"Each one has to find his peace from within, and that peace in order to be real it must be unaffected by the outside circumstances.”
Thursday, April 18, 2019
An echo of a thought
"Each one has to find his peace from within, and that peace in order to be real it must be unaffected by the outside circumstances.”
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
A short story featuring PERSISTENCE
We all know that
persistence is the quality of continuing with something despite challenges
encountered, and history has shown us again and again that powerful characters
have it. As a key element of self-discipline, persistence also provides its own
motivation; you become more eager to do something when your actions start
showing results. We've noticed in life that successful people don’t give up easily because they
understand that only by being persistent you would be able to continuously chase
your dreams. Once again, I guess it helps to be kindly reminded that's important not to get
distracted and nor to lose the focus of the journey; working with diligence toward
our goals (either professional, social, spiritual, etc.), one step at the time,
would definitively lead to substantial achievements!
While at this page, here I’m sharing a beautiful story which carries a very powerful message – there is no doubt that perhaps many of you already know it, but at times a quick refresher is always gratifying. Enjoy!
While at this page, here I’m sharing a beautiful story which carries a very powerful message – there is no doubt that perhaps many of you already know it, but at times a quick refresher is always gratifying. Enjoy!
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.
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 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.
"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 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 a number of people, the daffodil garden mentioned
in this story really does exist (it is located below Running Springs,
California, in the San Bernardino Mountains, about 60 miles east of downtown
Los Angeles ) and anyone can visit during peak bloom time, early March to early
April.
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you keep going.”
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
About GRATITUDE
According
to the definition given by dictionary, GRATITUDE is the ability of showing
appreciation or of being thankful for all what you have been given, helping us to
focus more on the abundant side of life and by doing so we increase our
capacity of being happy!
In fact, by extrapolation, we could say that
gratitude is a form of love for one another too, because when we feel true
gratitude for another we truly begin to harmonize with that person, while
relationship becomes much stronger.
On the other hand, scientific research has
been shown that heartfelt gratitude it is the most effective medicine for
depression, while taking nothing for granted!
“Nothing is more honorable than a grateful
heart,” wrote Seneca once upon a time, while Cicero (a great Roman philosopher) said that “Gratitude is not only the
greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”
Feeling grateful is a desired state of being because it is nurturing in every way; it is believed that the more appreciative you are for all the things you have in your life you would receive even more to be grateful for. And once again, please be kindly reminded that it is not happiness that brings us GRATITUDE, but rather gratitude that brings us HAPPINESS!
Feeling grateful is a desired state of being because it is nurturing in every way; it is believed that the more appreciative you are for all the things you have in your life you would receive even more to be grateful for. And once again, please be kindly reminded that it is not happiness that brings us GRATITUDE, but rather gratitude that brings us HAPPINESS!
Be Thankful
Be thankful that you don't
already have everything you desire ... if you did, what would there be to look
forward to?
Be thankful when you don't
know something ... for it gives you the opportunity to learn.
Be thankful for the difficult
times ... during those times you grow.
Be thankful for your
limitations ... they give you opportunities for improvement.
Be thankful for each new
challenge... which will build your strength and character.
Be thankful for your mistakes
... they will teach you valuable lessons.
Be thankful when you're tired
and weary ... because it means you've given your all.
It's easy to be thankful for
the 'good' things ... yet, a life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are
thankful for the setbacks.
Gratitude can turn a negative
into a positive ... find a way to be thankful for your troubles and they can
become your blessings.
March 20, 2019: SPRING has arrived!
SPRING
has sprung and the entire nature is unfolding the next cycle of
re-birth...flowers are blooming, trees are flowering, birds are singing, days
are getting slightly longer and longer, and the sun is getting shinier and
shiner. With sincere joy and gratitude we celebrate again the greening of the Earth,
welcoming beautiful beginnings. At this time of the year, I’m wishing each of you a wonderful season, trusting
that the sun would shine bright upon you!
“Spring
is the time of plans and projects.” (Lev Tolstoy)
SPRING EQUINOX: a short scientific briefing
“Spring Equinox” is an astronomical event, nearly noticed by everyone, when the day and night are almost of an equal length, marking the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere; this is commonly regarded as the instant of time when the plane (extended indefinitely in all directions) of Earth's equator passes through the center of the Sun.
This is one
of the four seasonal turning points, when the strength of the old goes into the
new as the power of life blossoms with grace while Nature springs again to LIFE. Enjoy!
SPRING (by Antonio Vivaldi) –
audio
Friday, March 8, 2019
Socializing: 2019 – INTERNATIONAL WOMEN's Day
“Girls with dreams become women with
vision.“
Mesaj primit înspre publicare din partea Domnului Dr. Ovidiu
Grecea* şi al Doamnei Liliana Grecea
Draga
Alice, am ajuns cu bine acasă. Cât de distinse, frumoase și bucuroase au fost
doamnele din comunitatea romanilor-canadieni din Vancouver, care au răspuns
invitatiei tale și cât de bine s-a simțit toată lumea! Astfel de momente
speciale, fără eticheta și protocol excesiv, aduc normalitatea și scot in
evidentă adevăratele valori, aduna și nu dezbina, sunt pe sufletul romanilor
adevarati care simt nevoia de a se aduna și de a petrece impreuna. Aceasta
seara, acest eveniment cu o dedicație specială poate sa se constituie ca un
exemplu dar și un punct de reper la revigorarea comunității si la înțelegerea
ca numai impreuna, cu toleranta și dorința de bine, ne vom regăsi poziția
binemeritata in multiculturalismul societății canadiene de astăzi. Romanii sunt
frumoși, deștepți, muncitori și puternic legati de tradițiile lor dar trebuie
sa se coaguleze, sa-și depășească niște complexe, frustrări sau animozități și
sa construiască încet, sigur și solid o relație interumana de buna înțelegere
și sprijin reciproc. Te-ai angajat pe un drum greu și nu vei avea o misiune
ușoară dar intențiile tale bune, noblețea sufleteasca, delicatețea și gingasia
ta, dublate de voința de a face ceva palpabil și concret se vor constitui in
ingredientele benefice acestei comunități, in viitorul apropiat. A fost o
reala onoare și plăcere pentru noi de a fi impreuna cu romanii noștri, cu care
am discutat, împărtășit multe experiențe de viața și am petrecut prin muzica,
dans și antren, o seara minunata.... iar acestea nu sunt cuvinte de diplomație
ieftină, ci sunt trăirile unor oameni care in afara demnităților efemere
deținute in timp, au avut șansa ca prin umila lor educație din familie și cea
dobândită, înfruntând destule vicisitudini ale vieții sa cunoască mulți romani, in cele mai diferite continente din lumea asta. Tocmai de aceea, înțelegem și
apreciem eforturile și implicarea ta și îți dorim mult succes, cu tact, calm și
înțelepciune. Speram sa ne revedem sănătoși și voioși,
Liliana și Ovidiu Grecea
*Domnul Ovidiu Grecea este Consul General şi Ministru Plenipotenţiar al României la Vancouver
This event has been delivered in Romanian Language, featuring Romanian culture.