Epsode 1 of Life's Lessons:Vita ex Tempus et Facultas.
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."
"Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and 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 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 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
you get a new car or home
your new job comes along
your kids leave the house
you go back to school
you finish school
you lose 10 lbs.
you gain 10 lbs.
you get married
you get a divorce
you have kids
you retire
summer
spring
winter
fall
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.
If you want to brighten someone's day, pass this on to someone special.
I just did!
