Sunday, May 9, 2021

A host of golden daffodils..dancing in the breeze

This is a forward by email in 2009 to me. I do not have the sender’s or site's details. But I wish to share it with you as it has a great message for all of us. I have added a few words

Several times my daughter Carolyn 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.

“Why don’t you come on Mother’s Day and have lunch with us,” she pressed again

"Surely, I will be there", I promised,

The day dawned cold and rainy. Nevertheless, I had given word. Though loath to make the journey, 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. 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!"

"But first we're going to see the daffodils. It's just a few blocks," Carolyn said. Sensing my incredulity, she added, “Don’t worry, mother. I'll drive. I'm used to this."

Soon, we were sputtering our way through the grim mist. Only a desolate road in sight and a howling wind for company. I glowered at my otherwise sane and sensible Carolyn, who was so hell-bent on this daft venture.

"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 taking 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: sweeping swathes of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each differently-colored variety was planted in large clusters such that each swirled and flowed like a 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, petitely 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 caption in flowing, cursive letters. 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-altering 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 something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.

The daffodil garden taught me one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals and aspirations 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, even 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, plainspoken way. "Start today," she said.

She was right. It was so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterday. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration, instead of a cause for regret, was to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?"

Use the Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting...

Until your car is paid off...

Until you get a new home...

Until you organize the garage...

Until you declutter your desk...

Until you lose or gain weight...

Until summer/spring/winter/fall...

There is no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

Don't be afraid that your life will end. Be afraid that it will never begin!

16 comments:

  1. “Tomorrow never comes, indeed”. A good story advising to live out the best , today - now.

    Take care
    Chitra Solomon

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  2. Tomorrow never comes indeed A very good story with an advice to live and to do the best , today - now.

    Take care
    Chitra Solomon

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  3. So true. All of us think we will live forever. We put off so many things trying to find the perfect time or setting.

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  4. Tomorrow is uncertain, we shd just start off with the right spirit.A wonderful message.

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  5. What a beautiful message. Something I needed to read today. Thank you.

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  6. There is no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey, not a destination....This looks like as if it is written for me! I seem to postpone things all he time! Laziness!

    Thank you! Very well written story!

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  7. A beautiful story that encapsulates the essence of life. Celebrate the small moments..

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  8. Excellent story. Beautiful message.

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  9. What a wonderful story. Yes ..... there is no better time than right now to be happy.

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  10. Such a great message couched in a 'forward'! Procrastination is perhaps the biggest bane of humankind to achieve great things. We know it, yet we need constant reminders, to plant 'one bulb at a time'.

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  11. Amazing story! Story of patience!

    Srikanth

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  12. It's such an inspiring story mama.one that I would like to read whenever I qm upset Thanks for sharing

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  13. Such a great message.we need to Celebrate the small moments. Thanks

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  14. Yes...live and be here,now, in the present moment... Let's choose to be happy and find happiness in every little thing 🥰 thank you 💖

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  15. So true, especially in these times, when the future is so uncertain, sadly. A good story, with a good message.

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  16. A positive motivational story!
    Totally agree.
    NOW is the time.
    Time is running out. What are we waiting for?
    Have been trying to share about this.
    You may like this post- Now Is The Time

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