A Groundhog Day Lesson
It’s back: Groundhog Day. Both the day and the movie are inevitable this time of year. Which got me thinking: Is there something more to this day than just this day? My answer: Yep. And it’s something unpredictable.
The meteorological Groundhog Day exists in an annual cycle where winter hints to spring’s arrival. Following spring is summer and fall. And then, well, winter again. It’s a predictable cycle. Yet the day-to-day within that cycle is not so predictable. Frigid days in April; a January heat wave; rain on your golf outing. Predictable, yet not. It’s the same with the film.
The Groundhog Day movie has a cycle—same day over and over. Yet the day-to-day is less predictable for the movie’s grumpy protagonist, Phil Connor the weatherman. Yes, it’s the same date, same beginning and same end. Same characters, same location, and even the same jeopardy questions. Yet there are not-so subtle tangents. First Phil denies this cycle. Then he tries controlling it and later exploiting it. Ultimately he accepts it.
And so goes us. Our lives have a cycle: birth, youth, adulthood, and aging (and oh, death). Yet within the predictable there is so much that is not. Each of us is on a different, self-directed journey through the same cycle.
What’s the lesson? Life has a pattern that is both predictable and not. It’s also one we cannot control—to the extent some may desire. As Phil Connor said, “You want a prediction about the weather? I'm going to give you a prediction about this winter. It's going to be cold, it's going to be dark and it's going to last you for the rest of your lives!”
He later added, “Yet we know that winter is just another step in the cycle of life.”
He’s right. On both accounts. We’ll have cold and sorrowful days; meaningful and exhilarating moments; as well as warmth and sun. Rather than control the moments, how about we ride with them, bringing our best each day - rain, shine; young, old; Groundhog Day or just an average Tuesday.
Not every day will be ideal. But tomorrow is another day. Because you can’t always predict everything. Except that Groundhog Day will be back.
