Saturday, September 19, 2009

our roots make us tall

There is something humbling about the fall to me. I think that it is because the changes in the air, leaves, and temperature take me back to memories of when I was a kid and growing up. The fall was always a great time for me as a kid because it meant that football was about to begin and I would be preparing with all of my friends to get ready for the first game. It meant that hard work was met with the reward of playing a game that I enjoyed with all of my teammates. It meant getting ready to go back to school and the excitement of not knowing what the next grade was going to be like or how the other kids would have changed over the summer. Each year had a different feel because it marked the end of one thing and the beginning of another. But that isn’t what is so humbling about the season for me. Like many reminiscent trails of thought when thinking about my childhood and my past it takes back to when things weren’t so great. My family – like many others – had it’s trials and challenges, and my brother and I were experts on what it felt like to do without when it seemed that everyone else had so much. There were times we felt like the weight of the world was on our backs and we would just get swallowed up by life when we should have been playing, having fun, and enjoying the innocence of childhood with the rest of the kids. Little did I know when I was a child that the experiences that I was going through would set the foundation for what I would become later in life. These early lessons in life taught me the value of hard work, dedication, integrity, and relationships. These are the legs that I stand on and have enabled any progress that I have made in my life. Similarly, the premise of virutalwirks was built upon the core values and roots of Jim Farnsworth and myself. We are constantly reminded of where we came from and humbled by our past to help build a stronger foundation for our clients so that they can reach higher limits with their virtual workforces tomorrow. 

In a way I feel like we are all in the midst of something very similar to my childhood with where America is today. Many Americans are learning how to do without and feeling the weight of the world. America is being humbled and we are all reminded of the things that put us here, but more importantly we need to draw upon the values and the deeper roots of this country to get us out. We may not realize it right now, but these times will mark another ring in the tree to allow it to stand taller tomorrow. It is important for us all to remember our roots – they run deep for each of us, and nothing else ever touches us at our core more than where we have come from. Nor will anything ever prove to get us through rough times as effectively as the lessons that we have learned from our past. 

For virtualwirks, and myself personally, this fall is the mark of the end of an era,and the beginning of something new and exciting. Perhaps it is wishful thinking or just hope, but I get a sense that the same is true for America as it starts to stabilize and pull away from these hard times. Nonetheless, this fall has humbled me as it has always done. I feel like a kid again – only this time, I feel like I am playing, having fun, and enjoying the innocence of life. 

–Tadd 

1. Bison says:

   December 4, 2011 at 3:18 am

   Stay with this guys, you’re helping a lot of ppolee.