Groundhog Day

“What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same and nothing that you did, mattered?” 

 “That about sums it up for me."

Covid 19 has seen many of us feeling trapped in our own version of Groundhog Day. The calendar does tick over for us but the rhythm of our lives has been disrupted. The weeks lose their distinctiveness and one day bleeds into another.

There are days when I have found it hard to be motivated because every single thing on my to do list could be done tomorrow. 

Transcript

Groundhog Day

 Today being the 2nd of February is Groundhog Day. The idea is that is the eponymous rodent emerges and if it sees a shadow, in other words it is a sunny morning, it portends 6 more weeks of winter.

My guess is that before the Bill Murray movie in 1993 few people outside of Pennsylvania had heard of a groundhog, never mind it having a special day or being endowed with meteorological foresight. 

Groundhog Day has since found its way into most dictionaries and come to mean “a situation in which a series of unwelcome or tedious events appear to be recurring in exactly the same way.”

Lexicographers agree that the etymology of this meaning is the movie.

 It think it is a well scripted and crafted film. We watched it again at the weekend. (But only once).

As the time loop becomes established Phil asks the question;  "Well, what if there is no tomorrow? There wasn't one today."

This begins to form a familiar pattern with the alarm clock, song and voice over on the radio and a daily trip to Gobblers Knob for the report on the groundhog and repeat encountering of the same characters.

As Phil is processing his predicament he frames another question; “What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same and nothing that you did, mattered?” To which Ralph replies “That about sums it up for me."

Covid 19 has seen many of us feeling trapped in our own version of Groundhog Day. The calendar does tick over for us but the rhythm of our lives has been disrupted. The weeks lose their distinctiveness and one day bleeds into another. I had a friend early in lockdown who talked about every day being Blursday. This blur makes it hard to focus. It is a result of limitations which deny us things to look forward to, a limit the choices we are able to make and restrict our interactions with friends and family. The pandemic and our response to it has caused disruption, despair, division and death. 

There are days when I have found it hard to be motivated because every single thing on my to do list could be done tomorrow. On other occasions notification that something else has been changed, cancelled or closed causes me to sigh, moan or shout.

The issue that the movie explores is how do you cope when you are stuck.

In the first section of the movie Phil realises there are no consequences to anything he does. He announces that he is “not going to live by their rules anymore.” He embarks on the pursuit of pleasure and exploits his situation to manipulate others to get what he desires. Despite changing his drink order, learning French and trying to recreate the best experiences he is unable to get his way with Rita. She sees through his manoeuvring and is clear that Phil knows nothing of love and thinks only of himself. This section ends with a series of slaps to the face as Rita makes her feelings clear to Phil.

This leads into the second section where Phil becomes increasingly desperate. He tells Rita “I’ve come to the end of me, there’s no way out now”. He kidnaps the groundhog and drives over the edge of a quarry. This is the start of the darkest section in the movie where we see Phil falling into a malaise where he watches quiz shows on tv and kills himself in a variety of ways. He tells Rita later “I have been stabbed, shot, poisoned, frozen, hung, electrocuted, and burned.” Of course this is very dark and is where the script becomes more tragedy than comedy. In real life when someone takes this route they do not wake up in the same bed the next day without a scratch. The despair is palpable but his response achieves nothing. I wish more people who feel that they have come to the end of themselves would seek help. The short cut makes it worse for you and those closest to you There is always something to live for. This is true for a young person facing despair, pressure, disappointment or loneliness, or an older person facing a mid life crisis of unfulfilled dreams, a shrinking world, debt, frustration or illness.  It might look like the end is best today but keep going till tomorrow. More people have been where you are than you realise. One of the scenes that resonates with me most is when Phil hardly bothers to go through with the broadcast and just goes through the motions “blah, blah, blah, blah, blah”. Feeling that you are doing things on autopilot is often a sign that we need help. Phil begins to realise that there might be something to live for as he attempts to help an old man begging on the street. Despite his best efforts to get medical help, feed or resuscitate him, the man dies every time. This repeated death of the beggar ends the second section of the movie.

In the third section Phil determines to improve himself by learning the piano, ice sculpture  and embarking on a daily program of errands to help people in trouble or distress. It is not clear in the movie how many days Phil lives through. There are 36 separate days shown in the movie (I read this rather than counting them by the way) The original script apparently mentions 27 years which is about 10,000 days but some commentators prefer a figure nearer to 10 years. Ultimately Phil is changed through service, kindness and generosity and finds love with Rita. This brings a new day, a new plan and a new hope.

The last line appears in a number of best closing lines in a movie lists. “It's so beautiful. Let's live here! We'll rent to start.” 

The spiritual lessons of this film have been owned by fans from just about every religion and philosophy under the sun. We empathise with suffering, relate to repetition and long to make a difference in the world. This is understandable but has never been easy.

 The write of Ecclesiastes explores the futility of trying to construct a happy and meaningful life.

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless .” (1:1) 

“I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” (1:14)

This chasing after the wind is an often repeated refrain. It describes something that is always elusive.

“Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind”. (1:17)

“Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” (2:11)

“So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” (2:17)

“To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” (2:26)

“And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person's envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” (4:4)

 “There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” (4:16)

“Better what the eye sees than the roving of the appetite. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” (6:9)

This is a bleak summary. Trying to achieve success, pursue happiness, gain recognition and amass wealth by our own endeavours will always be a chasing after the wind. We cannot rescue or redeem ourselves, only God can do that. The love and mercy of the Lord are the only hope that we have.

So for me Groundhog Day identifies the problem but it does not offer a viable solution.

The Del Amitri song “Nothing Ever Happens” released in 1989, could serve as an anthem for the covid years. It describes the ordinary Groundhog days of repetition, numbness and apathy. The chorus goes

“And nothing ever happens, nothing happens at all
The needle returns to the start of the song
And we all sing along like before
And we'll all be lonely tonight and lonely tomorrow”

Luke tells the story of a lonely man who lived in Jericho. His name was Zacchaeus. He was a tax collector going through the repetitive cycle of cheating people and amassing wealth for himself. He didn’t have a great reputation. He hears that there is a visitor coming to town and is anxious to see for himself. He was short so ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a sycamore tree on the route. The stranger that he was trying to see was Jesus.

Much to the surprise of Zacchaeus – Jesus stopped at the tree and looked up. It was probably the first time anybody had looked up to him in a long time. Jesus calls him by his name and announces that he is going to eat with Zacchaeus at his home.

Later he comes out to face the unhappy crowd, who do not think him deserving of special attention. 

“But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount .” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost .” (19:8-10)

This restorative justice is an expression of a change that is happened within. Jesus affirms that today salvation has come. Jesus offers an alternative and it comes today. It is not earned through years of good works. It is given in that day. Jesus brings the answer to those unresolved issues of chasing the wind. The difference is not what we are chasing but who is seeking us. Jesus came to seek and save the lost.

The writer to the Hebrews makes it clear that there is an alternative and it comes to us today

“See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”(3:12-15)

 Where Jesus, Hebrews and Groundhog Day find common ground is the realisation that

 Tomorrow will only be the same as yesterday if we don’t do something different today.

Encountering Jesus is the only way to salvation and redemption. He brings a clean heart for a new start. He doesn’t guarantee that there wont be six more weeks of winter but Jesus knows the future and his mercies will be new in the morning as they are today. Everyday isn’t the same, everything we do matters, when we follow him and encourage the good.