The Daffodil Principle
Suck it up and take the corniness it touched me and I hope it kicks you in the ass.
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 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 way at it 'one bulb at a time' through THE DAFFODIL
PRINCIPLE 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 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.
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 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 way at it 'one bulb at a time' through THE DAFFODIL
PRINCIPLE 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 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.