Letter 35 - The Daffodil Principle
Hello Bregdan Woman,
You have Ginny today…
One of my favorite things about spring is the daffodils that bloom so profusely around the country. I have a love affair with them. Every fall I plant at least 500 – knowing the joy the brilliant yellow flowers will bring.
This story is one of my favorites – a fitting tribute to a remarkable Bregdan Woman!
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“Mother, you must come see the daffodils before they are over. They’ve never been more beautiful,” Carolyn said.
She knew her mom needed to visit. “You haven’t ever gone and this year you must. Please come, please. I know you’ll be glad you did.”
“Honey, I want to come. But it is two-hour drive. You know I hate to drive. Maybe next week,” came Amanda’s thin excuse.
The phone rang again . . . early the next week. “Mom? The daffodils won’t last forever . . . are you coming?” Carolyn’s voice teetered on pleading . . . not something she usually did.
“I can’t this week . . . but next,” Amanda responded.
Arrgghhh!
Carolyn knew she needed another approach, so she put the grandchildren on the phone. “Gammy, you come to see us? Pleease?”
Carolyn could feel her mother’s love for her grandchildren breaking through her resistance.
“I will come next Tuesday,” she promised, reluctantly.
Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, she had promised. . .
When she finally walked into Carolyn’s house, she hugged her grandchildren, and said, “Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog. There is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!”
Her daughter smiled calmly. “We drive in this all the time, Mother. You’ll never forgive yourself if you miss this experience.”
She reached for her car keys.
Amanda shook her head stubbornly. “You won’t get me back on the road until it clears, and then I’m heading for home!”
Yet, a few minutes later, with a grandchild gripping each hand, pulling, and chattering excitedly, she found herself climbing into her daughter’s car.
Twenty minutes later they turned onto a gravel road she never would have seen in the fog. At that same moment the fog began to swirl and lift. The sun cast a shimmering glow that appeared more than a little magical.
A tiny church perched off to the side, with a large hand-lettered sign off to the side that read Daffodil Garden.
Amanda began to feel a strange sense of anticipation. She climbed out of the car, took a child’s hand, and followed Carolyn down the path. When they turned a corner of the path, she looked up and gasped. Spread before her lay the most glorious sight she had ever seen.
It appeared as though someone had taken a shimmering vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peak and slopes. 5 acres of glowing daffodils 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.
After long minutes of enjoying the magnificence of the flowers, she turned to Carolyn with a question on her face. Her daughter merely pointed toward a small well-kept home perched modestly to the side.
When Amanda got close enough she saw the poster – Answers to the Questions I know you are Asking.
The first answer was a simple one – 50,000 bulbs. The second answer – One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and very little brain. The third answer – Began in 1958.
There it was, The Daffodil Principle.
For Amanda, that moment was life-changing. A Bregdan Woman she had never met, 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.
One bulb at a time, year after year, she had created something of magnificence, beauty, and inspiration – forever changing the world in which she lived.
Tears filled her eyes. “What might I have accomplished,” she murmured, “if I had thought of something wonderful 40 years ago and worked away at it all these years? What might I have been able to accomplish?”
Carolyn smiled as if she could read her mother’s mind and reached over to flip the poster. On the opposite side were two words – the mystery lady’s answer to Amanda’s last unspoken question.
START TOMORROW!
The Daffodil Principle is one of the greatest secrets of life. It is about learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time – often just one baby step at a time. It is about learning to love the doing and learning to use the accumulation of time.
It is about knowing that when we choose to multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, that we, too, can accomplish magnificent things.
You can make a difference in your world!
Forget the lost hours of yesterdays . . . they aren’t coming back.
The way to make learning a cause for celebration instead of a reason for regret is to ask: “How can I put this to use today?”
So today, my friend, as you choose how to life, remember the Daffodil’s and the lady who believed in the future . . . she believed in you and in me enough to start small and let the magic of time magnify that belief into acres of beauty.
I believe that principle works today.
Small acts of kindness, small steps toward change, all grow within us to create works of beauty.
Daily learning can make you an expert in anything.
I feel like the Daffodil lady right now. My dream is to have 1 MILLION Women reading I Am A Bregdan Woman - for starters! I KNOW the impact so many changed lives will have on the world.
One letter at a time…
One reader at a time…
One marketing plan at a time…
One action at a time…
I’m planting a bulb with every action I take!
Be like the Daffodil woman and believe in your future. It may take some time to see the greatness in your life, but it is there.
START TOMORROW – OR EVEN RIGHT THIS MOMENT!
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What will you do today to impact history??
We’re on this journey with you… (and have 2 FREE gifts for you below!)
Ginny & Suess
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