Faithful Friday: Free-flowing Oxytocin

Although I missed my family terribly, from being away at training all week, it was exciting to dig deeper and learn more about my new position.  (Cannot wait to be out meeting new families by the end of this month!)

Though I consider myself a pretty educated mom, I discovered many parenting tools to strengthen even my own family.  That is, when they aren't making fun of me practicing on them!  The biggest take-away this week was how amazing the human brain is and what a difference love makes to the development of it.

And, though happiness is often felt in the heart, those joyful sparks come from the brain.

I've been 'preaching' it on this blog for the past several years but now I have further proof....
JOY is not determined by your circumstances but rather by your attitude!

At the training, I also learned a new word, which is always fun for me:

ox·y·to·cin  äksəˈtōsən/

Oxytocin is a powerful hormone. When we hug or kiss a loved one, (or even bring happiness) oxytocin levels drive up. It also acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain. In fact, the hormone plays a huge role in pair bonding.

Love is oxytocin. Oxytocin = happiness.

Thinking about it, I'm sure I've heard this word before, having delivered two children, one of which I was given extra of this hormone during labor.  It's kinda neat to think that the body uses oxytocin to stimulate labor, which delivers you about the biggest dose of love humanly possible...a baby!

One of the things I learned this week was how important love (aka oxytocin) is to how a child's brain grows. While basic needs are necessary, what a baby truly needs is love to feel happy and whole.

And isn't that the same for us once we're adults?

There's nothing that compares to true joy.

That feeling, like goosebumps on the inside, washes over you from head to toe.

Internal Sunshine.

While we can't go back and change how we were raised, 

or erase anything that happened in our childhood,

we can make it a point to have happiness in our lives now.  

Each and every day you can choose joy.

This week I got lots of free-flowing oxytocin from...

the beauty of Eastern Kentucky and seeing new landscapes...

meeting new friends and a visit with a dear old one...

extra "me time" to rest, read, relax...

learning new things...

experiencing face-time with my family...

fresh calamari...

singing at the top of my lungs in the car on a 3 hour drive

(a 3 hour drive)

.... ha ha - couldn't resist!

quiet devotion time in my room each night...

finding Ale-8 in the vending machine...

sharing positives points with new co-workers...

the giant kiss from my hubby when I arrived home last night...

even bigger hugs from Noah...

a visit from my Mom and spending the afternoon with her...

and many, many more.

What were your joyful moments??

I'd love to hear from you!