Donna Galanti - Where heart and hope meet adventure!

Books and Podcast Recs & Taking a Pause Plus My New Podcast is Coming!

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Hi All,

Spring is almost officially here in the U.S., and I am SO ready for sun and green and warmth!

This spring, more than any other in a long time, feels like a true sense of renewal for me. I’ve let go of being a caregiver for my dad, I’m moving on from grief, and I’m taking the time to evaluate my life and my next journey.

This evaluation of life also includes taking a pause on many things as I question where I want to put my time and energy. This year I’m taking a break from being a planner and scheduler. I’m hanging loose. Going with the flow. And I have to say, it’s very peaceful.

On another fun note, we took our son to New York City for three days as a surprise for his 21st birthday!

A layer of snow in Central Park made for a lovely landscape.

Luckily the streets were clear for our walking Manhattan to tour NBC Studios, Times Square and …

… and Grand Central Station, Top of the Rock Observatory, Museum of Modern Art, and of course to play at the LEGO store and F.A.O. Schwartz.

 

What thought-provoking collections through the decades at MoMA and a delight to see Van Gogh’s Starry Night in person as well as Monet, Cezanne, and Dali.

Most fun? Creating our very own Tonight Show segment at the NBC Studios! Check out me as the announcer, Josh in the band, and Mike at the end as the tech engineer.

And Josh enjoyed his first Manhattan cocktail at our hotel, The Manhattan Club, of course. The best? Great seats at the Gershwin Theater for Wicked! What a show of spectacle, music, and story we’ll never forget. Until next time NYC! If you haven’t gone, time to plan a trip.

 

BOOK AND PODCAST RECOMMENDATIONS:

And here is a new book I’m reading by a favorite author:
SLOW PRODUCTIVITY: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout by Cal Newport. If you are a creator and haven’t read his book DEEP WORK, you must check it out. I’ve read it three times and taken 35 pages of notes from it to create a deep work plan for my own life!

I just got into listening to podcasts within the last year. Here are some of my favorite podcasts I listen to:

Ed Mylett
Ed is a global speaker, coach, entrepreneur. He is well known for combining spirituality, faith, the inner workings of the mind, and tactical thoughts and actions to help people produce real changes in their lives.

Marie Forleo
Marie is an entrepreneur, speaker and writer dedicated to helping you create a business and life you love.

Bigger Pockets
For beginner and seasoned real estate investors. You’ll get actionable advice and inspiring success stories to dive into the world of real estate investing with confidence.

On Being
With Krista Tippett. Wisdom to replenish and orient in a tender, tumultuous time to be alive. Spiritual inquiry, science, social healing, and poetry. Conversations to live by.

Happy reading and listening!

Thank you New York City for helping a country girl feel free and safe

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It’s hard to believe 9/11 was  so long ago.

I got married the same month. Since then, I’ve relived it with my son through footage. As the second plane crashed. As the first tower fell. Then the second. The Pentagon. The plane in a Pennsylvania field. The heroes. The dead. The shock rushing back into me as I sat home all day glued to the T.V., thinking the world had gone mad.

A trip during 1997. If you look close, you can see the Twin Trade towers just behind the Statue of Liberty. How fitting.

My son wanted to know how we felt watching it unfold. I could not find the words to explain how I felt. Sometimes you just can’t.

I love New York. All of it. I grew up on a mountain above Albany. “Upstate” as New Yorkers would say. It was when I got my first job out of college and moved to Nutley, NJ, across the river from the Big Apple City that I overcame my fear of big cities. I fell in love with it. This giant, pounding alive thing. It surged with lights, noise, smells, and people.

Here I was, a country girl living just across from the big city. All alone. I forced myself to drive into its grandness. The Lincoln Tunnel sucked me up into its curved darkness. I was afraid of being swallowed up. But I wasn’t. In all that organized madness, I was free. It made me feel so alive. To walk anywhere. To see it all. And no one knowing who I was. No one knowing where I was. Free. And safe. New York City made me feel safe.

This doesn’t sound so extraordinary. But it was for me. I fought panic attacks for years. Panic of the new, of being out in open spaces, of people, of crowds. I would grocery shop at midnight when no one was there. Always parking in the same spot. It was safe.

It took me years to finish college at a large university. Each process of getting to campus was an agonizing step. First, park. Then measure the distance of walking to my class building. Avoid people. But they’re everywhere! Wear sunshades to feel invisible. Find a seat in class alongside the wall to feel safe. Try to get through class without sweating profusely or spastic coughing. It was not a safe place. Safe was home, alone between comforting walls. Safe.

Then along came a career and a big city to conquer. Only while conquering the big city, it conquered my phobias. From Times Square to the Lexington Deli to the Guggenheim to Broadway and home across the river. In a world of flowing people I felt safe. Alone and free and safe.

So thank you New York for embracing me and showing me your chaotic beauty and grandeur.
Thank you for making me feel safe when I could not before.
Thank you for helping me overcome my anxieties and find freedom in your vast and colorful landscape.
Safe.
Free.
We still feel that same way about you.
You haven’t let us down yet. The heroes of 9/11 never did.
We won’t let you down.
And we will never forget.

Thank you NYC for helping a country girl feel free & safe. I will never forget.

By

It’s hard to believe 9/11 was 15 years ago.

I got married the same month. Now I am reliving it with my son through footage. As the second plane crashed. As the first tower fell. Then the second. The Pentagon. The plane in a Pennsylvania field. The heroes. The dead. The shock rushing back into me as I sat home all day glued to the t.v. thinking the world had gone mad.

This is from a 1997 trip with my mom, now gone as well. If you look close, you can see the Twin Towers just behind the Statue of Liberty. How fitting.

My son wanted to know how we felt watching it unfold. I could not find the words to explain how I felt. Sometimes you just can’t.

I love New York. All of it. I grew up on a mountain above Albany. “Upstate” as New Yorkers would say. It was when I got my first job out of college and moved to Nutley, New Jersey, across the river from the Big Apple that I overcame my fear of big cities. And I fell in love with New York City. This giant, pounding alive thing. It surged with lights, noise, smells, and people.

Here I was, a country girl living just across from the big city. All alone. I forced myself to drive into its grandness. The Lincoln Tunnel sucked me up into its curved darkness. I was afraid of being swallowed up. But I wasn’t. In all that organized madness, I was free. It made me feel so alive. To walk anywhere. To see it all. And no one knowing who I was. No one knowing buy tramadol where I was. Free. And safe. New York City made me feel safe.

This doesn’t sound so extraordinary. But it was for me. I fought panic attacks for years. Panic of the new, of being out in open spaces, of people, of crowds. I would grocery shop at midnight when no one was there. Always parking in the same spot. It was safe.

It took me years to finish college at a large university. Each process of getting to campus was an agonizing step. First, park. Then measure the distance of walking to my class building. Avoid people. But they’re everywhere! Wear sunshades to feel invisible. Find a seat in class alongside the wall to feel safe. Try to get through class without sweating profusely or spastic coughing. It was not a safe place. Safe was home, alone between comforting walls. Safe.

Then along came a career and a big city to conquer. Only while conquering the big city, it conquered my phobias. From Times Square to the Lexington Deli to the Guggenheim to Broadway and home across the river. In a world of flowing people I felt safe. Alone and free and safe.

So thank you New York for embracing me and showing me your chaotic beauty and grandeur.
Thank you for making me feel safe when I could not before.
Thank you for helping me overcome my anxieties and find freedom in your vast and colorful landscape.
Safe.
Free.
We still feel that same way about you.
You haven’t let us down yet. The heroes of 9/11 never did.
We won’t let you down.
And we will never forget.