beauty, change, creativity, imagination, inspiration

This just in: Rock bottom is a strong place to start

Christa Avampato
J.K. Rowling quote
J.K. Rowling quote

“And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.” ~J.K. Rowling

There’s something amazingly strange and eventually wonderful about starting from rock bottom. Rock bottom’s a blank canvas, an empty room. It’s space, and within space, we can create something we love.

This quote from J.K. Rowling has been running through my mind this week as I prepare to change everything in the coming days. I’ll pack a few suitcases into my Mini, put Phin in his carrier in the front seat, Fedex my small amount of remaining items, and away we’ll go, headed straight for a new adventure in Washington D.C.

Rock bottom has such a negative connotation, but we don’t have to think of it that way. Rock bottom is solid, stable, unwavering. There really is no better place to build from. I’ve scraped down the walls of my life, removing the old chipped paint to reveal something fresh and new that is ready for color and beauty. I’ve stopped trying to make the best of the old parts of my life that no longer fit. I lovingly and gently packed them up and gave them away to make room for the new and extraordinary.

If you’d like to read the entirety of the speech that Rowling gave at Harvard that includes this quote, click here.

change, future, time

This just in: Feeling down? Write yourself a letter from the future

Christa Avampato
Write yourself a letter from the future
Write yourself a letter from the future

Everything, good and bad, is temporary. It can be hard to remember that in tough times. A while back my friend, Alex, gave me some great advice. She said that in tough times it helps to imagine our lives 3 months from now.

To take Alex’s advice one step further, I decided to write myself a letter as if I were 3 months older looking back at myself now. Sort of like a letter to my younger self, in reverse. I told myself what life looked like then in every aspect that mattered to me, and it helped. It helped a lot.

Sometimes the best we can do is pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and start all over again. And that’s a good thing. We come back stronger than ever. I’m excited to take this letter out 3 months from now and see how it all turned out.

friendship, health

This just in: Friends help you to find the right path and take it

Christa Avampato
On the path to ancient healing

Last night I went to bed thinking about the wonders of meditation, and especially when practicing that long-distance meditation with friends. My friend, Sofia, had just posted a link to a new study that provides further confirmation that meditation changes our bodies and minds at a cellular level.

In a very powerful dream, I arrived at Faneuil Hall in Boston. My friends, Mary and Tom, whom I’d meditated long-distance with the day before, were there smiling and waving. I made my way to them, they gave me a hug, and Mary said, “All will be well.” I smiled, turned around, and found myself facing a maze of paths through a grassy field. There was a street sign nearby with an arrow that read, “On the path to ancient healing”.

With that, I knew that all the plans I’m making now are the right plans. They’re what I need to do now, even if the road ahead seems uncertain and winding. Luckily I have many friends who are lighting the way.

encouragement, health, meditation

This just in: Joining forces through long distance meditation

Christa Avampato
Call your angels
Call your angels

Yesterday, I gave myself the gift of a 30-minute meditation. I needed to shift my energy and state of mind in a big way. I also needed to release a lot of emotions that I didn’t want to carry around with me and I wanted to send more healing energy to Phin. I was chatting with my friend, Mary, and she asked what time I planned to meditate so that she, her wonderful husband, Tom, and their sweet kitty, Jamie, could join me and Phin. I’m in Florida. They’re in the Boston area.

I never long-distance meditated before yesterday, though I now want to make it a regular part of my life. I could literally feel their energy flowing through me and Phin, and I was able to send that goodness back to them. I also strongly felt supported and cared for. As it turns out, Mary actively sent that feeling to me in many forms. Just knowing they were out there and that we were in this practice together made my meditation much richer, and more powerful. When I compared notes with Mary later, we actually had some identical insights rise up with regards to my future. That synchronicity amazed and inspired me. Even Phin and Jamie connected by ending the meditation asleep with their faces resting on their paws in the same way.

I feel so lucky to have had Mary, Tom, and Jamie with us in spirit during this stressful time. Their light, energy, and strength made it down the Eastern seaboard and I’m so grateful for that. United in distance. As Mary said to me, “All will be well.” And so it is.

courage, creative, creative process, creativity

This just in: The goal of every creative mind

Christa Avampato
The creative mind
The creative mind ~Dr. E.O. Wilson

“To bring the end safely home is the goal of the creative mind.” ~Dr. E.O. Wilson

Creative work is messy. Stay focused on your creative project’s goal as you wade through the chaos of the creative process. Transform the chaos into energy, fuel. Let all the doubt, fear, and difficulty of getting what’s in your imagination out into the world, motivate you to work harder and reach further. Dare to go far beyond any limitations you think you have, and bring back what you find.

future, patience, peace

This just in: We’re not meant to see everything that’s meant to be

Christa Avampato

IMG_1150.JPGIt’s hard to understand life in the moment, especially the tough moments. When I look back on my hard times, I know now why each of them happened. This is why reflection is so important, why it helps to move on from and let go of any negativity as soon as possible. It’ll all come out in the wash and the wash is time. Time doesn’t heal all wounds but it certainly makes sense of them so that we can wear the scars proudly. Peace is just up ahead around the bend. Move toward it.

choices, decision-making

This just in: Sometimes all you can do is roll with it

Christa Avampato

The Hero’s Journey is never a choice between a good option and a bad option. It’s a choice between difficult options. Whenever I’m faced with this kind of choice, I play out the scenarios of each. Yesterday I was faced with a very sad and hurtful reality. I needed to make a quick decision and I knew neither choice was perfect – far from it.

The best choice would be to dial my life back about 6 months and make a very different choice at that juncture. Since I don’t have a time machine on- hand, all I had were my current not-so-great options.

So I chose the one with the least amount of conflict, internal and external. Not because I’m at all afraid of conflict, but because the conflict would have involved other innocent people who didn’t have anything to do with my tough predicament and whom I wanted to spare seeing and hearing the direct conflict. As hurtful as it was for me, it would have been worse for them.

I took my punches. They hurt. I stood up again and kept moving forward. Sometimes that’s what life gives you – punches – and the best thing you can do is roll with it. Make the tough choice and let the chips fall where they may knowing you can handle whatever comes next.

animals, dogs, health, pets

This just in: Take your time to heal

Christa Avampato
Phin on crate rest
Phin on crate rest

As Phin became stronger this past week, I exercised the right (with his doctor’s permission) to put him on a blanket on the floor next to me to let him stretch out a bit more. The trouble is that now he’s getting so much better (though not totally back to normal) that he wants to take a stroll around the living room. He’s even slyly snuck away a few times to venture (slowly and wobbly) into the kitchen.

I understand his impatience—like mother, like dog. So now we’re back to strict crate rest despite his energy rebound. He’s not happy about this. He gives me his best Bette Davis eyes. One time, I think he actually winked at me. I can’t blame him the little guy for trying to turn on the charm in an attempt to secure a get-out-of-jail-free card. I’m not happy about it either and I’m not even the one stuck in the crate.

Healing, any kind of healing for anyone, takes time and rest and dedication. Healing is a lot of work. Let’s face it – the whole process of healing is a pain in the rear. And if we rush it, if we do too much too soon because we want so much to just get back to normal, then we risk robbing ourselves of all the potential that waits for us on the other side of healing.

I want Phin to make a full and complete recovery. I’m looking forward to the days when he and I can take our walks together again in the sunshine and fresh air. And they’ll happen; I know that. Come spring, we’ll take our spin around the Tidal Basin and he’ll roll around on that precious little healed back in the cherry blossoms. It’s just going to take some time and patience on both our parts – him in a crate and me sitting next to his crate as I write – marching toward our common goal to be well and whole.

business, writing

This just in: Use negative experiences as fuel

Christa Avampato
Geraldine Weiss - an investment leader for the past 50 years
Geraldine Weiss – an investment leader for the past 50 years

Yesterday I wrote an article about the most successful women investors. It’s a subject that doesn’t get much attention, and I’m impressed by the foresight of my editors to assign it. After doing my research, I’m tremendously inspired by these women and what they’ve accomplished in a heavily male-dominated industry. They received plenty of hate mail, discouragement, and flat out sabotage from male counterparts, and they didn’t let it stop them. Instead they used it as fuel to reach higher. I’ll be very excited to see this one published, share their stories, and inspire others. I’ll post the link when it’s live.

choices

This just in: Magic is waiting for you in an uncomfortable place

Christa Avampato

This is where the magic's hidingI saw this hand drawn index card yesterday and it felt fitting since I’m preparing for another move into a future that seems uncertain. Whenever I get a little queasy about leaving my comfort zone, I remember this: all futures are uncertain. We’re never sure exactly what’s going to happen, even when we have created the very best of plans designed for our comfort. Outside the comfort zone, our gut is our secret weapon. In an uncertain world, the gut is the best gauge of what move to make next. It’s attuned to things our brain just can’t get a read on. The gut has its own magic, and that magic will never fail us.