In February I’m always interested in what the groundhog, or woodchuck, called Punxsutawney Phil has to say about the weather. Once a year, he lets us all know if there will be six more weeks of winter. This event, known as Groundhog Day, always reminds me of the movie with the same name. In the movie, Phil Connors, an arrogant egocentric weatherman finds himself in a time loop, repeating the same day over and over again during a hated assignment. Eventually he discovers that he has the choice to act differently, and that changes the pattern of each day. Each day is the same, yet different. However, just making changes doesn't release him from the time loop. It's when his choices include opening his heart to his co-worker, Rita, and to doing good deeds for others, that he escapes - because he is a changed man.
This brings me to the fact that things are not always what they appear to be. We all know that Phil will declare six more weeks of winter. On some days with the wind blowing, snow falling, and temperatures in the teens, it does appear that yes, there will be six more weeks of what looks like winter. However, actually, spring is already here. The signs are subtle, but if one is paying attention, they are obvious.
For me, the first sign comes from the birds. Just a few days before the end of January, I witness people filling up their bird feeders, and I see the daffodils peeking out of the winter soil. The trees are budding, and bushes are turning green. The sun is staying up longer. There are signs all around us that say, “Change is in the air!” This brings me back to Groundhog Day, and choices.
Aren't there days when we wake up and think the same thoughts we had the day before? We see the same day stretched out before us. The same worries, the same expectations, the same words spoken, the same outcomes expected. How can we expect to escape that time loop if we don't change first? That change comes from a change of choice.
It doesn't take much of a perception shift to change the unfolding of a new day. We can practice changing one thought at a time to a different idea, a different expectation, a different point of view, and watch the pattern of the day shift with that change. Perhaps it feels like winter in our lives. However, we can remember that what we see is not always what is going on. Listen! There is a different song in the air. There is sharing, helping, and living out our purposes in life.
Groundhog Day is a wonderful reminder that change comes from within, one choice at a time. It's not that we are going to create something new and wonderful. There is no need for that kind of work. The One Creator has already prepared a perfect day for us. All we need to do is stop the habits that show us a picture, a day, stuck in what is not working. We change. We let go of what is not working, and see what is. We become grateful for what is present, and that opens our hearts to see the grand design, where each of us, by living out our unique spiritual blessing, fulfills the needs of one another in one ongoing spiral of love.
By the way, did you know that groundhogs are also called Subterranean Whistle Pigs? This is because they make a cute little whistle. See, things are not always what they appear to be.