The Daffodil Principle
Several times my daughter had telephoned to say,
"Mother, you must come to 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 reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into
Carolyn's house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children.
I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren.
"Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible
in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you
and these children that I want to see badly 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.
"But first we're going to see the daffodils. It's just
a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this."
"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 with an arrow that read, "Daffodil Garden."
We got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn
down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, 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 over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes.
The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons
and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and
saffron and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted
in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with
its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.
"Who did this?" I asked Carolyn.
"Just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the
property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame
house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We
walked up to the house.
On the patio, we saw a poster headlined:
"Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking"
1. "50,000 bulbs,"
2. "One at a time, by one woman.
Two hands, two feet, and one brain."
3. "Began in 1958."
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. Planting one bulb at a time, year
after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which
she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of
extraordinary 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 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.
She was right. 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?"
Use the Daffodil Principle. 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 clean the house
Until you organize the garage
Until you clean off your desk
Until you lose 10 lbs.
Until you gain 10 lbs.
Until you get married
Until you get a divorce
Until you have kids
Until the kids go to school
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.
Dance like no one's watching.
If you want to brighten someone's day, pass this on to
someone special I just did! Wishing you a beautiful, daffodil day!
Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never
begin.
Happy Birthday Kameryn!! I love you so much! I was working on an awesome slideshow for you, but it didn't work out, so hopefully a couple of pictures will be good enough.
