The Daffodil Principle

[Guest guest]

Enjoy this inspiring story in this special shaktipat event.

 

:)

Moaaz

 

 

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The Daffodil Principle

By Jaroldeen Asplund Edwards

 

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:

 

" 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 one brain. "

 

The third answer was, " 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 mountaintop.

 

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 some thing 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 the journey, not the destination.

 

So work like you don't need money.

 

Love like you've never been hurt and... truly dance like nobody is

watching.

 

" Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never

begin. " ~Anonymous

 

If you want to brighten someone's day, pass this on to someone special!