What is your Daffodil Principle
Have you read the Daffodil Principle? It is a real garden open to the public although it will close in 2009. The links to the story and some pictures of the garden are at the end of this article.
It is now 50 years since the beginning of the daffodil garden on the mountain. It got me to thinking about all the things that could have been done in 50 years.
If you saved a dime a day for 50 years you would have $1800 without interest.
If you had given up a cigarette a day of a 2 pack a day habit - it would have been so long ago that you were a smoker that you might as well have never smoked.
If you had not sold that first house, it would be paid off now and all you would have to worry about is taxes and insurance which would be higher now than the original monthly payment.
If you had walked a mile a day you would have walked over 18000 miles. If you take the average distance from east coast to west coast of the USA as 3000 miles, that means you could have walked across the USA 5 times.
If you were a child in the 50's, you have probably raised children of your own, possibly buried your own parents and are now looking at retirement. You no doubt look back occasionally and fret over all the time you wasted. If you read the daffodil principal you think of some magnificent project you could have done that would be your lasting legacy.
Did the daffodil project start out as a magnificent endeavor or just a 48 bulb garden? Did it grow until it took on a life and death of it's own? How many times have fires destroyed this garden?
When the owners of this land move on, who will take over the garden? Will they charge an admission fee to cover the cost of maintenance and further growth? Will it eventually fade away with only the occasional bloom popping up in the spring?
I have a little saying on my computer desktop - sorry I don't know the author name.
Start where you are, Use what you have, Do what you can.
I think this is the true daffodil principle. Where ever you are today, what ever your circumstances are, what ever the state of your health or finances, you can still make a difference.
Maybe you can plant a tree to help clean the air. Maybe you can walk around the block and smile at those you see, if you see any one. Maybe you can eat a better diet to try and ensure that you will be around to see all those great-grandchildren. Maybe you never had children. There are thousands of children that need a sponsor, not just financially but mentally.
Maybe you can start today on the book about your life. That is a legacy for your children and their children. Who can tell history better than one who has lived it. You don't have to write the whole thing at once - just a paragraph or a page a day. It does not have to start at the beginning, it only has to start. Who knows, maybe one of your children or grand children will take up the story and cause it to continue for generations.
My mother did a grandparent book for each of my children, telling them about her life, pasting in pictures and certificates. I have started one. I had to. One of my grand children asked me once if I had electricity when I was little. Just because I told him, I did not have a TV as a child.
Gene and Dale Bauer, the keepers of the garden, began planting on their mountainside in the 50's with 48 bulbs.
http://activerain.com/blogsview/447959/The-Daffodil-Garden-in
the entire story about the day with directions to garden and request for donations to replace bulbs lost in fires
http://www.holisticpractitionersnetwork.com/Articles/daffodil_principle.htm
until next time - smile
Sharon
Answers For Your Health
It is now 50 years since the beginning of the daffodil garden on the mountain. It got me to thinking about all the things that could have been done in 50 years.
If you saved a dime a day for 50 years you would have $1800 without interest.
If you had given up a cigarette a day of a 2 pack a day habit - it would have been so long ago that you were a smoker that you might as well have never smoked.
If you had not sold that first house, it would be paid off now and all you would have to worry about is taxes and insurance which would be higher now than the original monthly payment.
If you had walked a mile a day you would have walked over 18000 miles. If you take the average distance from east coast to west coast of the USA as 3000 miles, that means you could have walked across the USA 5 times.
If you were a child in the 50's, you have probably raised children of your own, possibly buried your own parents and are now looking at retirement. You no doubt look back occasionally and fret over all the time you wasted. If you read the daffodil principal you think of some magnificent project you could have done that would be your lasting legacy.
Did the daffodil project start out as a magnificent endeavor or just a 48 bulb garden? Did it grow until it took on a life and death of it's own? How many times have fires destroyed this garden?
When the owners of this land move on, who will take over the garden? Will they charge an admission fee to cover the cost of maintenance and further growth? Will it eventually fade away with only the occasional bloom popping up in the spring?
I have a little saying on my computer desktop - sorry I don't know the author name.
Start where you are, Use what you have, Do what you can.
I think this is the true daffodil principle. Where ever you are today, what ever your circumstances are, what ever the state of your health or finances, you can still make a difference.
Maybe you can plant a tree to help clean the air. Maybe you can walk around the block and smile at those you see, if you see any one. Maybe you can eat a better diet to try and ensure that you will be around to see all those great-grandchildren. Maybe you never had children. There are thousands of children that need a sponsor, not just financially but mentally.
Maybe you can start today on the book about your life. That is a legacy for your children and their children. Who can tell history better than one who has lived it. You don't have to write the whole thing at once - just a paragraph or a page a day. It does not have to start at the beginning, it only has to start. Who knows, maybe one of your children or grand children will take up the story and cause it to continue for generations.
My mother did a grandparent book for each of my children, telling them about her life, pasting in pictures and certificates. I have started one. I had to. One of my grand children asked me once if I had electricity when I was little. Just because I told him, I did not have a TV as a child.
Gene and Dale Bauer, the keepers of the garden, began planting on their mountainside in the 50's with 48 bulbs.
http://activerain.com/blogsview/447959/The-Daffodil-Garden-in
the entire story about the day with directions to garden and request for donations to replace bulbs lost in fires
http://www.holisticpractitionersnetwork.com/Articles/daffodil_principle.htm
until next time - smile
Sharon
Answers For Your Health
Labels: Goals
posted by sharono at 8:12 AM
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3 Comments:
Dear Sharon, lovely blog! I really enjoy your blend of common sense, humour and no-nonsense toughness.
I had no idea Daffodils could burn..
PS. I know where you got this saying. "I have a little saying on my computer desktop - sorry I don't know the author name.
Start where you are, Use what you have, Do what you can."
Amazing to see that pop up!
I used it in a piece about doing the Amazon Herb Company business
or any other MLM.
Cooked it up from scratch but it could be an old Tennesse mountain saying, who knows.
And by the way, it is Daffodil Principle, not principal. A principle is a guiding idea, a principal heads a high school.
Just nitpicking, it must be Virgo...
Ien, Thanks for the info on the source of the information. Yes, I know - can't rely on spell checker is the word is actually a word.
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