You will really love this: The Daffodil Principle

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> > > The Daffodil Principle

> > > =======================

> > >

> > > 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,

> > > " 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 " 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.

> > >

> > > 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

> > > thirty-five years before, had begun-one bulb at a time-to bring

> > > her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop.

> > >

> > > 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 magnificence,

> > > beauty, and inspiration.

> > >

> > > The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest

> > > principles of celebration: learning to move toward our goals and

> > > desires one step at a time

> > >

> > > often just one baby-step at a time

> > >

> > > 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 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 direct way.

> > >

> > > " Start now, " she said.

> > >

> > > UNKNOWN AUTHOR

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