By: onethousandfold
13/04/2008
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| '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. 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 colored 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 |
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By: onethousandfold
13/04/2008
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| part 2-'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.'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.That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time--often just one baby-step at 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.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 to only ask, 'How can I put this to use today?'Use the Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting. |
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By: onethousandfold
13/04/2008
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| Until your car or home is paid offUntil you get a new car or homeUntil your kids leave the houseUntil you go back to schoolUntil you finish schoolUntil you clean the houseUntil you organize the garageUntil you clean off your desk till you lose 10 lbs.Until you gain 10 lbs.Until you get marriedUntil you get a divorceUntil you have kidsUntil the kids go to schoolUntil you retireUntil summerUntil springUntil winterUntil fallUntil you die...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. If you want to brighten someone's day, pass this on to someone special. Wishing you a beautiful, daffodil day!Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin. |
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By: onethousandfold
13/04/2008
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| sorry this is really long but definately worth the read - it has 3 parts!!!! start with #1 at the bottom - thanks |
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By: szuregotjeanz
14/04/2008
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Very, very nice, Onethousandfold!
It's spring here, and daffodils are just out.
Last night my brat daughter (Teen) brought me a bouquet of daffodils. Just melted my heart.
Thank you for doing this thread- inspiration where I least expect to find it ! |
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By: weed612001
14/04/2008
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| You call your daughter a brat when she just brought you some flowers? |
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By: onethousandfold
14/04/2008
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| Hi sZuregot- glad you enjoyed it - I thought it was nice but it is a bit long so not many will want to take the time but its well worth it! Really lovely to get a bunch from your daughter - she must have thought you would like them - she was thinking of you anyway regardless of anything else a teenager is likely to do - she loves her mum!!! |
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By: lilacz_09
14/04/2008
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| thanks, :) |
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By: onethousandfold
14/04/2008
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| actually this was sent to me as an email with fabulous pictures of fields of daffodils and other bulbs and in the middle was this little house - around it was a sea of yellow - fabulous scene!!! |
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By: reidsays
14/04/2008
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no matter where i live i like to plant some daffodils...there is just something so uplifting about them.....
when i first read your post 1000.....the beauty of the scene was quickly followed by memories of other such endeavours being destroyed...so i just couldn't say anything then....
must have been a downtime:(
not hard to create beauty in the world...?
automatic for some:)D |
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By: szuregotjeanz
15/04/2008
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You call your daughter a brat when she just brought you some flowers?
------------------------- -
Hawhaha, obviously you weedy, do not have any teen children!
"Brat" is one of my quieter terms.
(was just gonna ignore that post, but, couldn't resist) |
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By: szuregotjeanz
15/04/2008
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| ...OH, forgot :D) |
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By: j.gwenda
15/04/2008
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Nice story and message 1000....the picture image I have in my head is beautiful......I love it when you drive past a paddock of sunflowers in flower.....of course they aren't planted one by one in love, but they are a sight to behold.
Always thought I'd love to see the wildflowers in bloom after rain out in the desert....or the fields of lavender in Tasmania.....the most beautiful aromas would please the nose as well.........:) |
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By: onethousandfold
15/04/2008
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not hard to create beauty in the world...?**
Guess we just have to create our own as this woman did Reidy:))))
This daffodil email made me feel like heading for my yard and to begin to plant - sometimes I think we decide it will take too long and we don't do what will ultimately give us joy!!! I love daffodils too - there is just something happy about them and the pics in this email was fanbloodytastic!!!! :))) I was wishing the pics could go intot eh thread also. |
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By: onethousandfold
15/04/2008
8:49 am Yahoo! Profile:
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| glad I posted it now - and had some of my favourite people hook in to appreciate! thanks guys:))) |
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By: reidsays
15/04/2008
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you're welcome 1000....
better than the gross name calling and insults on some 'cough, cough' threads....:( |
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By: szuregotjeanz
16/04/2008
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.....SOME of your favourite people???
ah, gee, Thanks |
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By: cookeetree
16/04/2008
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| Thank you for posting this! |
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By: mrsron1
16/04/2008
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Thanks, onethousandfold...what a lovely post to read first thing in the morning. If you close your eyes you can almost see the beautiful golden mountainside.
Now, let's hope no one decides to build a housing development or shopping mall there... |
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By: onethousandfold
16/04/2008
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I have decided to get a whole lot of daffodil bulbs and start planting outside my fence at the front. Its sort of rural here and no one walks on the verge - does anyone know if daffodils plants are poisonous to horses? if not will also plant some round the front area of my property. shouldn't be too late to plant - but anyway I will see them next season -:)))Daffodils always look so happy!!!!:)))
thanks guys for taking the time to read such a long post. |
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By: wazzajack
16/04/2008
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Elzeard Bouffier (The Man Who Planted Trees) should interest you.
In book form but also on DVD narrated by Christopher Plumber.
I had it originally in video and about a year ago got it on DVD through Amazon.
A beautifully animated film and superbly narrated story about a French peasant who turns a wasteland into a paradise.
I guarantee you would love this.
Go to Amazon and check it out.
I have cut and will now post a segment of someone else’s review. |
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By: wazzajack
16/04/2008
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Frédéric Back's 30 minutes long Oscar winning animated film "The Man Who Planted Trees" is astounding work of art with its beautiful story and the images that equal it. The story written by the French writer Jean Giono that tells about Elzeard Bouffier, a quiet shepherd, and later bee keeper who never talked much but over 35 years of hard work singlehandedly cultivated a magnificent forest in a desolate area of Provence, France and made it a peaceful and happy home for over 10, 000 people, is highly moving, inspirational, and life-affirming. It makes a viewer proud of what a man can achieve if he is determined to create, not to destroy. Every frame looks and feels not like a flat drawing but like a beloved painting of a celebrated impressionist painter (Monet, Sisley, Morisot, and *** arro, the "purest" impressionists come first to mind). To achieve this effect, Back worked on unpolished acetates using crayons and modulating the colours. During the film, the colours change dramatically from barren and lifeless desert like palette in the beginning to the tender glowing delicate colours of blossoming eternal Spring in the final scenes. I was absolutely mesmerized by Back's visual style and his ability to beautifully translate such a literally story to the screen and not to lose any of its appeal but on the contrary to enrich it with incredible taste and unique exquisite beauty and tenderness of his images.
There is one question that pops up from time to time on the different film forums, "Is there any movie that all viewers would love and cherish"? I am always sceptical and up until tonight used to believe that the universally loved movie simply does not exist. I am happy to admit that I was wrong. I don't think that anyone who saw this little marvel may not be affected by its clear message, its kindness, beauty, and artistry.
Highly recommended as deservingly one of the very best animated movies ever made. |
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By: onethousandfold
16/04/2008
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thanks wazza - will definately check it out this afternoon:)))
we need a lot of beauty in our lives don't we - Nature is fabulous - |
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By: reidsays
16/04/2008
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did read this wazza.....
just haven't the technology or money to pursue it matey..
but have seen such examples many times in my life..one person can create so much!!!!
and make so much difference |
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By: onethousandfold
16/04/2008
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| Hi Wazza - I looked at amazon - saw the DVD - does this mean I need to order from US? No probs doing that, just wondered if I could order here. doesn't really matter, I order stuff from US sometimes, doesn't take long and they are usually pretty good. Just wondering:))) |
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