Tag: books

creativity

Dr. Seuss can help us find our way

Christa Avampato
The Waiting Place – From Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss

Does this sound familiar? It’s all you can do right now to just get from day-to-day in these weird, wild times. You’re unsure about what to do or where to go next. Your plans have fallen down in mid-flight. You worked so hard on something, harder than you’ve ever worked on anything your life, and still, it didn’t turn out as you hoped. Now, you’re just waiting.

If that strikes a chord, I want you to know you’re not alone. I feel like that most days at this particularly strange period in our history. I’m grateful for a lot of things in my life – my health, my friends, my home to name just a few. And I also find myself at a crossroads. Nothing seems clear. No matter which path I look down, I can barely see one pace in front of me. What I’d planned to do next and where I’d planned to go hasn’t panned out and maybe won’t for the next four years. I just don’t know what to do. I feel adrift. So, I’m just waiting.

This isn’t the first time I’ve been here. I’m sure it won’t be the last. Thinking about this conundrum, I was reminded of that sage of rhyme and reason, Dr. Seuss* and his setting of The Waiting Place. In his classic book Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, often given to people beginning a new chapter, the main character gets stuck.

“…Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don’t.
Because, sometimes, you won’t…
You’ll be left in a Lurch…
You’ll be in a Slump.
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked…
You can get so confused
that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace…
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…for people just waiting…”

To be honest, I get a little choked up when I read this book out loud. I understand the cycle of bang-ups and hang-ups that life brings. “Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked.” That one really hits home for me right now when it feels like a lot of doors are being closed for so many people.

Luckily, Oh, the Places You’ll Go! doesn’t end in The Waiting Place and the path of the story has something to offer us in these times. Eventually our hero finds his way out of The Waiting Place and he’s moving along, riding high once again. Until…he takes another tumble, feeling very much alone and afraid. He nearly gives up. He keeps going because he doesn’t know what else to do. It isn’t fun to trudge through fear and despair, but it’s necessary. Eventually he finds his way, and learns life is “a Great Balancing Act.”

Re-reading this book helped me realize even though I may not be able to make progress according to the plan I created six months ago, there are other areas of my life where I can focus. I keep thinking about the best piece of advice I heard in 2024: “When you don’t know what to do, do what you know.”

Here’s what I know: I can pour my energy and time into my writing. I can test some entrepreneurial ideas. I can help nonprofits doing important, impactful work. I can spend more time with my friends and helping make New York City a better city for all. I can learn as much as possible right where I am and do as much good as possible with and for those around me. I can work on becoming the best me I can be so when the light returns, I’ll be able to take it all in.

On January 1st, I decided my word for 2025 would be “Rebuild”. I didn’t expect that word to be so on the nose so soon into the new year but here we are. Like an arrow being pulled back, in the tension, in the waiting, I can prepare myself to fly forward – eventually. This isn’t the path I intended to take, but I can still make the most of the journey.

*I acknowledge that Theodor Geisel made some horrible, racist choices with some of his art. The books that showcase that were rightly taken out of print by his estate, and I think he would have agreed that was the right thing to do. During his lifetime, he apologized for them and made amends for the harm he caused.

creativity

My first Emerson Page novel is free right now and the second book is on sale

Christa Avampato
My Emerson Page novels traveling in the U.K. in the summer of 2024

The eBook of my first novel, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, is free today through Saturday, January 25th, and my second novel, Emerson Page and Where the Light Leads, is on sale. Emerson is a young girl who faces challenges and rises above incredible odds through love, friendship, and community. The times in which we find ourselves now need stories that are empowering, courageous, and rooted in history. Emerson’s story is all those things, and I hope by reading these books you feel inspired and less alone. We’re all in this together. Get the books at https://www.amazon.com/stores/Christa-Avampato/author/B073XX439K. 

creativity

The Serviceberry: The world’s wisest economist

Christa Avampato
Serviceberry. Photo by Georg Eiermann on Unsplash.

Could prizing generosity as much as we covet wealth, celebrity, and power be what saves us?

I recently read the book, The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer. It explores ecological economics, a field that centers the relationship between the natural world and the human-made economy.

The words “ecology” and “economy” originate from the same Greek word “oikos”, meaning “home”. Ecology and economy both involve studying and managing the environment in which we live­ — ecology being a nature-made home and economy being a human-made home.

With that shared history between “ecology” and “economy”, Dr. Kimmerer asks how we might model nature’s generosity to transform our human-made capitalist economy that works best for the wealthy into one that is healthy, high-functioning, and inclusive so that everyone thrives.

How might we move from a paradigm of haves and have-nots to everyone-has-enough? Can our capitalist economy transform into one rooted in generosity? What would that look like? How would it function?

Nature shows us that the key to generosity is trust. A serviceberry plant freely offers its delicious berries to animals knowing those animals will disperse its seeds. It’s part of their ecological agreement — an equal give and take that benefits everyone. This same type of equitable reciprocity exists throughout natural ecosystems, each member giving its resources and taking what it needs in return. Nature doesn’t hoard abundance, nature shares.

In this new year, already fraught with difficulties and loss on a massive scale, we can emulate the generosity of the serviceberry plant. We all have an abundance of something — talents, abilities, training and education, time, resources, kindness, love. We also all have needs. Somebody somewhere needs what we have, and somebody somewhere has what we need.

That matchmaking, that trust that if a call goes out it will be answered, is what’s helped nature flourish for millennia. We’re a part of nature, and it’s no different for us. Offer what you have to someone who needs it. Trust that when you ask for help in some form, someone who has an abundance of what you need will step forward. Nature shows us that navigating through difficulty is easier when we travel together.

If we can begin to bake nature’s example of trust and generosity into our own lives and extend it into our workplaces, schools, communities, and governments, we can start that shift that Dr. Kimmerer and ecological economists envision for us. Like the serviceberry plant, we’ll find generosity is a gift that returns to us season after season, creating the virtuous loop that is nature’s foundation and can be the bedrock of our future economy and society if we choose for it.

creativity

Sign up for Togetherhood – my nature newsletter

Christa Avampato
Sign up for Togetherhood – my nature newsletter

In my free weekly LinkedIn newsletter called Togetherhood, I share stories about nature’s wonders. Many of the posts are about my area of expertise— biomimicry. As a product developer, I apply nature’s designs to the human-built world to create a sustainable planet.

Read published posts and sign up to receive future posts here: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/

A little more about the newsletter – in case you need more convincing to subscribe 😉

1. Why this, why now

Right now we have a window of opportunity to halt and reverse the impacts of climate change. That window won’t be open forever, and if we are to protect and advance progress we need to act, together, now. I hope my stories about the wonders, wisdom, and beauty of nature will inspire all of us to take action to love, safeguard, and regenerate nature.

2. The kind of community you’ll find in the Togetherhood

This community is rooted in love, joy, respect, and curiosity for all species. We are here to learn together and support each other.

3. When I’ll share new stories

I’ll post once a week on Saturdays. I don’t have any plans to make this a paid newsletter. The content is free. It’s my gift to the world to share my expertise, support nature, and inspire wonder.

4. Join me in the Togetherhood

An old growth forest is one of my favorite environments and metaphors for life. It has wonders above and below ground. Every being in a forest is connected to every other being. It’s a web of life, literally and figuratively. I want the Togetherhood to be an old growth forest of stories. Let’s go have an adventure, together.

Read published posts and sign up to receive future posts here: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/

creativity

In 2024, I set out to be vulnerable

Christa Avampato
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Each year, I choose a word to live by. In 2024, my word was vulnerability. I admire vulnerable people and wanted to get better at it.

I knew Phineas, my soul dog, was nearing the end of his life. He was struggling physically and mentally. On January 28th, I helped him cross the rainbow bridge. It leveled me. I had a hard time recovering. The grief is so deep because the love is so great. I asked for and receive so much support during this time. I’ll never stop missing Phin; I’m just learning how to better carry the grief. In 2024, I supported more animal charities and had my first foster dog success story to honor his memory. 

My second Emerson Page novel was released in May 2024, and I’d decided to do my first-ever book launch party. That was scary! I had visions of being in a room alone and no one showing up. I’m grateful to every one of you who showed up and packed the event. It was even more special than I ever dared to hope for.

My dissertation for my Master’s in Sustainability Leadership at University of Cambridge was due on July 29th. I’d set myself an enormous task by choosing a topic I didn’t know anything about. I had no idea where or how I would get the data, and I’d never written a full piece of academic writing by myself. I wrote about how storytelling can be used by climate entrepreneurs to connect to family offices and enlist them as partners and investors. Even my advisor was unsure how I could get it done since I had no previous connection to family offices. 

I could’ve chosen an easier, safer, and more comfortable topic. I chose to do work that needed to be done to protect nature. I gave it everything I had, conducted 50 interviews, and built a new practical storytelling model for climate entrepreneurs to pitch themselves to family offices. I’m grateful to everyone who participated and supported me. This dissertation is a beginning, not an ending, and I’m excited to see where it will go in 2025.

After my dissertation, I dedicated myself to the presidential election, canvassing, and taking on social media, voter registration, phone banking, and text banking responsibilities. I’m continuing to learn to use policy to fight for the causes that matter to me.

I wanted to get better at having honest conversations and leave nothing unsaid. This was uncomfortable and difficult for me because I was taught early on to be a grin-and-bear-it kind of person. I’ve gotten very good at balancing radical candor and radical kindness.

I worked hard to prioritize joy, peace, and happier-ness. I spent more time in nature and looked after my health. I challenged myself to learn Italian and improve my Spanish. I spent a lot of time on my friendships and building community – the greatest gift.

2024 held some stumbles, mistakes, and disappointments. I kept showing up and leaned in to curiosity and wonder. I feel stronger and braver, physically and mentally, ready to put it all to good use in 2025.

creativity

How to lead when we lose

Christa Avampato
Prospect Park, Brooklyn – Fall 2024. Photo by Christa Avampato.

On this difficult day, I have some things to say about gratitude, storytelling and leadership. Hundreds of thousands of people heeded the call ~100 days ago to not do something but do everything to try to help Vice President and Governor Walz win. I’m sorry neither of them took the stage at Howard University last night to say thank you, so I will. I’m abundantly grateful to all of you, and for everything you taught me during this campaign. You showed up, generously giving your money, time, and talents. That means a lot to me. You mean a lot to me.

On leadership:
It was a huge missed opportunity that they didn’t address supporters and the nation last night. Even though we didn’t know the final count, it was important to say something, anything, and then say they’d be back today to say more. We needed them, and they left without saying a word. That’s not leadership. It doesn’t matter how disappointed they were. We’re all disappointed. They had a real opportunity to maintain a connection with people and they didn’t. They went out the back door and sent the campaign manager to talk to the crowd at Howard and the nation. Vice President Harris will deliver remarks at Howard University today at 4pm. That’s too late. They missed the moment. And sadly, tragically, their opponents didn’t. There’s a lesson in that for us, too. Leaders have to lead, even when they lose. Especially when they lose.

On storytelling:
We have to take a long, hard look in the mirror, and at the words we said and didn’t say in this campaign. We need to meet the audience where they are, listen, understand, and work together to craft a better story for all of us. We didn’t do that and the election results show it. How things have been done on campaigns in the past no longer matters because we’re no longer living in the time of “how things are done.” We need better stories and methods. We need to be better listeners and storytellers. Plato said, “Those who tell stories rule society.” That’s true then and true now.

So that’s my focus moving forward – leadership and storytelling. I’ll stay curious, keep learning, improve my craft, and get better. I’ll continue to “be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder,” as Rumi so beautifully said. I will continue to, “walk out of my house like a shepherd” every single day. I will listen and love. I hope you’ll join me.

creativity

Hope is a Renewable Resource

Christa Avampato
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2053590/episodes/16000698

With everything happening in the world now, hope may feel in short supply. I’ve got something that will help. I had the honor of being a guest on the Art Heals All Wounds podcast with host Pam Uzzell. 

During our conversation, I share my journey from growing up on a rural apple farm amidst adversity to becoming a climate advocate. I talk about my passion for reshaping the narratives and storytelling around sustainability and human design, and how my process of healing from cancer in the depths of the pandemic gave me perspective on healing the planet and the collective responsibility we all share for our planet’s future. This echos what the climate scientist, Dr. Michael Mann, calls “channeling dooming into doing.”

I also make the case for kindness (especially in urban settings), the urgency of transitioning to clean energy, and my plans for fostering environmental restoration, rewilding, and community engagement so we grow stronger together. Thank you, Pam, for the opportunity to talk about everything I love.

Listen to our conversation at https://www.buzzsprout.com/2053590/episodes/16000698

creativity

What a new health scare taught me about living

Christa Avampato
Photo of me in Prospect Park, Brooklyn.

This week, I had a short-lived health scare. A recent test came back with abnormal results. I was asymptomatic, as I was when diagnosed with cancer 4 years ago, so this threw me for a loop. It turned out to be a new side effect from my long-term meds that prevent cancer recurrence.

My doctor prescribed medication for a month to clear the inflammation and dietary changes to manage it since I have to stay on the meds causing this. It’s annoying. It’s also a relief that it was caught early and is reversible. I learned a lot with this recent scare. I’m leaning into these insights:

Slow down
I’m terrible at sitting still. Between the election in less than 2 weeks, climate change, and a myriad of other challenges in the world, there is a push to go go go. Do more, and faster. While this is true, it is also true that we have to rest. Take a walk. Eat well. Care for ourselves and others. Health is the greatest wealth. We are no good to anyone if we aren’t also good to ourselves. It’s not either or. It’s and.

Mortality
No matter how well we take care of ourselves, none of us will live forever. Time is our most precious resource, and we would do well to spend it on who, what, and where matters most to us.

Write
Around this time of year, I set my near-term priorities and creative focus. While writing is always a big part of my life, in 2025, it’ll be the central work I’ll do because storytelling is the work I love most & the greatest need I see in the world. I have quite a few writing projects in various states. It’s time to get them all polished up and out into the world. More on this soon.

Betting on me
Betting on myself is the best bet. I’ve never regretted it, even when things went horribly wrong. This is how I’ve learned and grown the most in my career and life. This is another reason I’m focusing on my writing in 2025.

Community
Caring for ourselves and betting ourselves is not work we do alone. It takes a village. My community and my medical team is central to my health, well-being, and creative work. I’m never alone in it. Neither are you.

Thank you for being on this journey of discovery with me. Let’s enjoy the ride. We’re all just walking each other home.

creativity

15 years of being alive

Christa Avampato
Emerson Page novel serieshttps://www.amazon.com/Emerson-Page-Where-Light-Enters/dp/1694109410/

Today marks 15 years since my NYC apartment building caught fire and I was almost trapped inside. My Alive Day started my difficult journey through one of the darkest times of mental health in my life. It also brought me Phineas as an emotional support dog and it made me a writer. I learned the difficult lesson that “someday” is today because today is all we have. On that journey, I learned how and why to really live. Emerson Page, the protagonist in my novels, was born from that pain. Her story saved me. Stories can save us all.

Forever grateful for my therapist and guide, Brian McCormack, and the many friends who showed up as angels on the path. And of course to Phinny and Emerson. Cheers to all of life’s chapters.

creativity

Falling in love with vegetables thanks to Hetty Lui McKinnon

Christa Avampato
Tenderheart: a cookbook about vegetables and unbreakable family bonds by Hetty Lui McKinnon

A number of years ago, I upgraded my diet to be plant-based. I still eat meat and animal products occasionally, but the bulk of my food comes from plants. I knew this change would be good for my health though I can’t say I was excited about it because I really didn’t know what to do with vegetables other than roast them. Enter the New York Times Cooking app, loaded with thousands of ways to turn vegetables into a feast. Some of my favorite vegetable-centric recipes are by James Beard Award winner Hetty Lui McKinnon whose inventive style and focus on easy preparation makes me feel like a gourmet cook even though I most certainly am not. Australian by birth and Chinese by heritage, she now lives in Brooklyn (as do I).

I recently read Hetty’s beautiful memoir cookbook, Tenderheart: a cookbook about vegetables and unbreakable family bonds. A love letter to both vegetables and her family’s role in stoking the fires of that love for her, Hetty gives us a glimpse into her past, present, and future, and celebrates her family history on every page. Organized by vegetable, the recipes include a snippet about why she loves each one, vegetable swaps and ingredient substitutions that can be made without compromising the flavor. I read cookbooks like they’re novels or biographies, so Hetty’s book is perfect for me. Give me a simple, healthy recipe and then tell me the story behind it. 

From cabbage carbonara(-ish) to chocolate eggplant brownies to the not your traditional Sunday roast to her Mum’s velvet potatoes, Hetty now has me dreaming about vegetables. Her recipes have also caused me to seek out vegetables I don’t normally buy because I never knew what to do with them. While vegetables can take a bit more coaxing than other foods, they can be made to be every bit as satisfying and craveable as any other food. 

Post-dissertation, I’m happy to be back in my kitchen more now than I’ve been able to be over the past two years. If you want to fall in love with vegetables, please join me in my sun filled apartment. With help from Hetty’s recipes (I’ve now ordered all of her cookbooks!), I’ll be happy to play matchmaker.