Groundhog Day - 2/2/2012

As this is one of my favorite films, I would be remiss not to write about it on the last Groundhog Day in the Mayan Calendar.  (hah, easily the stupidest first sentence I've ever written for this page).  The movie is replete with so many profound truths, life lessons, messages, and meanings that I could literally write a dissertation on it with no difficulty whatsoever. 

However, as I've already done this many times throughout the years, allow me to expound upon a particular point of interest that is worthy of investigation.  The most obvious theme of the film is that, in order to evolve/be happy/find true love/make your days count, you have to utterly change your perspective.  You have to allow yourself to be open and receptive to the opportunities that keep presenting themselves to you.  You need to dismantle the walls that you've built around yourself and let others "in".  You've got to be honest with yourself about who you are and what you want.  And furthermore, you must live for the moment instead of some longed-for future that may never come.  Now is the time for your salvation, so carpe diem and all that jazz.

At any rate, I've already come to these realizations a million times before, and have subsequently written about them on my various webpages, journals, tweets, and status updates since the advent of the internet.  That's why I'm going to hit upon something that only recently occurred to me about the protagonist, Phil Connors. 

Bill Murray plays Phil with his typical sardonic wit and a hint of self-loathing; a contempt that masquerades as genuine narcissism.  After he begins to change his perspective with the help of some wonderful advice from his love-interest Rita, Phil starts to focus on bettering himself and the lives of those around him.  He discards the concept of "tomorrow" and instead lives for the day; learning, growing, helping, and sharing himself without hesitation. 

But what I love the most about this is that, although he's seemingly a different person at the end of the film, at his core, Phil hasn't changed at all.  He still maintains his personality and in many ways he's still himself, just a better VERSION of himself  Through the radical shift in perspective, Phil somehow manages to retain the wit and cynicism that makes him charming and that makes Phil...Phil!

I think that's an important element in the film that is often overlooked.  Many of us are afraid of changing our perspectives because, despite the fact that we're usually unhappy, we LIKE who we are.  We're very much invested in our personality, because it's taken us so long to create it. 

But changing our thoughts doesn't mean we change who we are on a fundamental level, if just means we'll change the way we experience ourselves, and subsequently, the world itself.  Nothing is lost in this transition, but we will have gained something immeasurably valuable: the understanding that despite the changes in our experience, whether they're huge or almost imperceptible, nothing can alter the reality of who we are.