Checking your Shadow

I recently watched a movie on television called “Groundhog Day”. Groundhog Day is a popular tradition in the United States and Canada. Each year on February 2 the groundhog emerges from its winter sleep and predicts the arrival of spring by checking his shadow. In the movie, Bill Murray plays an unhappy and frustrated weatherman who is in a small town to report on the findings of a groundhog. On February 2, Murray wakes up in his hotel room and begins living the same day over and over again. In reliving this day he goes through a phase of anger and becomes quite mean. As he realizes that he is stuck in time, he begins to go through a period of self-improvement. He realizes that when he changes his own behaviour, the people around him begin to change.

Self-Check

Home improvements are easy. How often do we make self-improvements in regards to our weight and looks? Improving the way we act requires a different kind of mind set. When we redecorate our living room or begin a new weight loss regime we can see the results and we often receive compliments. But how often are we complimented for changing our attitude? Our lifestyles and habits become a way of life. If we are impatient with someone it can make him or her nervous. When we react to a mistake by yelling, the people around us might think they are to blame. Is this what we want? 

Homework

In the movie, the character was stuck in his miserable day with his negative lifestyle. It was when he saw his own shadow and began to look at the people and situations around him that he was able to make self-improvements and move forward into the future. What about the rest of the year? We can choose to wake up in the morning dreading the day ahead or we can jump out of bed and look forward to the challenges we face and the lives we can touch. It is in our hands to make the most of each and every God given day. If we don’t, we run the risk of reliving the same nightmare over and over again.