Punxsutawney Phil Needs to Listen to Walt Whitman…We All Should!
Well, that was nice “ish”. Now Let’s Get On With Things!
Dry January is officially over! And hopefully, like me, you put a little “ish” into the effort. Why go “Dry” when you can be Dry”ish”? “Ish” still allows for success – without it, you’re more likely to fail and decide not to continue. I got through January with flying colors being Dry”ish” (more days NOT drinking than drinking – that’s an improvement!). I felt great, especially with the added benefit that I was never disappointed in myself for missing my goal. So that was nice – but the downtime is over, it’s time to move forward.
Mr. Groundhog knows this – which is why he ventured out this morning to see if he could see his shadow. He already KNOWS there are six more weeks (plus) of winter ahead, but like the rest of us, after a dry, uneventful January, he is ready to get going. So his emergence from his cozy bunker on what is always still a cold day in February, should be inspiration to us all! But I’m thinking that Punxsutawney Phil, who indeed saw his shadow this morning and resolved himself to a longer winter, doesn’t follow a lot of America’s literary greats like Walt Whitman who once wisely said “Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you.” Sage advice for groundhogs and humans that might keep us from running back down our little holes.
It’s time to get on with things, to climb out of our proverbially dry (ish) bunkers and look to the sun, let the shadows fall behind us and get cracking on this new year that is now already a month old. We’ve got 11 months left to keep those resolutions and goals that we set. We are not superheros. Not one of us can individually save the world, feed all the hungry, solve climate change, clean up the garbage in the oceans, establish absolute equality or eliminate racism or other “isms” forever. Evil and hardship have always lurked in our midst. The shadows of the world’s problems are daunting and intimidating – and the weight of them can send you back down into your dark and isolated hole. What we CAN do is be present in our own unique life and affect the change we want in our immediate circumference without looking too far out ahead. Pull yourself back to this moment and this day, pick up the garbage in your own personal life. Take good care of your physical and mental-self first so that you can be in a position of strength to then help others. Remember to add a little “ish” to your effort so that when one day isn’t your best (ish), you can start fresh the following morning with new vigor. And of course listen to Walt Whitman: “Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you.”
Dry January is over! Come out and look toward the sun! Let’s get moving! It’s officially Forward February!
Seek Beauty. Guard the Sacred. Get Real. Celebrate the Moment. Celebrate the Possibility. Celebrate the Individual.
- Ewe Bee U
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