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The Daffodil Principle

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The author visits a friend to see her daffodil garden before the flowers are over for the season. Despite cold and rainy weather, they make the drive and are awestruck by the sight of 50,000 daffodil bulbs planted in swirling patterns across five acres by a single woman over nearly 50 years, one bulb at a time. The garden teaches that small daily efforts accumulated over time can lead to magnificent accomplishments. The author is inspired to make more of the time they have and start working to achieve their visions one step at a time, without waiting for some future time.

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The Daffodil Principle
Several times my friend had telephoned to say, "You must come to see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive "I will come next Tuesday" a little reluctantly on her third call. Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. "Forget the daffodils! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog” "But first we're going to see the daffodils. It's just a few blocks," "I'll drive. I'm used to this." You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience." After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, " Daffodil Garden ." 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 and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different coloured variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own 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." We walked up to the house. On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking" ."50,000 bulbs," "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain." "Began in 1958."
For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who,almost fifty 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. That is, learning to move through change one 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 anything .
"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought differently about change and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all this time? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!" She summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said. She was right. 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 only to ask, "How can I put this to use today?" Use the Daffodil Principle to start changes. Dont wait... Until you finish school Until you clean the house Until you organize the garage Until you clean off your desk Until you lose 10 lbs. Until you gain 10 lbs. Until you get married Until you get a divorce Until you have kids Until the kids go to school Until you retire Until summer Until spring Until winter Until fall Until you die...

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The Daffodil Principle

  • 2. Several times my friend had telephoned to say, "You must come to see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive "I will come next Tuesday" a little reluctantly on her third call. Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. "Forget the daffodils! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog” "But first we're going to see the daffodils. It's just a few blocks," "I'll drive. I'm used to this." You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience." After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, " Daffodil Garden ." Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight.
  • 3.
  • 4.
  • 5. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different coloured variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own 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." We walked up to the house. On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking" ."50,000 bulbs," "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain." "Began in 1958."
  • 6. For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who,almost fifty 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. That is, learning to move through change one 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 anything .
  • 7.
  • 8. "It makes me sad in a way," I admitted. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought differently about change and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all this time? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!" She summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said. She was right. 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 only to ask, "How can I put this to use today?" Use the Daffodil Principle to start changes. Dont wait... Until you finish school Until you clean the house Until you organize the garage Until you clean off your desk Until you lose 10 lbs. Until you gain 10 lbs. Until you get married Until you get a divorce Until you have kids Until the kids go to school Until you retire Until summer Until spring Until winter Until fall Until you die...