Roots

Well, since the title of my blog is based on a tree, it seems fitting I find the roots of that tree to ensure healthy, blossoming growth.
I'm thinking that this search for happiness that I find myself on has taught me something most people learn a lot earlier in life. Happiness comes from within! I've heard it a million times, but haven't really figured out how to internalize the idea. This month I decided to make an effort to do just that.
I started going to church again. Two weeks in and my kids love their sunday school, and I am reconnecting with a core part of my childhood years and the fundamentals that helped shape who I am. While I do recall complaining extensively about having to go to church when I was in my pre-teen and teen years, I still remember loving the early years, and all the friends I made.
I also have very strong ties to the people and memories from TEC (Teens Encounter Christ), which I attended at 16 years old and worked with for 4-5 years after that. Many of the people I met at TEC are still connected to me, and I can't discount the faith that carried us on that journey together.
Part of finding a way to grow happiness from within is finding a safe haven inside myself where I can inspect my spiritual and emotional needs. I don't need 'stuff' to be happy, that is more my husband's thing that I have adopted over the years...I need validation, self-confidence and a higher power to lean on when I feel like it's all crashing down around me.
The motivation to change all the things that need to change in my life, to make me a happier person, must come from me, and I can't always be self-motivating, so I will try to trust God to give me the right people and the right situations to bring that about.

I went to a seminar last week where a woman talked to us about listening. She conducted a 4-year experiment where she started a new job and just tried to be a listener all the time. She was the most popular person in the office. When she left the job there were 4 different going away parties held for her. Her co-workers all got together and bought $1000.00 worth of gift cards for the spa.
Turns out, this woman hates going to the spa and gave all the gift cards away!
What's the lesson here? For me, the lesson is a mix of needing to talk less and listen more, but also the need to find a balance between the two, because I don't want to spend my life surrounded by people who don't know me at all!
The search for joy continues....