The Daffodil Principal
Author Unknown
Several times my daughter had telephoned to say,
"Mother, you must come see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to
Lake Arrowhead. "I will come next Tuesday, " I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call.
Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had
promised, and so I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house and hugged and Greeted my grandchildren, I said,
"Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you
and these children that I want to see bad enough to drive another inch!"
My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in
this all the time, Mother."
"Well, you won't get me back on the road until
it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her.
"I was hoping you'd take me over to the garage
to pick up my car."
"How far will we have to drive?"
"Just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive.
I'm used to this." After several minutes, I had to ask, "Where are we going? This isn't the way to the garage!"
"We're going to my garage the long way," Carolyn
smiled, "by way of the daffodils."
"Carolyn," I said sternly, "please turn around."
"It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never
forgive yourself if you miss this experience."
After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small
gravel road and I Saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign that read, "Daffodil Garden."
We got out of the car and each took a child's hand,
and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped.
Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked
as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peak and slopes. The flowers were planted
in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon, pink, saffron, and butter
yellow.
Each different-colored variety was planted as a
group so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.
"But who has done this?" I asked Carolyn.
"It's just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives
on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed
to
a well kept A-frame house that Looked small and
modest
in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to
the house.
On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the
Questions I Know You Are Asking" was the headline.
The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs,"
it read. The second answer was, "One at a time,
by one woman.
Two hands, two feet, and very little brain." The
third
answer was, "Began in 1958."
There it was, The Daffodil Principle.
For me, that moment was a life-changing experience.
I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time to bring her
vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top. Still, just planting one bulb at a time, year after year, had changed
the world. This unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived.
She had created something of ineffable (indescribable)
magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration.
That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time--often just one baby step at a time—and learning
to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time.
When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small
increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world.
"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn.
"What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at
it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years. Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"
My daughter summed up the message of the day in
her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said.
It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of
yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put
this to use today?"
So, stop waiting...
Until your car or home is paid off
Until you get a new car or home
Until your kids leave the house
Until you go back to school
Until you finish school
Until you lose 10 lbs.
Until you gain 10 lbs.
Until you get married
Until you get a divorce
Until you have kids
Until you retire
Until summer
Until spring
Until winter
Until fall
Until you die
There is no better time than right now to be happy.
Happiness is a journey, not a destination. So work like you don't need money, Love like you've never been hurt, And, dance
like no one's watching.
If you want to brighten someone's day, pass this
on
to someone special.
I just did
And last, but certainly not least, here’s the link for my website. Here
you can find recommended programs as well as the archives of previous messages and articles, and, of course, the free e-book
download with resell rights on starting your own home business.. Why not give a visit and look around?
