Yesterday as I was riding the metro home, these three reminders were directly in front of me: a woman reading the health and science section of The Washington Post, a man seated next to her was reading the book Getting Better, and then the advertisement from Virginia Hospital Center right next to me read “It’s all about getting better”. The synchronicity wasn’t lost on me. Building a better world is a mission we can all be a part of in some way, from our corner of the planet. Every day is a good day, even on a too-crowded metro train, if we can go home assured that what we did that day made the world a better place. No matter where are or what we’re doing, we can always get better.
Tag: future
Wonder: Don’t waste time
After Michelangelo died, a note was discovered in his art studio. It was to his apprentice and it read, “Draw, Antonio, draw, and do not waste time.” In his old and feeble state, his last bits of time were used to encourage a young talent whom he would never live to see as fully formed. He understood the ability and potential of his young apprentice, and he understood that time was his most precious resource. It’s a good reminder for all of us.
Wonder: Grow your own creativity
“I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself.” ~Oriah Mountain Dreamer
This week I faced a tricky situation. It became clear to me this week that I don’t have time to nurture my own creative projects and collaborations and continue this project I’ve been working on for someone else. I had to choose, and I chose to follow what interests me most rather than what pays.
To be clear, there is nothing wrong with this other project. The people are kind, the work is interesting, and I was appreciated for my talents and skills (perhaps a little too much!) It just didn’t interest me as much as I had hoped it would at the outset, and at this point in my life, which may very well be roughly the midpoint of my life, I am turning my attention toward the projects that give me the greatest joy—my writing, my visual artwork, and my storytelling in many different forms. Yes, the extra contract money was nice to have, but I earned it at the expense of the creative work that really makes my heart sing. And so, I’ll have to adjust other plans in my life to accommodate the shift in income, at least temporarily.
The decision sounds so much easier than it actually is. I knew the person I was working for would be disappointed, and it’s hard for me to live with the idea of disappointing someone else to be true to myself. I’ll also have to adjust some of my personal financials. The quote from Oriah Mountain Dreamer helped, and know in my gut that it’s the right decision. I had to pay attention to what makes me happiest, and that rests in my own creative work.
We have so little time really, no matter how long life is, and it’s the one resource we just can’t get back. Once we spend time it’s gone forever. We have to spend it where it matters most to us.
Wonder: Take a chance
I love this piece in the New York Times about taking chances. The bottom line is we don’t take enough of them. We’re so likely to coast, content to be comfortable with routine even if we’re unhappy. We worry about what it would take to make a big change, even one we’ve always wanted to make. We have to toss away fear and embrace the risk of falling flat on our face, in front of everyone, and then we have to get up again and look everyone in the eye. Sends a shiver down your spine, doesn’t it?
And I say, “Do it anyway.” Go out there right now, into the world, and do exactly what you want to do. Don’t settle, don’t shrink, and don’t take the easy way out. Do what’s difficult for no other reason than because it’s what you want to do. You’ll find that everyone who really matters is cheering you on, and you will inspire them to follow their own journey of impossibility. You can do this.
Wonder: Doing what you’re meant to do
What an exciting night at the Olympic Games! Swimming and gymnastics are two of my favorite sports to watch. I love the passion and the split between individual performance and team achievement. It is an incredible pleasure to watch people striving for greatness, to see them doing exactly what they’re meant to do, what they’ve trained so hard to accomplish. No matter what we love, no matter where we find greatest happiness, let’s do it in that spirit—to put in so much effort, energy, and love that our success is inevitable.
Wonder: The miracle of being where you are right now
“The miracle is that we are here, that no matter how undone we’ve been the night before, we wake up every morning and are still here. It is phenomenal just to be.” ~Anne Lamott, Stitches
Have you ever noticed the perspective that comes with sleep? We can feel agitated, angry, anxious, and upset, and the next morning we have the chance to try again. Getting back up after being knocked down isn’t easy. It doesn’t always feel good. There are times that we wonder why we even continue to try. And I’ve found that there is something powerful and empowering in the act of rising, head up, eyes ahead. I literally narrow my eyes, drop the tone of my voice, take a deep breath, and will myself to speak up and take action.
The chance to try again, every day, is a gift. And it is ours to use.
Wonder: It’s just the wind and shadows
This is a story for all of you who are on the cusp of the unknown: maybe you’re starting a new job or leaving an old job, starting a relationship or leaving one, moving to a new city or home, or embarking on a new project of some kind.
My boss is reading The Winnie the Pooh collection of stories to her daughter. In one story called “Don’t Be Scared, Piglet and Roo!”, Piglet and Roo, two of the smallest characters in the cast, hear scary noises and see scary shapes at night. Her daughter has read this story many times and as soon as Piglet and Roo show signs of being scared, her daughter calls out “Don’t worry, it’s just the wind and shadows!” And it is. And eventually Piglet and Roo learn that. When boss was telling me that story, I thought about how often our minds go to that place, how often we’re afraid of things that we don’t need to be afraid of. It is the perfect metaphor for being afraid of the unknown.
Don’t be afraid. Let’s go out into the unknown together, support one another, and see what we find. The wind and shadows won’t be so scary as long as we aren’t alone in our journey.
Wonder: Hillary Clinton builds a bigger table, not a higher wall.
I knew I’d be emotional watching Hillary Clinton accept the nomination. What I didn’t expect was the overwhelming sense of hope her nomination would give me. We have massive problems in this country. We have so much work to do to create true equity, particularly an equity of opportunity, among all people. What Hillary’s nomination shows me is that rolling up your sleeves and getting down in the trenches is how we rise to the highest heights, and how we also take others with us. She’s not focused on building walls. She’s busy building a larger table where everyone gets a seat. Everyone. And that’s a crowd I’m proud to be a part of.
Wonder: Heaven help us all
As this week kicks off, in light of the violent weeks and months that have preceded it, I find myself turning to music to quiet my mind and lighten my heart. Music is a great unifier, a powerful form of expression, and a vehicle to help us figure out how we feel, what we know, and what we hope to build. This weekend as I read about the shooting in Baton Rouge, the protests sprawling across the country, and that gathering in Cleveland, I thought about Stevie Wonder and his song “Heaven Help Us All”. I revisited its lyrics and meditated on the creation of a better world in which none of them applied.
Heaven help the child who never had a home
Heaven help the girl who walks the street alone
Heaven help the roses if the bombs begin to fall
Heaven help us all
Heaven help the black man if he struggles one more day
Heaven help the white man if he turns his back away
Heaven help the man who kicks the man who has to crawl
Heaven help us all
Heaven help us all, Heaven help us all, help us all
Heaven help us, Lord, hear our call when we fall
Oh, yeah
Heaven help the boy who won’t reach twenty-one
Heaven help the man who gave that boy a gun
Heaven help the people with their backs against the wall
Lord, Heaven help us all, Heaven help us all
Heaven help us all, help us all
Heaven help us, Lord, here we call, help us all
Now I lay me down before I go to sleep
In a troubled world, I pray the Lord to keep
Keep hatred from the mighty and the mighty from the small
Heaven help us all oh yeah
Heaven help us all
Heaven help us all
Heaven help us all
Wonder: Pay attention to your discomfort
“If you feel like you don’t fit in, in this world, it is because you are here to help create a new one.” ~Jocelyn Daher
We do everything we can to alleviate discomfort. I’m not talking about making yourself some chicken soup (or a giant bowl of ice cream) when you’re feeling sick. I mean that we will say and do things (or not, as the case may be) against our better judgement for the sake of avoiding discomfort or in an effort to fit in. My friend, Sara, posted the quote above and it is exactly what I needed to hear.
Discomfort is a great gift. It tells you where you shouldn’t be and what you shouldn’t be doing so that you move on and go where you’re needed, wanted, and appreciated. Discomfort is the motivation to go, do, and be something different. Learn from it. Use it. Recognize that discomfort now is leading you to exactly where you need to be tomorrow.
Christa Avampato 