Most
of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have
kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all. Here's a beautiful
example which shows us that with ordinary talent and
extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable.
Let's learn from the following article inspired by the writing of Jaroldeen Asplund Edwards.
As the story goes, 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 said,
"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 mountain-top.
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 (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.
According to some sources, the daffodil garden mentioned in this story really
does exist and 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. From the city of Highland (about 60 miles east of downtown Los
Angeles), take Highway 330 toward Running Springs. Drive 14 miles into the
mountains to the intersection of Live Oak Dr. and Fredalba. Turn right on
Fredalba and proceed one mile. Park in the church parking lot. From there, signs
will direct you.
By Tim Pedrosa
~Those
who would attain to any marked degree of excellence in a chosen
pursuit must work, and work hard for it, prince or peasant.-
Bayard Taylor ~It
does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.-
Confucius
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Tim
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