change, choices, free

Leap: You Were Given Wings For the Purpose of Flying

Christa Avampato
From PostSecret – http://postsecret.com

Why do we stay stuck?

Our minds will rattle off a myriad of excuses about why we cannot change, why we cannot grow and evolve, why we must remain as we are, where we are. The mind is doing the best it can. It is trying to protect you and keep you safe.

The poor mind – it is going it alone. When we are stuck, the heart is not participating in the conversation. The soul remains a silent spectator. Your mind needs the heart and soul to be more active. It cannot and should not be expected to make all of the decisions. It needs balance and guidance to get the full value from its contributions.

If you want to free yourself from the patterns of the past, engage the heart. Engage the soul. Give the mind an opportunity to voice its concerns and receive help to craft those concerns into new ideas that will generate the circumstances for much-needed and long-overdue change. Freedom is a choice.

adventure, art, creative, creativity, education, health, healthcare

Leap: We All Have to Get High Somehow

Christa Avampato
My friend, Blair, posted this picture on her Facebook wall and it perfectly sums up how I feel about getting more creative outlets to more young people.

“Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.” ~ Twyla Tharp

We all want to be high. Once we feed the soul, once we know that feeling of being truly alive, we will crave it more and more often. The happy soul is a hungry beast, and eventually it will require your full attention.

It is heartbreaking to see someone, especially a young person, turn to chemical means for that high. My dad suffered with addiction for most of his life, and our family felt those effects in dramatic and tragic ways. What helped me come to terms with my father’s decisions was to feel that high – after running, yoga, writing, or creating a piece of art. It is a delicious feeling. My father didn’t have those outlets so he turned to other means. The same thing is happening with so many Americans today, particularly those still making their way through school.

We ask young people to say no to drugs, alcohol, and other habits that will eventually destroy their health, but we don’t do a sufficient job of recognizing the need to feel that high. We strip schools of art and music programs. We cut physical education. We prioritize testing over emotional and mental development. We’re creating a generation of very good test takers but we are doing a poor job of helping our young generations grow into healthy, happy, productive, and creative adults.

We need to do better. Is art the answer? For some, yes. Is physical activity the answer? For some, yes. Is a creative outlet of some kind that is supported, encouraged, and celebrated by society the answer. Yes, for all of us.

creativity, entrepreneurship, nature, work

Leap: The Seeds and Harvests of a Gardener and an Entrepreneur

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

A gardener’s work falls into 3 main buckets: planning, planting and maintenance, and harvesting the crops. To build Chasing Down the Muse into a viable business, I use a 3 X 3 X 3 system to measure my productivity and plan my to-do list for the week. Each week, I focus on 3 tasks that maintain what I’ve built (writing, reaching out to existing business contacts, growing my skill sets), 3 tasks that plant seeds for possible new business (preparing business pitches, interviewing), and 3 tasks that investigate possible new seeds that I may want to plant (research, exploratory conversations).

It’s a blast to secure new clients, read a piece of my writing that’s been published, and see the cash from my work arrive in my bank account, but I don’t base my success on those things in these early days of my business. I judge my current success based upon the possibilities I plant and nurture. Harvest season will roll around when the time is right. It always does in nature, so why should it be any different in our own lives?

home

Leap: Is It Time for a New Chapter in a New City?

Christa Avampato

“Home is the nicest word there is.” ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

A few weeks ago I got my lease renewal notice from my apartment building’s management company. They only raised the rent $25 / month and I was elated. I couldn’t resign fast enough. Since sending in that lease renewal, I’ve had a number of conversations that have caused me to reflect on this city that has been so good to me and has been my home for many years. The big question I keep tossing over and over in my mind is whether $1900 / month for a studio apartment is really sustainable given my desire to live a life of my own design.

Since my leap into my own company, Chasing Down the Muse, so much more of my life has become negotiable. Far more things that were set in stone at one point are now on the table for discussion. I love New York. I’ll always love New York. More and more the thought of a new beginning in a new city enters my mind. Maybe life doesn’t need to be this hard, nor this expensive, nor this crowded. Maybe there’s a different way forward. More grass and trees and squirrels, a little more room, a little less noise, a little less dirt.

When I think about what I may want in a city, these are the things that matter most (in no particular order):
1.) Vibrant, creative, diverse, cultured city
2.) Intellectual environment
3.) Public transit
4.) Lower cost-of-living
5.) Major international airport nearby
6.) Easy flight to Florida and New York to visit family
7.) A strong healthcare / wellness / yoga community
8.) More green space, please
9.) Dog-friendly
10.) Temperate weather

I’ve signed my lease renewal until October 1, 2013 so at least until then I’ll be tooling around this city that has been my partner for almost my entire adult life. I’ll also be thinking about whether a change of scene is a needed change in the coming year. Nothing’s set in stone, but the thought of change is there. I’m taking suggestions and ideas of possible new homes – so send ’em on over!

art, creativity, home, inspiration

Leap: Paint Your Space and Get Inspired Thanks to YOLO Colorhouse

Christa Avampato
Image from Yolo Colorhouse

“Color possesses me. I don’t have to pursue it. It will possess me always, I know it. That is the meaning of this happy hour: Color and I are one. I am a painter.” ~ Paul Klee

I went to my friend Amy’s apartment last week. She bought her own place a few years back and has done a lot of renovations. The renovations are amazing – I didn’t even recognize the space! – and the change that inspired me the most was her sense of color. She repainted every room and it gave the space such a lift.

Color changes the way we see the world and our place in it. I’ve shied away from painting because I was never sure how long I’d be here and in New York City landlords usually require that you repaint back to the original color before you move out. That was a roadblock to me until I saw Amy’s place and felt so much different when surrounded by beautifully colored walls. A trip to her home gave me the nudge I needed. So I’ll paint it all back whenever I move – big deal! The inspiration is worth that extra work.

Now that I spend more time at working at home, I really need my space to be a source of pace, sanctuary, and creativity. That’s a tall order for a tiny place but Amy showed me it was possible. I took her advice and ordered 2 gorgeous colors of environmentally safe paint from YOLO Colorhouse, a woman-owned startup based in Portland: Aspire .04 for the walls and Clay .06 for accents.

I’m going to take before and after pictures so I’ll share the color make-over when it’s complete. Want to bring a little more color into your life? Check out YOLO Colorhouse!

change, decision-making, opportunity, work

Leap: Make Room for New Opportunities

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

“How beautiful can life be? We hardly dare imagine it.” ~ Charles Eisenstein

On a rainy Saturday morning, I made my way to this blog as Phineas was snoozing long past his usual morning walk time. A recent incident was weighing on me. Though I know I made the right decision in distancing myself from the situation, I still felt confused about why it came about at this time.

I have long-believed in the idea of space clearing. Sometimes life can get too full. Like an over-stuffed garden, our lives also need tending and weeding so that the plants we want to grow have the freedom and room to do so. I used to think this was just a chore that happened once in a while, but as I get a bit older I realize that this process is continuous. We must be diligent in keeping up with it, especially given the pace at which life and change moves in our world. Otherwise, the task becomes overwhelming.

That’s not to say this chore is easy. Every change and every ending is difficult, no matter how much it’s needed, wanted, and warranted. Think of how much energy and effort it takes to pull weeds from the garden. Sometimes their roots are sunken way down and we must dig deep to fully excavate them. But the work is worth it. In the end, there is a freedom there and with that freedom we get the opportunity to plant something new, something beautiful, something we have yet to imagine.

career, creative process, creativity, product, product development, work, writer, writing

Leap: Prehype, a Product Innovation Boutique, Helps Corporate Employees Turn Their Day Jobs Into Their Dream Jobs

Christa Avampato
Prehype’s Steven Dean works through the product development process with clients.

I had the extreme pleasure to interview the talented partners at Prehype for a piece I wrote for PBS MediaShift – Collaboration Central. The piece is live and available for your reading inspiration. Hop over and have a look by clicking here. My thanks to the keen editorial mind and eyes of the site’s editor, Amanda Hirsch.

art, entrepreneurship, photographs, pictures, yoga

Leap: My Yoga Photo Shoot with Photographer Michael Vito of Third Place Media

Christa Avampato
Washington Square Park, New York City. Photo by Michael Vito.

Michael Vito, photographer and Founder of Third Place Media, recently did a yoga photo shoot with me in Washington Square Park in New York City. We had a blast together and I wanted to share the results with you a) because I love them and b) because you should get on Michael’s calendar if you’re looking for top notch photos, yoga or otherwise. Click here to view the album.

In the coming weeks, Michael will be putting together a guest post for this blog to explain how he, too, recently made the leap into a freelance life. Let’s hear it for another brave soul who said, “Geronimo!”, and never looked back.

dreams, generosity, gratitude

Leap: We Show Our Humanity By What What We Do For Others

Christa Avampato

“A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit.” ~ D. Elton Trueblood, American author and theologian

What are you building for others? What will survive long after you and provide a benefit to those whom you will never even meet? A piece of writing, a work of art, a song, a donation to an organization that supports a cause you care about.

These things change someone’s life. They give them hope when they’re down. They help them hang on when all seems lost. They trigger memories, inspire change, and encourage dreams.

When you give freely of yourself with no request for repayment of any kind, there’s no telling how much that gift will do for someone else’s spirit, and for your own.

commitment, happiness

Leap: The Eveyday Work of Happiness

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

“Happiness is a skill. It requires effort and time.”~ Andrew Weil

There is no place on a map called Happy. It is a slippery state of being. It requires commitment and dedication. And not the kind of commitment that we make to go to a class for a semester or to eat more vegetables this month. It’s more on par with raising a child who never intends to be independent; it requires near-constant care and tending.

I used to have a friend who constantly complained that she could never catch a break. The irony for me was that she had so much privilege, and as far as I know always had, and she just couldn’t see it, nor appreciate it. She stared at the closed doors for so long that she never turned around to see all of the opportunity waiting for her. And no amount of encouragement could ever help her get out of her own way.

Happiness doesn’t just decide where to land by blind chance. It is drawn to those who pursue it, who want to bring it into their lives in a profound way. It favors the hard-working and the ones who accept that happiness is a personal choice we make in every moment. Happiness takes up residence with those who are willing to prepare a home for it.