Brain Food #561
Groundhog Day
Thoughts of the day
February 2nd is Groundhog Day, an unusual tradition that has been popularised as a day and expression thanks to the 1993 film starring Bill Murray. Although I had previously written about the film, in the earlier days of Brain Food, revisiting it this year feels right. It tells the story of a weatherman that keeps waking up on February 2nd, unable to move forward in time; every day is the same and tomorrow does not exist, not too different from what life itself may sometimes feel like nowadays.
And here some questions arise: Is it worth doing the same things twice? How many times can a significant date or milestone be celebrated before losing its significance? Isn’t it through repetition that we learn? Or how do we find meaning and value when things are bleak and the end is not in sight?
But Groundhog Day - the real Groundhog Day - is also a significant representation of a rite of passage, from winter to spring. Recalling the words of Albert Camus:
“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there's something stronger – something better, pushing right back.”
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