Doctari
03-12-2004, 10:55
A friend from the renaissance fest sent me this, I thought it apropriate for what we do here. How many times have we said: "Ill hike after I [pay off bills, get the kids through college, etc.] ?
Read the following & consider:
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 2-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead.
"I will come next Tuesday," I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call.
The next Tuesday dawned cold & rainy. Still, I had promised, & so I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house & hugged & greeted my grandchildren, I said, "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds & fog, & there is nothing in the world except you & these children that I want to see bad enough to drive another inch!"
My daughter smiled calmly & said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother."
"Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, & 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 20 minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road & 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 & each took a child's hand, & I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, we turned a corner of the path, & I looked up & gasped.
Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold & poured it down over the mountain peak & slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns--great ribbons & swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon, pink, saffron, & butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted as a group so that it swirled & flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were 5 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 & 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, 2 feet, & 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 & joy to an obscure mountaintop. Still, just planting 1 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, & inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals & 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 35 or 40 years ago & 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.
The Daffodil Principle
Doctari.
Read the following & consider:
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 2-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead.
"I will come next Tuesday," I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call.
The next Tuesday dawned cold & rainy. Still, I had promised, & so I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house & hugged & greeted my grandchildren, I said, "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds & fog, & there is nothing in the world except you & these children that I want to see bad enough to drive another inch!"
My daughter smiled calmly & said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother."
"Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, & 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 20 minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road & 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 & each took a child's hand, & I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, we turned a corner of the path, & I looked up & gasped.
Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold & poured it down over the mountain peak & slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns--great ribbons & swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon, pink, saffron, & butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted as a group so that it swirled & flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were 5 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 & 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, 2 feet, & 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 & joy to an obscure mountaintop. Still, just planting 1 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, & inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals & 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 35 or 40 years ago & 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.
The Daffodil Principle
Doctari.