Be Like Phil (But Not At First)
This is one of the first American references to what we now call Groundhog’s Day celebrated on February 2nd. It was the basis for one of my favorite movies, Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray. In this movie, Bill Murray plays the part of an egocentric Pittsburgh weather man, Phil Connors, covering the hated Groundhog Day assignment in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Strangely enough, it is Groundhog Day each morning Phil awakens and he has to repeat this hated assignment over and over again. At first, he uses this unique situation for his own selfish reasons. With no fear of long-term consequences, Phil eats to the point of gluttony. He steals money, he uses inside information about the townspeople for dubious motives. He gives abusive and offensive reports on the Groundhog Day.
He kidnaps Punxsutawney Phil and drives off a cliff, much to the horror of everyone else. He commits various forms of suicide. He does all of this knowing he will awaken the next morning to the sounds of Sonny and Cher on his radio alarm and will start a fresh day.
I fear we are all a little like Phil Connors. We try the same thing over and over and seem to never wake up to a truly new day. Oh, it is a new day according to the calendar, but is it really new? We get in a rut and like it there. The rut is familiar and is safe. We do the same thing over and over, never bothering to look over the sides of our rut. The longer we stay in our rut, the deeper it becomes and we like that as well. If work your rut long enough, it becomes an inescapable grave.
"Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate."
James Morris, Berks County, Pennsylvania Storekeeper, February 5, 1841
This is one of the first American references to what we now call Groundhog’s Day celebrated on February 2nd. It was the basis for one of my favorite movies, Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray. In this movie, Bill Murray plays the part of an egocentric Pittsburgh weather man, Phil Connors, covering the hated Groundhog Day assignment in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Strangely enough, it is Groundhog Day each morning Phil awakens and he has to repeat this hated assignment over and over again. At first, he uses this unique situation for his own selfish reasons. With no fear of long-term consequences, Phil eats to the point of gluttony. He steals money, he uses inside information about the townspeople for dubious motives. He gives abusive and offensive reports on the Groundhog Day.
He kidnaps Punxsutawney Phil and drives off a cliff, much to the horror of everyone else. He commits various forms of suicide. He does all of this knowing he will awaken the next morning to the sounds of Sonny and Cher on his radio alarm and will start a fresh day.But a strange metamorphosis occurs. Eventually, Phil Connor uses his unique situation to make his life and others around him better. He learns foreign languages. He learns the piano. He learns to ice sculpt. He discovers other people’s needs and assists them. It took Phil a long time reliving the same day over and over before he changed. His life moved forward only after he finally changed into a better person. At last, he woke to the morning of February 3rd.
I fear we are all a little like Phil Connors. We try the same thing over and over and seem to never wake up to a truly new day. Oh, it is a new day according to the calendar, but is it really new? We get in a rut and like it there. The rut is familiar and is safe. We do the same thing over and over, never bothering to look over the sides of our rut. The longer we stay in our rut, the deeper it becomes and we like that as well. If work your rut long enough, it becomes an inescapable grave.
We do not move from our ruts until we abandon our selfishness and think about other people’s needs. You do not have to learn to ice sculpt, play the piano or speak French before you wake up to a new day, start this moment. Make a difference in someone else’s life. Find someone who needs help, look them in the eye and quote the song Phil Connors heard every morning, I got you babe.
Randy Russ
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