Category: tradition

holiday, peace, stress, tradition

Step 339: Take the Stress Out of Togetherness

Christa Avampato

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” ~ Henry Ford

The holiday season brings about a lot of thinking around the importance of togetherness. Why we come together and how much happiness we gain from being part of a community, particularly a community of our own design. Togetherness can bring stress as well especially around the holidays. There’s an old age that goes something like “If you want to test your level of enlightenment, go spend a week with your family.” As much as we like to think that the holidays are nothing but love and light, they can bring tensions, old and new. And then to top it off, we feel guilty about those tensions because we think every family in the world is perfect and content while ours is the one that isn’t.

Over the years, I’ve found that there could be nothing further from the truth. Every family has its own secrets and myths, its rivalries and competitions. No family is perfect. Every family has its complexities and idiosyncracies. If you feel tensions creeping in at all during family or friend gatherings over the next few weeks, here are 3 ways to keep it from getting the best of you and those around you:

1.) Make meals easy. If togetherness is really the important thing to you, forget about all of the fuss. The table and food don’t need to be perfect and special – it just needs to be heartfelt. You don’t need to become an overnight gourmet, or even a cook at all. Focus on being together, not on the table settings. Martha Stewart’s way isn’t the only way to a happy holiday meal.

2.) Ease up on the gifts. The economy is still in very tough shape. Every day there are conflicting job reports, and with every ounce of good economic news, there’s a hefty dose of reality, too. Maybe this is a year to ease up on all of the shopping craziness. I’d be much happier knowing that a donation was made in my name to people who really need help this holiday season. I really don’t need anything – I’m more than fine. I’m much happier with a fun experience than a wrapped box under the tree.

3.) No one ever said the holidays are only about togetherness. Take some time out for you. Make it your gift to yourself to relax and unwind. Take a yoga class, go get a massage, or take a long walk. Enjoy an afternoon at home with a good book and a yummy beverage. A little down time will help you relax into the time you have with others and appreciate that togetherness even more.

What tips have helped you calm holiday stress?

technology, tradition, yoga

Step 93: 6,000 years ago and decades down the line

Christa Avampato

I am currently studying for my yoga teacher certification, carrying on a tradition that is more than 6,000 years old. At the same time I started this certification process, I also took on a new job where I spend my days thinking about mobile technology and its useful application to everyday life now and in the years ahead. I have one foot in two very different worlds. The irony isn’t lost on me.

When I have tried to reconcile the paradox in my mind, I hit a dead-end. How do I stay true to an ancient practice and stay equally focused on the cutting edge of personal technology that is set to rival any science fiction model to-date? “Why do you have to?” Brian asked me. “Sounds perfectly balanced to me. Upper chakras. Lower chakras.” I think he really wanted to tell me, “Stop worrying about nothing and just accept that we spend our present living in both the future and the past. That’s life, sister.” But he didn’t – he’s too good a coach to say something like that.

I like this idea of innovative thinking coupled with ancient study. It helps me realize that we really are on a continuum, especially when we consider how the world around us is evolving and changing with our hearts and minds and bodies remain a blessed constant. Even 6,000 years ago in caves in India, where yoga began, people longed for peace and safety and love. They longed for belonging to an energy, a life-force, prana far more vast than they could be alone. They had a thirst for knowledge. They were curious. They were creative.

This constancy of spirit is a welcome thought to ponder when we consider how quickly everything around us is changing. We can feel overwhelmed by technology and communications and the great speed of life. We don’t have to be. In our hearts, we are all the same. We have been for thousands of years, and likely will be ages and ages hence.

The image above is not my own. It can be found here.

business, nostalgia, Starbucks, tradition

Go to the mattresses through your roots

Christa Avampato

Starbucks, the king of coffee, is in the midst of learning a very hard lesson, and we should all learn right along with them. Dazzled by the all the glitz of selling media and other brand extensions in their stores, they let go of what made them great: the best cup of coffee in town. They took a humble commodity and made it a fashion accessory, a brand someone can hang his hat on. And while they were off doing exclusive album releases and making deals with Apple, the enemies were encroaching: McDonald’s and DD being the two most noticeable ones in my neck of the woods. Howard Schultz said on Wednesday, “We are going to fight to the death and not allow any company to take our (coffee authority) position away from us.” They’re moving forward by going back.

Losing focus on what initially brought success is a dangerous trade-off. To be honest I can’t think of a single example of a company that moved successfully moved away from its roots. I also can’t think of single person that fits that mold either. Where we come from and where we initially place our stake in the ground is a critical consideration because everything else we ever become largely builds on that decision. It’s the only way to be genuine. It’s where our passion and creative sensibilities are born.

Thank goodness for the return of Howard Schultz. I am a fan of the company and I was growing a bit sad seeing the baristas fumble around to deliver an “okay” coffee drink. I used to be one of them – as a recent undergrad I worked at a Starbucks in Georgetown part-time to make ends meet. I was pleasantly surprised on Monday afternoon when I stopped into one of my local stores and was greeted with, “Here’s your grande chai. Let me know if it’s not perfect – I’ll remake it for you.” I think they’re successfully finding their way back to their roots.

The photo above was taken by By Marcus R. Donner, Reuters.