Did you see the Bill Murray movie in which he was sentenced to repeat the same day until . . . he didn’t know what. He went to bed at the end of the day, and woke up again and again the same day, Ground Hog Day. He was a grumpy reluctant reporter sent to a cold podunk town to cover their Ground Hog Day ceremony.
What torture! He even tried every way he could to kill himself, then woke up as usual on Ground Hog Day.
Same Thing Every Day?
Does life get that way for you sometimes? Is life the same struggle day after day? Do you react the same way, or perhaps a bit wiser the next day, but still in self-defeating ways?
The good news is that the character Bill Murray played went through it enough times, using trial and error, adjusting the next time, so that he was transformed and finally found out what life was really about. You, too, can use this time to transform to more lightness and liveliness.
Coming of Spring
Ground hog day as a tradition anticipates the coming of spring. The ground hog is said to predict whether spring weather will come sooner or later. February second marks the midpoint between seasons, so this is a good time to check in.
In the ancient earth-based traditions, the second of February is celebrated as the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. In many traditions, it marks the shift from the cold dark days of winter and the coming of more light, anticipating the planting time of spring.
February 2nd Celebrations
On this day, the ancient Celts celebrated the Goddess Bridget, the goddess of purification and fertility. They moved as a group from the village into the fields, bringing blessings of health from Bridget to the soil before it was time to plant.
As Christianity swept the world, the church found it fitting to also celebrate a festival of light, Candlemas, on February second. All the candles to be used for the rest of the year would be brought forth for a special blessing. It is better known as The Feast of the Presentation of our Lord Jesus and The Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
If you celebrate a tradition or not, you may be noticing that the sun is rising earlier and setting later. Yes, the days are getting longer and we are enjoying more warmth as well as light. (At least in my part of the world this year.) I consider these mid-point days between seasons the real turning points and the actual solstice and equinox more as the height of the season.
Lunar Eclipse
This year, 2018, to top it off, we just had a total lunar eclipse. I watched as the shadow of the earth covered the moon. As the shadow covered the moon more completely, the moon appeared deep orange. In Cottonwood, the moon was setting behind Mingus Mountain in the west and the sun in the east was getting close to the horizon, shedding pre-dawn light, before the eclipse was completely finished. That resulted in a very faded appearance of the moon, pale orange and blue, blending into the dawn-lightened sky.
Watching the eclipse, knowing that Ground Hog day is imminent, I felt the transforming power of this time of year. We move around more because we are warmer and there is more daylight.
Shine Your Light
We let go of old dark habits and form new habits which support the new person we are becoming. We can relax into becoming more of who we really are, shining our own light.
Unless we are stuck like Bill Murray’s character in Ground Hog Day. Unless we choose to dig in our heels and be grumpy to everyone around us. Unless we refuse to release old habits and patterns of behavior which no longer serve. Then we suffer with the same thing over and over again.
Are you stuck? Or are you transforming with the seasons?
