February brings us the theme of Resilience. An appropriate theme for a month with less daylight and lots of gray skies. For people who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, it can be a long month. February falls pretty much in the middle of the winter season and a lot of us are ready for warmth and sun. My husband and I used to take a vacation to some place warm every February. It gave us something to look forward to in December and January. When we returned, we knew we were halfway through the winter and spring was not so far away.
This week as I am looking ahead to February 2, hoping that Punxsutawney Phil won’t see his shadow, I am reminded of the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray. Resilience is certainly built into the theme of the movie.
Bill Murray plays Phil Connors, a disgruntled weather reporter, who begrudgingly makes the annual trip to Pennsylvania to report on the Groundhog Day celebrations and whether or not Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow. Due to a blizzard, Phil is trapped in the town and ends up waking to the same exact day over and over again. Phil starts out a cynical, grouchy man and perhaps the message is that he is trapped by his own attitude. After waking up to the same day several times, he realizes that no matter what he does there will be no consequences. He will wake up the next morning as if the day before never happened. His self- centeredness shows through as he indulges in binge eating and drinking, one-night stands, robbery, and reckless driving. After spending several loops trying and failing to court his colleague, Rita, the news producer, he becomes depressed and desperate for a solution to end the loop. He kidnaps Punxsutawney Phil and drives off a cliff with him, even going as far as committing suicide various times, but he continuously wakes up to “I Got You Babe” on the radio.
What we end up seeing is a total transformation of character. When Phil finally realizes that he can’t even kill himself to solve the problem, it seems he decides to make the most of the situation. He starts noticing what is around him and trying new things. He begins to find joy in kindness and relationships with others. He learns to play the piano, to ice-sculpt, and to speak French. He helps some older ladies fix a flat tire, he catches a child falling from a tree, and saves a diner from choking. On one loop he shows up smiling and eager to report the news, which surprises Rita. They spend the day together and she is impressed by the new Phil. At a charity bachelor auction, she successfully bids on him. During the time they are together he tells Rita he loves her, and that because of that he will be happy, even if he is doomed to wake up alone every morning. The next morning he wakes up again to “I’ve Got You Babe,” but the DJ banter is different, and he discovers Rita is still with him.
As the new day begins, the other people are all the same, but Phil is no longer caught in his own shadow and the world looks brighter. Perhaps one path to resilience is to embrace our reality, focus on our own growth and formation, and reach out to the world through kindness, compassion, and love.
In Love and Hope,
Rev. Alice