OT/ The daffodil principle

[Guest guest]

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 and said, " We drive in

this all the time, Mother. " " How far will we have to drive? "

" Just a

few

blocks, " Carolyn said. " I'll drive. I'm used to this. 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 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 indescribable

magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil

garden taught is one of

the greatest lessons. Work 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 it 'one bulb at a

time' through THE DAFFODIL PRINCIPLE all those years.

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 new job comes along

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.