The Daffodil Principle - revisited

Daffodil Day is today - it is the largest fundraising event of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and a day all Australians unite and lend their support to the fight against cancer.

Please show your support for Daffodil Day -
Your donation helps fund cancer research, prevention programs and support programs.
Help make a difference for those who have been affected by Cancer and let us dig deep for a cure.

I've personally been affected now 3 times in 3 years with 3 different cancers - breast cancer, sarcoma and most recently Melanoma -insitu on my face. I need more minor day surgery soon to have this fully treated.

This week I also had a hysterectomy  to reduce my risk of uterine cancer.  I'm very sore though recovering well. Sneeze , cough or laugh and I cringe !

Nothing is going to stop me doing by bit by volunteering today to sell merchandise and daffodils and promote the work of the Cancer Council.


The Daffodil Garden



1. Beginnings. . ., 2. Daffodils., 3. daffodils in window, 4. Shine on you crazy diamond, 5. a moment of joy, 6. 03Apr18 Daffs, 7. Daffodils in Skagit Valley, 8. Daffodils, 9. Early Narcissus

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. 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."

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. 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 principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration.

(Now there are 100,000 bulbs so the Fact sheet reads )

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?"

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.

by Jaroldeen Asplund Edwards --- author


NOTE: There is a real garden by Mrs. Gene Bauer
Anyone can visit during peak bloom time, early March to early April. The garden is located below Running Springs,California, in the San Bernardino Mountains.

The Legend of the daffodil

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Author unknown ...we convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are. After that, we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with.

We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage.We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, when we are able to go on a nice vacation, or when we retire.
The truth is there's no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway.
Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special; special to spend your time with and remember that time waits for no one. 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 5kg.

Until you get married.
Until you get a divorce. Until you have kids. Until you retire. Until
summer. Until spring. Until winter. 
Until you die...(too late Huh !)

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.

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I received the daffodil principle and the above by an email several years ago. Today was a good day to re-post.

How can you put this to use today?
What are you waiting for ?

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Have you entered to WIN = DAD a fabulous Bosch $149 Cordless Drill

♥

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