What Energizes You?

 

That may seem to be a silly question for a family history blog; of course it's genealogy that keeps us up far too late in the evening, oblivious to the passage of time—or sometimes even to the people around us. But genealogy can be a solitary endeavor when we engage with online resources. Even messaging fellow researchers and working together online on elusive ancestors can still keeps us apart.

Reason I ask what energizes you: the other day I attended an event on a nearby college campus. The occasion was the social gathering to introduce the upcoming fall course offerings for our local OLLI program. I was there because I had been invited to teach once again this fall. The attendees filling the university ballroom came from all walks of life, but had one goal in common: remaining active and engaged through lifelong learning.

While I had a brief two minutes in the limelight to introduce my course topic, I had ample time before and after the program to meet other instructors, catch up on news with former coworkers and other friends, and talk with several people I'd otherwise probably never get to meet. 

Walking back to the parking lot afterwards, I realized I unexpectedly felt quite energized. And it wasn't simply because I was there to talk genealogy—it was just having the chance to talk about anything at all. There is something energizing about getting together with other people, whether we know them or not—or even whether we end up discussing our favorite topic.

That's the lifted spirit feeling I've noticed in our own genealogy society meetings, once we emerged from the isolation of the pandemic and started meeting face to face instead of computer to computer. The human touch can animate, energize, and enliven. Never forget that when thinking about whether to connect with others in an organized fashion over your favorite topics, genealogy or otherwise. We build on each other's energies.

Granted, that is what energizes me. Perhaps what brings that spark to you may be a totally different topic or encounter—but keep in mind that if you find yourself enlivened by it, there are others out there who feel the same. It's that element which, added to our society meetings, can become the actual draw to a meeting—not necessarily the bona fides of the featured speaker, or the popularity of the topic. Remember, we can hear great speakers' recordings through multiple online avenues now, and the Internet offers a wide array of subjects to select, even in such a specialized pursuit as family history. But we can seldom replicate the chemistry of coming together through technology the way we can by just simply getting together in person.

By all means, work hard to find great speakers for your organization, or survey your members for guidance on the latest hot topics. But it may also come in handy to ask society members, "What energizes you?" Ask them about the meetings which created the most buzz among members in after-session opportunities. That's what really will revive your organization.