ChangeForge - Latest Comments in The Best Present of All

Re: The Best Present of All

changeforge — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 10:11:10 -0000

Thank you, Baby Dolls. I look forward to seeing you around.

Re: The Best Present of All

Baby Dolls — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 09:23:47 -0000

Nice post. Have bookmarked your blog and will be sure to come back soon!

Re: The Best Present of All

changeforge — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 16:45:50 -0000

Jeb, you speak the truth! I am of the belief that life will conspire against you to pull your focus away from those things that truly matter.

Just like honing skills or being in a relationship, all take work to maintain focus. I have found that the more I allow "stuff" to take priority, it clouds my vision of what should be important.

I have been through a challenging year this past year, professional and personally. I have also seen much success in both as well. I think it is this stark contrast that allows me to maintain my laser focus on things like family.

Perhaps what this opportunity opened the door for was for me to forcibly rearrange my life a bit. This means living by a calendar a little more than I would normally prefer, but the end result is more satisfying.

You see I do not like to be very structured in my day. I can live with a list, but I like to accomplish those things in the time that they take. This had to change a bit, to be more productive in the times I needed to be as well as sweeten the experience of those times I did not.

Lastly, this experience warmed my heart to family all the more. I believe my God put this in front of us to teach us a valuable lesson. I was reflecting with my wife last night, and even the busy holiday schedule - intended for seeing as many loved ones as possible, can detract from the true sampling of the season, diminishing the very sensations we are intended to enjoy.

Life is not intended to be easy, in my opinion. We, as humans, seem to define ourselves by our adversities - and seem to learn from them so much more than we would otherwise absorb. Perhaps it is this adversity that makes each joy so much sweeter... I do wonder that. By in large, I find that maintaining focus is a challenge, but a very worthy one. Balance can be difficult, but time is most assuredly finite. As such, choosing to do or not to do something requires a conscious choice. It is this choice that we must relish above all, and honor that opportunity rather than squander it.

This is what I have learned, and my thought is that as long as I continue to learn, I will be better for it: a better person, a better man, a better father, a better husband. It is in these experiences that I try and recall to maintain a heart of humble service. That is why I share this with you and the world.

Just trying to pay it forward, my friend.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Jeb. I most definitely appreciate your perspective and think you have most certainly caused me to think just a little more on this ;-)

Re: The Best Present of All

Jeb Dickerson — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 15:57:52 -0000

Hey Ken,
A wonderful story you've shared, thank you. It's so true that challenging times, especially concerning the health of loved ones, cause us to reconsider many things. I've experienced that shift a few times myself.

Have you found that maintaining the focus on life's true priorities has been any easier this past year? Having been through such a difficult time and coming out okay, has that change stuck with you? Or have things returned to normal and that memory is just that...a memory?

That's the struggle for me...maintaining that laser sharp focus on the revelations that come from adversity, after the adversity has passed. Like so many matches blown out by the wind, ideas, understanding, epiphanies, even, arrive with intensity yet wither over time...rarely developing into the bonfire they suggest.

May yours burn indefinitely, Ken.

Re: The Best Present of All

changeforge — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 13:32:29 -0000

Larry, thank you. I think that is perhaps one of the best compliments I could receive. Many blessings to you and yours this holiday season!

Re: The Best Present of All

Larry Slobodzian — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 13:16:36 -0000

The reason I keep reading this blog is because it is more than just technology and industry. You constantly jar me from myopic focus and remind me how big this world is, and how many more important things there are than just my computer problems.

Re: The Best Present of All

kallan — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 03:30:59 -0000

Ngā mihi o te Kirihimete, Ken

I am so glad you have a healthy, loving, loveable 5 year old daughter today. She looks a cutie. She will have enjoyed this Christmas I am sure. Children make Christmas Christmas for all:

Christmas for All

On the nights before Christmas as Christmas draws near,
When the family grows gracious most gracious and dear,
There's an everywhere twinkle which dazzles the sight,
Of a tinsel-like crispy-white starry-bright light.

A resinous scent of fresh pine fills the senses,
Each limb on the Christmas tree yields and relaxes,
And mystery percolates places routine,
As the feelings of loving and giving run keen.

Then the home becomes cluttered quite littered with joys,
With loose ribbons and wrappings and colourful toys,
With fine shreds from the Christmas tree's glittering shawl
For the children who make Christmas Christmas for all.

Re: The Best Present of All

changeforge — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 20:06:26 -0000

I can remember weight being a very key factor our doctors watched. I can most certainly related to some angst there, Louis. Although, six months after our daughter's birth, she was as fat as a baby buddah - so there was some concern on the other end at that point ;-)

My daughter has shown me and my wife so much about what being complete and happy means. She was an unexpected gift in more ways that one!

My hope with this is to share with everyone that Christmas is so much more than running around buying gifts and opening presents. There are things in this life we are given that are so very special. Should we but blink, we might miss each and every one.

Re: The Best Present of All

louismg — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 19:55:58 -0000

Children change everything. Their every whimper, cry or look can make you jump, worry, and act.

When Sarah was seeing her weight drop below four pounds and couldn't maintain her temperature in that first week after she was born, we were extremely worried, comforted by the fact she had excellent care and that many babies in tougher conditions had made it through. That you are on the other side of such an emergency and can look back on it is tremendous.

You sound like a caring father who wants nothing better than for the health and happiness of his little girl. Some day she will hear these stories and thank you for all you did and for all you do.

Re: The Best Present of All

changeforge — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 18:55:54 -0000

Same to you, my friend.

Re: The Best Present of All

2bestrong — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 16:07:58 -0000

My thoughts are with you and your family. I only hope for the best and most healthy holiday season for you and yours my friend.