Groundhog Day and Living In The Moment

For the last week or so I have been asking myself, how do I move into Groundhog day? How do I make sure that I am not repeating the same theme over and over in my life. Most who know what I am speaking  of would say that I am thinking about the movie starring Bill Murray in which is stuck in a time loop over and over again.  In some ways I may be.  But for me this is what Groundhog day is about.

When I talk to people about the day, most ask me if the groundhog has seen his shadow.  Then they ask “What does it mean if he does?  Are we hoping that he does or does not?  Which one means spring?” I explain that if he sees his shadow it means six more weeks of winter.  If he does not it means that we will have an early spring.  Most people are hoping for an early spring.  Then I tell them the holiday is more about us than the weather.  It’s about “How is the weather going to be in our lives?  Is it going to be dark and cold for a long time? Or is it going to be bright with new wonderful beginnings?”  It is determined by whether or not we see our shadow.  Are we going to remain self-centered caught up on ourselves, our worries or concerns?  If we do, our life will be cold and dead and we will truly feel stuck.   If we can somehow move beyond our concerns and live in the moment, become the moment, learn to give, without concern for the outcome.  We will have mastered the day and not have seen our shadow.  Life will be wonderful, beyond our dreams.

As I said originally, the question is how do we do this?  How do we live in the moment?  How do we give without concern for outcome?  How do we not remain caught up on the ways we feel we have been treated?  How do we let go of longing to be treated the way we feel we want to be treated?  How do we stop looking for recognition?  How do we stop seeing the dreaded shadow of the false self?

My thought is first we must realize that our happiness is not wrapped up in any particular situation.  If we can’t realize it, we must do all we can to convince and remind ourselves of this deep truth.  We must remember it is more about the journey and who we become in this journey than the destination.  We must also try our best to embrace the moment, trying to see life as a game, and adventure, which has hidden good and opportunities within each moment.   See ourselves in an incredible movie where the question is asked, what will our hero do now?  How will he or she find magic in this moment?  We must learn to meditate and connect with our deeper self.  If we do, we must learn to treat each moment like a meditation, with a chance to become more centered and turn every situation into gold.  We must get so caught up in this process that we forget what ever worries or concerns we previously had.  When we do we will be mesmerized by the wonders we experience and find it hard to believe how much fun we are having.

Sincerely,

Craig