Groundhog Day
Photo NYTimes
Ever since the movie ‘Groundhog Day’ opened in cinemas in 1993 the term has become associated with the experience of every day seeming to be the same. In the movie, the Bill Murray character continues to have the same experience, to relive the same day, until he catches on that by being nice to folk his life can move forward again.
The current third lockdown can feel very much like Groundhog Day. Same ole, same ole. No concerts, movies or theatre. No checking out the Spring/Summer collections in the department stores. No enjoying dinner at a favourite restaurant. On a wet day can feel even worse and listening to the daily news bulletins can further decrease our joie de vivre.
Here are a few tips to help dissolve that groundhog feeling.
Every day is actually truly different. The sun rises and sets at a different time and Mother Nature moves forward through the seasons. On our daily walks we can notice the daffodils blooming, the primrose – la prima rosa, the first rose – in the hedgerows, the tiny buds appearing on the hawthorn bushes. Taking our daily constitutional with our eyes wide open can simply lift our spirits up a notch.
Do a little kindness to someone else without expecting anything in return. Bring a neighbour a bunch of daffodils. Phone an old friend, s/he may really need that call today. Pop a thank you card in the post – to anyone, a TV show presenter who’s show you enjoyed, that auntie whose Christmas gift you forgot to acknowledge, the friend with whom you used enjoy a coffee.
Commit to learning something new every day. A poem, a song, a new language. This brings a new and fresh energy into the day.
If you’re feeling like it’s Groundhog Day – and the calendar says today is groundhog day in the U.S. - try one or all of the above to lift your own spirits and the spirits of those in your hub.
Rumi says it all so beautifully in his poem ‘The Guest House:
‘This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
Who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture.
Still, treat each guest honourably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
Meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whatever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.