groundhog day

Today is February 2nd - Groundhog Day. I feel as if this particular holiday had completely no bearing on me for the first dozen or so years of my life. It was just one of those odd traditions that had little to do with me but instead some chubby animal I had never viewed in person. Then in 1993 Bill Murray and director Harold Ramis came rushing in with a film of the same name, altering the state of the holiday for many of us into humorous thoughts of repetitious insanity. It was quickly dubbed an instant classic. Since then I have even found myself 'celebrating' one or two of these holidays watching the flick.

An old friend of mine lives on the 'Lost' island in Hawaii. In this age of civilization referring to technological connection, for all intents and purposes she has cut herself off from it without a cell phone, a Facebook account, or an active email address. I don't even know her actual physical locale. Therefore, we haven't heard from one another in two or three years. A mutual friend of ours is traveling there next week, so he is bringing along a care package of trinkets and whatnot from her connections here in town.

A couple days ago I sat down to hand write her a letter. Even though so much has transpired during the time since we last spoke, somehow with pen in hand I was able to easily condense it all down to one and a half pages of some of the best prose I have written in some time. I hadn't written a letter in ages! There's something to be said for stepping away from the modern conveniences every now and then. In ways they do make the world easier and in some ways they simply make us lazy.

I think life is found in the cracks and crevices of everyday activity, but so often we overlook it. We have to focus attention on the smaller details in our worlds to really experience it. The old adage is completely true about taking time to smell the roses, although that's always just been an example. It's about breaking away from the mold of our everyday to really interact with our own existence. It can mean hand writing a card instead of mass producing a text, or walking a few blocks instead of driving there, or baking your own bread instead of picking up a loaf from the market, or even washing and drying your own dishes in lieu of always depending on the Whirlpool.

So here passes another Groundhog Day. Take some time today to step outside of yourself. Spend a few extra moments deepening your connection to your life. How does your shadow spread across the rest the earth? What does it say about where you're headed?