Of Cosmic Events and Rodents
Lessons from Groundhog Day
Photo by Abigail Lynn on Unsplash
It’s Groundhog Day…Again
Not really, of course, it was yesterday.
If you aren’t familiar, the tradition is if the Groundhog sees his shadow, it signals 6 more weeks of winter, and if he doesn’t, it’s an early Spring.
Or is it the opposite? I can never remember.
It turns out that the official groundhog who lives in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania is not a very accurate forecaster. Punxsutawney Phil as he is called, is right about 33% of the time.
Which is worse than random chance or a coin flip.
Groundhog Day is also a movie where an obnoxious weather forecaster, Phil, is forced to relive Groundhog Day over and over until he understands the meaning of life.
Here’s my favorite line from the movie where Phil wakes up on the same day again and asks a question of the owner of the Bed and Breakfast a question.
Phil: Do you ever have déjà vu, Mrs. Lancaster?
Mrs. Lancaster: I don't think so, but I could check with the kitchen.
Here we are in the third (or is it the 4th) Groundhog Day in the Groundhog Day experience of Covid. Isn't that a Groundhog Day…
within a Groundhog Day,
within a Groundhog Day?
Won't that tear a hole in the universe or something?
Both examples of Groundhog Day represent living out a life determined by something or someone other than ourselves.
While we have fun with the tradition and metaphor of Groundhog Day, I want to invite you to think about something serious.
We don’t have to live by tradition, superstition, or what other people decide for us. Especially when their predictions are only 33% accurate.
It's never too late to be who you were, always meant to ‘BE.’
📌 Fun Sidenote: I have my own connection to Groundhog Day. It was my final day in the Marine Corps. There's a deeper meaning and metaphor in that somewhere, don't you think?
