thursday. I’m abundantly grateful to my friends, Matt and Alex, whom I’ll be renting from as I get my feet under me and re-establish my life in nearly every way. The constants during this tough time are my amazing friends whose support of my wild ideas never waivers.

The Universe has a wild way of speeding you along the path once you find it. Just a week ago I had planned to be in Florida for another 2 months. I thought I had to stay because it would be safer to do a long-distance job search, let Phin heal in Florida, and secure a D.C. apartment for a few months from now. One by one, the universe knocked down every one of those obstacles I put in my own way. I learned it’s much easier to job search in D.C. if you’re in D.C. Phin’s neurologist said he was doing very well on his healing path and felt completely comfortable transferring his care to another neurologist in the D.C. area. Then Matt and Alex wrote that their former tenant just moved out and they were looking to have someone else move in.

There’s a Buddhist belief that every moment contains exactly the lesson we need exactly when we need it. And that is certainly true now. I need to trust that if I’m willing to take a step there will be safe ground there to support me, even if I can’t see it. It’s an enormous leap of faith to act when we are sure of the what and unsure of the how. It takes a strong belief in our own abilities to overcome obstacles and an equally strong belief in other people to support us when we are brave enough to ask for help. I don’t do either of these things easily, but I’ve learned I can change, that I have changed. Magic happens, and I plan to pay forward all of the magic I’ve received (and then some!)

career, moving, Washington

This just in: Moving to Washington D.C.

February 4, 2015February 3, 2015 Christa Avampato

I have loved being in Florida this winter and having so much quality time with my family, particularly my two amazing nieces. I’m thrilled that I learned first-hand about the market here; it just isn’t a fit for me in the long-term and that’s not surprising. I’m abundantly grateful to my sister and brother-in-law who made it possible for me to try out Orlando. I couldn’t do what I’m doing without them.

Washington D.C. has always been a possibility for me, and I’ve decided it’s time to make a move back to that area this year. I’m looking forward to working with mission-driven organizations and talented teams there who want to build a better world. I’ll be looking into product development and marketing-related roles (consulting or full-time).

There are huge bonuses in D.C. beyond just career. I have many friends there and all along the Northeast corridor who will be back within an easy train ride, public transit, culture, the arts, a change of seasons, and the close proximity to my alma maters, Darden and Penn.There’s also a growing and thriving tech and entrepreneurial scene which is exciting to me. I’m under no illusions that any place is perfect, but for this time in my life and career, D.C. is a wonderful option for me.

My first priority is to get Phin fully healed from spinal surgery, and then I hope to be in D.C. with the cherry blossoms. So the next great adventure begins. As I’ve said before, 2015 is a year of change and surprise so this upcoming chapter is no exception. D.C. and Northeast friends, I’ll see you soon!

action, adventure, change, creativity, home, moving, New York City

Inspired: I’m Moving to Orlando, Florida

September 11, 2014September 10, 2014 Christa Avampato

After years of debate, I’ve made the decision to move to Orlando, Florida at least through the end of the year. I’ve been visiting my family there for long stretches of time while keeping my home in New York City. Now I’m flipping the paradigm to have my home in Florida with stretches of time spent visiting New York.

Some of the reasons are economic. How much higher can New York City rent climb? The answer is always higher, and I really want to own a home, a near-impossibility for me in New York. I could fork over an insane amount of monthly rent for a less and less appealing apartment, but that seems foolish. Better to buy a beautiful place in Florida and Airbnb the time I want to be in New York.

Some of the reasons are personal. My mom’s getting older. My little nieces are getting older. I want more space in my life for travel and exploration, and that’s a tough conundrum to crack with the cost of New York City living.

Many of the reasons are professional. I’m turning most of my attention to writing. That includes journalism, copywriting, playwright, and writing my first novel this Fall. I’ll likely add some teaching into the mix in some way. I’ve also got a few product ideas up my sleeves that I want to be able to build and test. In a less expensive city, this multi-faceted career is possible without sacrificing quality of life.

And it’s time for adventure. If New York has taught me anything it’s that I can survive and thrive and be okay anywhere I go. So I’m going to scale some mountains that have been calling my name for a long time. It’s time to meet them where they are.

I’ll have much more to say in the coming weeks about my move out of New York and into Florida. If nothing else, it’s going to be great material. It’s all great material.

change, grateful, gratitude, home, moving, thankful

Inspired: Eventually the Sun Returns

May 2, 2014May 1, 2014 Christa Avampato

Exactly as Phin and I crossed Central Park to begin moving into our new apartment, the sun began to part the clouds after days of torrential rain and months of intense uncertainty. My first thoughts was, “You’ve gotta be kidding me, Mother Nature.” She wasn’t kidding; she can be so cliché and I’ve never loved a cliché more than I did at that moment. The lesson wasn’t lost on me: eventually the light always returns and we have the right to bask in it.

This apartment search has been a tough journey, and a good one. I feel stronger, braver, and more open to change as a result of it. I learned what was important, and what wasn’t. Best of all, I realized just how many incredible people I have in my life. Thank you all for sharing in this journey and being a part of the solution. You’re welcome to visit any time and help me explore my new neighborhood. Actually, I insist. Tomorrow my blog returns to its regularly scheduled programming of inspiration and encouragement. Today I’m spending the day saying thank you, for everything.

change, home, moving, New York City

Inspired: A New Home Will Give Me New Eyes

March 25, 2014March 24, 2014 Christa Avampato

Likely to be my new view of NYC from my new neighborhood. Not bad, eh?

“In the choice to let go of your known way of being, the whole world is revealed to your new eyes.” ~ Danna Faulds, Go In and In: Poems from the Heart of Yoga

No one ever said that letting go was easy. In a little more than a month I’ll be in a new apartment, probably in a new neighborhood in a different borough, and all my patterns will be turned upside down after spending almost 7 years on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

There will be plenty of good things about this change, and there will be plenty of things that make it feel uncomfortable and foreign. I’ll be a stranger in my own life for a while and there’s no getting around that. I’ll see my beloved city from a new vantage point, literally and figuratively.

I’m a bit in denial and also very excited for the newness, the adventure, and the exploration. I’ve decided that I’ll find some way to celebrate all of it – the good, the bad, and the confusing. I’ll laugh and smile and marvel at the fact that I’m still just as capable of turning my life upside down as I was 20 years ago, letting the chips fall where they may, and reveling in it all.

We all need a good shake-up now and then. Perhaps I’ve had more than my fair share, though I wouldn’t change any of them. I’ve never regretted change; the changes are what have made my life what it is and for that I am very grateful.

creativity, exercise, moving

Inspired: A Walk a Day Helps Me Think Clearly

March 12, 2014March 9, 2014 Christa Avampato

I was trying to solve a few challenges over the weekend. My brother-in-law suggested we go to the Met at night before they close. He wanted to sketch a few statues so I took myself for a walk in the Eastern art section. As soon as I started to walk, completely alone with my thoughts, the answers to those challenges started to bubble up to the surface. I was reminded again that walking shakes my thoughts free. I have to walk to think and see clearly. It helps me make sense of all of the jumbled pieces of a situation and then I’m able to better see how well they fit together in a different configuration than the one I’ve been trying to construct. That’s all it takes – 20 minutes and the open road. Simple tools. Powerful results.

change, home, moving, nature, season, Spring

Beautiful: Spring Helps Us Move On

April 12, 2013April 11, 2013 Christa Avampato

“Despite the forecast, live like it’s Spring.” ~ Lilly Pulitzer

My apartment is now at the weird point when it feels like a home, but it no longer feels like my home. I packed all my belongings in boxes. I took my art down off the walls. I’m wiping the slate clean and beginning again. It’s so appropriate to make a move in the Spring, when everything in the natural world is blossoming and blooming, stretching its wings and slowly coming back to life after a long winter’s nap.

My friend, Cyndie, also pointed out that this week is a New Moon. In astronomy, the New Moon is the phase of the Moon when it lies closest to the Sun in the sky as seen from the Earth. I feel the light pouring into my own life this week, too. I hope this light, and the feeling of renewal, will continue to follow me from season to season.

change, home, moving

Beautiful: Packing and Moving

April 11, 2013 Christa Avampato

“Leave the door open to the unknown, the door into the dark. That’s where the most important things come from, where you yourself came from, and where you will go.” ~ Rebecca Solnit

This is my delivery from Jugglebox, a green moving company that delivers and picks up reusable plastic crates, eliminating the need for those cardboard boxes that we so often hunt for when we’re making a move. And so it begins….the process of sorting, packing, and cleaning as I trade one home in for another. A new beginning.

In my current home, I healed after my apartment building fire. I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and started all over again. I rebuilt my life, literally, one tiny piece at a time. I let go of past disappointments. I became stronger, bolder, and more courageous. I started Compass Yoga here. I started my consulting practice here. This was Phin’s first forever home.

It was a wonderful home for what I needed then. And now I need something new and different and fresh. The start of a new chapter needs a blank page. To create the next masterpiece, we need an empty canvas.

So it’s with so much gratitude and a tiny bit of sadness that I release the familiar in favor of what comes next. Whatever it is, I’m ready for it.

moving, peace, time

Leap: The Meaning of Stillness

October 1, 2012September 30, 2012 Christa Avampato

105975397452346769_28o5XFNf_b — From Pinterest

“Being still does not mean don’t move. It means move in peace.” ~ E’yen A. Gardner

So often, especially in yoga, we think stillness means that we must not think or act. We are told that stillness is the gateway toward some sense of enlightenment and connectedness. Truthfully, we can never be fully still. Air will move through our lungs, blood will pump through our veins, and impulses will travel through our nervous system. We are beings of movement.

Stillness is steadiness. It helps us move with intention, purpose, and confidence. When we go somewhere, we go with our whole heart. And once we know the feeling of traveling and moving in this way, then we know that deep peace that no outside circumstance can disrupt.

In stillness, we show up in the world as an open vessel, allowing the energy and knowledge around us to pour into us. We are able to parse what matters and what doesn’t with efficiency, kindness, and the deep wisdom that we are connected to everyone and everything around us.

In stillness there is no separation between us and our environment. Instead, it all weaves together and we begin to find the ways in which we can affect its rhythm and path. Suddenly, as the world converges in stillness, we recognize just how great an impact we can have.