Tag: community

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

Are we thinking about leadership with the wrong metrics?

Christa Avampato
Photo by Steve Leisher on Unsplash

“We don’t elect a president based on policies. We shouldn’t. We should elect them for their character, because we don’t know what’s going to come up.” ~Retired Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, former National Security Adviser

When we consider hiring (or electing) leaders, we often jump to their experience and policies. General McMaster is asking us to consider who they are. We live in a highly dynamic world. From one day to the next, we’re experiencing dramatic and sweeping changes. New information is widely and broadly disseminated at lightning speed. We need leaders who can operate in this paradigm and help others navigate it, too. 

Rather than looking at a leader’s past experience, what if we think about how they approach the future? Can a leader adapt and adjust? Are they flexible? Do they have a learning-mindset? A grow-mindset? Are they thoughtful? Are they collaborative? Do they care about the people they serve and support? Are they surrounded by bright, eager, caring people? Do they exhibit empathy and compassion? Is love a core value, and how have they demonstrated the use of love in their leadership?

How might hiring (and elections) shift if we embraced General McMaster’s advice? What kind of world might we be able to build together if the strength of someone’s character was consider at least as much as their experience and policies? 

This switch undoubtedly makes hiring and elections more nuanced, complex, and time-consuming. However, given the state of the world and rate of change we’re experiencing, leadership has never been more important to the stability of our planet and society. We deserve to have leaders who are up to the challenges of today and tomorrow. To find and hire these leaders, we need to invest the necessary time and effort to find out who they are, what we care about, and how they can help us move forward together.  

creativity

Can ecofiction inspire climate action?

Christa Avampato
Created by Christa Avampato using AI.

While on vacation I wrote my first full piece of ecofiction for a climate fiction writing competition. It’s a short story (5,000 words) that provides a slice of life in New York City in the year 2200, and grew out of the research I did for my University of Cambridge dissertation.

It’s told through the eyes of a journalist walking his dog who by chance meets the 90-year-old former mayor who galvanized the rebuilding of NYC after it was destroyed by floods caused by climate change. Biomimicry figures prominently in it. I tried to incorporate humor, heart, and redemption alongside the heartbreak, loss, and destruction. Ultimately, it’s a story about leadership, community, and vision.

No matter the outcome of the competition, I enjoyed writing it and plan to do more with these characters and in this genre. The predominant channels and messages we’re using for climate storytelling now are not generating the scale and speed of the changes we need. Fiction can play a bigger role is painting the picture of what a world transformed can look like, what it will take to get there, and how we might work together to make it so. The fandoms around fiction can be a unifying force for good, which is exactly what we need, now more than ever.

(I created the images below with AI, inspired by the story I wrote.)

creativity

Why do we turn away from those who need help?

Christa Avampato
Photo by Margarida Afonso on Unsplash

At 3am on Friday morning, I was woken up out of a sound sleep. A man was on Coney Island Avenue, which my apartment faces, screaming. “Help! Someone please help me! Please!”

He was rolling around on the ground. It was cold, windy, and dark. He was alone. People were walking by him, not paying him any mind. There was something so earnest in his voice, so bone-chilling. I called 911.

The 911 operator asked for my name, phone number, address, and any details about the man, though I had very little to offer except his location. I hung up, and 10 seconds later my local police precinct called me back. The sergeant asked all the same questions the operator asked me. My guess is they were checking to make sure this wasn’t some kind of prank. When I told him the man had been crying out for a few minutes, he said, “Really? You’re the only call we’ve gotten.”

30 seconds later, two police cars and an ambulance pulled up to the corner. The man’s cries quieted. The EMTs immediately got him onto a gurney and wrapped him in blankets. One of the police officers walked down the block and collected a backpack and a walker. He loaded them into the ambulance with the man and the EMTs. I don’t know why his walker and backpack were so far from where he was. Was he attacked? Was he disoriented? I’ll never know. I do know I’m glad I called. I’m glad he got help.I’m glad the system worked.

I went back to bed after the scene was cleared. I said a prayer hoping he would get all the help he needed. I thought about how no one else had called, not the people walking by the man, not even the attendants at the 24-hour gas stations or bodegas on the corner.

I wonder what’s happening to us in this world, how and why we’ve become immune to cries for help, why we assume people in desperate need have somehow brought the situation on themselves. I wonder why our sense of humanity and decency is eroding. Why are we not helping when the need is so clear and persistent?

A European friend of mine once said to me he thought the saddest thing about America is that it has no social safety net. What I realized in those early hours of Friday night is that we do have a social safety net, and it’s us. We have to be the social safety net for each other. When someone cries out for help, we need to show up and extend a hand. We’re all just walking each other home. 

creativity

How to use your front door to inspire your life in 2024

Christa Avampato
My front door for 2024. Photo by Christa Avampato.

I decorated my front door for the new year with my 2024 word for the year, a Rumi quote I want to carry with me every day, and a handmade house blessing for my new apartment from my dear friend, Kelly Greenaur.

My word for 2024 — vulnerability
Instead of resolutions, I adopt a word for the year to guide my thoughts and actions, and I write out some of my wishes I hope the word helps me take. In 2023, my word was clarity and I did find more clarity in every area of my life. In 2024, my word is vulnerability. By embracing my own vulnerability and supporting others doing the same, I hope I can bridge the divides in our society, and between people and nature. By recognizing and naming my fears and concerns, I can alleviate them. I can only solve problems and challenges I’m willing to have. By recognizing and naming my hopes and dreams, I can realize them. I can only climb the mountains I’m willing to attempt.

My word for 2024. Photo by Christa Avampato.

Letting myself be vulnerable opens me up to experiences I need and want, and otherwise wouldn’t have. I don’t want to leave anything unsaid. I want to take more chances and risks, asking for what I want, explaining how I feel, and sharing what I believe. I’m excited to see who and what I’ll find on this adventure. I want to be open to the world, and whatever it has to show and teach me, even if that breaks me and cracks me open. With those cracks, more light will find its way in, as Rumi wrote and the late great Leonard Cohen sang.

Rumi
The Rumi quote, “Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd.”, is one I want to use this year to help heal others and the world. We have so much capacity to help each other through this life, and I want to make sure I use mine to the fullest. I’m hopeful the light I find by being more vulnerable will be light I can share with others.

Rumi quote. Art and photo by Christa Avampato.

A handmade house blessing
Kelly sent me this house blessing talisman for Christmas, along with a stitched bracelet and an ornament that says, “I wish you lived next door.” (Me, too, Kel!) They were made by two women — Dau Nan from Myanmar and Bina Biswa from Bhutan — who now live in Buffalo, New York and are part of Stitch Buffalo, a textile art center committed to empowering refugee and immigrant women through the sale of their handcrafted goods, inspiring creativity, inclusion, community education, and stewarding the environment through the re-use of textile supplies. These passions of helping people and the environment are ones Kelly and I share, and I’m so grateful for her friendship, love, and support.

Stitch Buffalo crafts. Photos by Christa Avampato.

I hope 2024 is everything you want and need it to be. This year will be turbulent, and holds opportunities for progress, joy, and love. Onward we go, together.

creativity

Let love lead

Christa Avampato
Dinner at Selwyn College. Photo by Mitch Reznick.

I’m flying back to the U.S. now after a week at University of Cambridge / Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) with passionate, intelligent, and inspiring classmates, presenters, professors, and the CISL team. This time I grew as much personally as professionally. I was able to ask questions, have discussions, and voice ideas I’ve previously struggled to articulate. I couldn’t have done that without my classmates and friends who listened, provided kind and constructive feedback, and offered their ideas, perspectives, and experiences. This is a gift I carry with me now. I’m so grateful for all of it.

Humour, play, creativity, and imagination played a role in many of our classes and social activities, and they helped bring joy, light, hope, and optimism into this challenging field. The work we do, on this course and in our lives as we attempt to tackle climate change issues from many different angles, is intense. It can also be intensely fun.

On a personal note, I began the week thinking of my stepfather who was my Dad-by-choice. My family lost him a year ago exactly on the day this workshop at Cambridge began. I honoured him in my pecha kucha presentation by sharing the last words he ever said to me in-person. I went to see my family right before our first workshop in September 2022. He said to me, “Hey, I know you’ll work hard at Cambridge, but please try to have some fun over there, too.”

My Dad knew me well, and it’s been difficult to lose someone who was always in my corner and read every piece of writing I’ve ever published. I could feel his spirit with me all week, encouraging me to embrace laughter and love whenever possible, especially during challenging times. Love and laughter serve as resources to help us stay with the trouble. They make us resilient. When we lead with love, we can open people up so that we deeply connect, collaborate, and create to tackle the most serious challenges together.

These photos show our formal dinner together at Selwyn College, my view from the train leaving Cambridge, and my Pops. As I go back to my New York life, I will do my best to put into action everything I learned in this beautiful, inspiring sanctuary with these beautiful, inspiring people. I’m already looking forward to July when we’ll be together again in Cambridge. I’m the luckiest person to be a part of this.

My view from the train – Cambridge to London. Photo by Christa Avampato.
creativity

The National Climate Assessment shows us we can save the world

Christa Avampato
Photo by Shane Rounce on Unsplash

Look at your hands. Coupled with your mind and heart, your hands, joined with mine and with people across the globe, have the power to save the world. We can choose to be the artificers of our own bright and bountiful future.

Today we have a once-in-human-existence opportunity — the chance to create a healthy, vibrant, sustainable world for all beings. And not just for our children and grandchildren, but for ourselves and all beings alive right now.

The 2023 National Climate Assessment released Tuesday in the U.S. lays out the dire possibilities from global warming. It also shows that collectively we have all the knowledge, money, and creativity we need to halt emissions that cause global warming. There is proof the solutions work. Climate solutions are being deployed nationwide in every region and annual emissions dropped 12% from 2013–2019. We need them to drop much more but this is progress.

The one remaining hold out is us. Do we have the will to save ourselves and life on Earth?

“How much more the world warms depends on the choices societies make today,” states the report. “The future is in human hands.”

The report is hefty and so is the opportunity before us. Let’s not waste it.

creativity

Tell me something good, in this broken world

Christa Avampato
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

“Tell me something good.” That’s what one of my neighbors said to me when I saw her outside yesterday when we were walking our dogs. I completely understood why she needed good news right now.

Although this is a very different situation and it’s happening on a geopolitical scale with impacts on many millions of people, I felt the same way my neighbor feels when I went through cancer treatment. A friend of mine sent me an email back then that said he had tried to message me many times but just had no idea what to say. He felt that everything he could say was inadequate considering what I was going through. I said to him exactly what my neighbor said to me. “Tell me something good.” He felt awful talking about anything good because he thought it would make me feel worse about my situation. It did just the opposite for me. His good news lifted me up.

Even in times of mourning and the deepest sorrow, we need light. We need stories. We need moments of joy to give us a boost so that we can keep going. It doesn’t mean that we care any less or that we don’t understand the seriousness of what’s happening. Joy is an act of resistance. Joy is fuel. Joy is how we sustain our courage.

When we don’t know what to say, it’s okay to just be present and listen. So often what people need is not an answer but an ear and a shoulder. And if you have it within you, tell them something good. That may be exactly what they need to hear right now.

creativity

JoyProject Podcast: The Joy of Fostering Animals with Mary Talalay

Christa Avampato
The Joy of Fostering Animals with Mary Talalay

What could instantly elicit more joy than a puppy or kitten? This week we talk to Mary Talalay, an expert in fostering animals to get them ready to find their forever homes. She also mentors new fosters, especially first-timers. Mary offers advice to those new to fostering and potential fosters who are curious about what’s involved in the process. She shares stories of fosters that hold a special place in her heart and how she and her daughter initially got involved in their foster community in Maryland.

At the end of the episode I share two resources created by Best Friends Animal Society. They put together a foster program training playbook with an e-learning module, care manuals for dogs, cats, and kittens, and other helpful links. They also have free online recordings of webinars, town halls, online courses, and helpful tips on fostering.

This is a heart-warming episode for all the animal lovers out there and those who want to play a part in animals rescue and adoption.

Topics discussed in this episode:

  • What it’s like to be a foster as well as the commitment needed (it can be as a big or as small a commitment as you have time for!)
  • The community of fosters that Mary and her teenage daughter discovered and are now a part of
  • Memorable fosters that found shelter and safety in Mary’s home
  • Ways to get involved in the foster community even if you can’t take an animal into your home

Links to resources:


About Mary:
Mary Talalay has a BS in Journalism from Temple University, an MS in Organizational Dynamics from University of Pennsylvania, and an MPH from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. She played goalie for Temple University’s Division 1 Final Four Women’s Lacrosse team and was a member of Phi Sigma Sigma.

She also studied Epidemiology in Krakow, Poland with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She has certifications from Quality Matters, Sloane Consortium, (Online Learning Consortium) and is a Blackboard Exemplary Course reviewer.

Prior to joining Johns Hopkins, Mary worked as a technical and medical writer for companies such as Baxter BioScience, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and many local biotechnology companies.

She worked as a project manager for the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine’s MD-PhD program, creating a comprehensive database of the program alumni and assisting with grants and admissions.

She was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Slovak Republic, working as a project manager for the Slovak Ministry of Health, helping the government achieve compliance in the area of Public Health for accession into the EU. She continues to assist her Slovak colleagues with manuscript preparation pro bono.

She enjoys photography (her work has appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Maryland Zoo Annual Report, and KIWI Magazine), writing children’s books, travel, and kayaking.

One of her favorite overseas trips was spending Halloween in Transylvania.  Her family fosters animals for the Maryland SPCA and they lost count after the 100th kitten.

creativity

Joy: I believe science (and writing about it) is service

Christa Avampato

I just heard about President Jimmy Carter’s fall. This weekend, I learned a friend’s mother sustained a serious injury from a fall. Over the summer, we lost a dear friend of our family after he fell and injured his spine.

Recently, I’ve started to think about how I could use biomimicry to develop products that protect older adults from falling injuries. The stats are more startling than I realized:

– Every 11 seconds, an older adult is treated in the ER for a fall
– 1:4 Americans over the age of 65 falls each year—29M falls causing 7M injuries
– Scariest of all, every 19 minutes an older adult dies from a fall

People ask me why science is so important to me, why I would make this career change now to study biomimicry when I could just happily continue along as a fan and promoter of science, and not a practicing scientist. This is why: it can change people’s lives. Science is service, and if we aren’t being of service to one another then what are we doing with our time? There are many ways to serve – millions of them every moment of every day. The combination of science, product development, business, and writing about all of it just happens to be the one that lights me up.