The Daffodil Principle - Part II
Posted 30-06-2008 at 08:28 PM by pritam6753
........... COntd from Part-I
The Daffodil Principle - II
As though this were not magnificent enough, Mother Nature had to
add her own grace note--above the daffodils, a bevy of western
bluebirds flitted and darted, flashing their brilliance. These
charming little birds are the color of sapphires with breasts of
magenta red. As they dance in the air, their colors are truly
like jewels above the blowing, glowing daffodils. The effect was
spectacular. It did not matter that the sun was not shining. The
brilliance of the daffodils was like the glow of the brightest
sunlit day.
Words, wonderful as they are, simply cannot describe the
incredible beauty of that flower-bedecked mountain top. Five
acres of flowers! (This too I discovered later when some of my
questions were answered.)
"But who has done this?" I asked Carolyn. I was overflowing with
gratitude that she brought me, even against my will. This was a
once-in-a-lifetime experience. "Who?" I asked again, almost
speechless with wonder, "and how, and why, and when?"
"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, my mind buzzing with questions. 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 35 years before, had begun--one bulb at a time--to
bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top.
One bulb at a time. There was no other way to do it. One bulb at
a time. No shortcuts--simply loving the slow process of planting.
Loving the work as it unfolded. Loving an achievement that grew
so slowly and that bloomed for only three weeks of each year.
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 ineffable
magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.
The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest
principles of celebration: learning to move toward our goals and
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.
"Carolyn," I said that morning on the top of the mountain as we
left the haven of daffodils, our minds and hearts still bathed
and bemused by the splendors we had seen, "it's as though that
remarkable woman has needlepointed the earth! Decorated it. Just
think of it, she planted every single bulb for more than 30
years. One bulb at a time! And that's the only way this garden
could be created. Every individual bulb had to be planted. There
was no way of short-circuiting that process. Five acres of
blooms. That magnificent cascade of hyacinth! All, all, just one
bulb at a time."
The thought of it filled my mind. I was suddenly overwhelmed with
the implications of what I had seen. "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 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 wise daughter put the car into gear and summed up the message
of the day in her direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said with the
same knowing smile she had worn for most of the morning.
Oh, profound wisdom! It is pointless to think of the lost hours
of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson a celebration
instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this
to use tomorrow?"
The Daffodil Principle - II
As though this were not magnificent enough, Mother Nature had to
add her own grace note--above the daffodils, a bevy of western
bluebirds flitted and darted, flashing their brilliance. These
charming little birds are the color of sapphires with breasts of
magenta red. As they dance in the air, their colors are truly
like jewels above the blowing, glowing daffodils. The effect was
spectacular. It did not matter that the sun was not shining. The
brilliance of the daffodils was like the glow of the brightest
sunlit day.
Words, wonderful as they are, simply cannot describe the
incredible beauty of that flower-bedecked mountain top. Five
acres of flowers! (This too I discovered later when some of my
questions were answered.)
"But who has done this?" I asked Carolyn. I was overflowing with
gratitude that she brought me, even against my will. This was a
once-in-a-lifetime experience. "Who?" I asked again, almost
speechless with wonder, "and how, and why, and when?"
"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, my mind buzzing with questions. 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 35 years before, had begun--one bulb at a time--to
bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top.
One bulb at a time. There was no other way to do it. One bulb at
a time. No shortcuts--simply loving the slow process of planting.
Loving the work as it unfolded. Loving an achievement that grew
so slowly and that bloomed for only three weeks of each year.
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 ineffable
magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.
The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest
principles of celebration: learning to move toward our goals and
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.
"Carolyn," I said that morning on the top of the mountain as we
left the haven of daffodils, our minds and hearts still bathed
and bemused by the splendors we had seen, "it's as though that
remarkable woman has needlepointed the earth! Decorated it. Just
think of it, she planted every single bulb for more than 30
years. One bulb at a time! And that's the only way this garden
could be created. Every individual bulb had to be planted. There
was no way of short-circuiting that process. Five acres of
blooms. That magnificent cascade of hyacinth! All, all, just one
bulb at a time."
The thought of it filled my mind. I was suddenly overwhelmed with
the implications of what I had seen. "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 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 wise daughter put the car into gear and summed up the message
of the day in her direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said with the
same knowing smile she had worn for most of the morning.
Oh, profound wisdom! It is pointless to think of the lost hours
of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson a celebration
instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this
to use tomorrow?"
Total Comments 2
Comments
 | hey have read this story very beautiful, isn't it? |
  |
| | Well m glad to see that... But tu ek gal bata.. I just explored my profile and you are not in my contact & friend list.. OYE ye CHR walo ne sara purana data base delete kiya kya.. mana PHP par update karke... cool interface diya hai.. par its not fare na.. anyways again I have sent you the request.. again thank you for your feedbacks but Arina & her anonymous friend deserve this.. n m glad they shard it with me .. thanks |
| |
Recent Blog Entries by pritam6753
- What Do You Want ..?? (16-10-2008)
- one more from Arina's Arina (14-07-2008)
- The Daffodil Principle - Part II (30-06-2008)
- the daffodil principle Part-I.. by Unknown Author. (30-06-2008)
- SMILIES (02-03-2008)
