I enjoy this movie (except it always takes me a while to get "I've Got You Babe" out of my head. I've probably just got it into yours. Sorry.) Though something strikes me as worrisome most times I see this: it seems no matter the year, a lot of times I feel like Bill Murray's character; stuck living the same mundane day over and over, unable to come up with the antectdote to change it.
Today is also Candlemas, a religious day that celebrates the introduction of the infant Christ to the temple and the purification of the Virgin Mary (apparently even the mother of God was considered impure until 40 days after giving birth. Hmph!)
Of course, like most Catholic holidays, it conveniently occurs around the same time as a pagan holiday before it, a celebration of the earth once again waking up from it's winter slumber, and the promise of spring coming soon.
Whatever your beliefs, today does mark the halfway mark between the Winter Solstice and Spring Solstice. It is a day that for some is all about shadows; the darkness of winter that has been upon us these many months. For others, it is a day about light; the return to a blooming world full of new life.
For me, I always like to think of this day as a day of promise that not just in nature, but in my own life, spring will bloom again. Regardless of the troubles of the past, hope still endures for a better tomorrow. Sometimes it is hard to remember that. Especially when the gray skies are ever present and the Christmas bills are coming in; jobs are hard to come by and colds are constant companions.
Still, we have made it through the rough patches and the sun is starting to break free. Change is in the air. That can be scary and worrisome. But if we are not changing, what is there to look forward to, to learn from, to move us in a direction closer to where we have always wanted to be, but were afraid to go? If we don't accept bad things breaking up, there will be no place for good things to enter. We will be forever like Phil Connors; stuck participating in a life we don't want as our own.
So if these past few months been more shadowed than brilliant, breathe deep, hold on, and remember that spring and new beginnings are just around the corner.
