January 18, 2006
Groundhog Day!
Remember the 1993 movie Groundhog Day? Remember how sarcastic, cynical Phil Connors (the Bill Murray character), faced by an unending repetition of the same day over and over (and over and over), finally learns to give up a life of manipulation and complaint? Realizing that all his self-centered scheming has gotten him nowhere, he learns to pay attention to people and events outside himself. Suddenly his life is transformed. As he begins to learn about the lives and care about the welfare of those around him he finds - for the first time - the happiness he had always sought. He lets go of ego-driven desire and, almost magically, he scores it all: from inner peace to romance. Everything he ever wanted.
Well, a funny thing happened on the way home from Florida today.
Packing up my laptop after my presentation, I made a point to remind Roger, the AV guy, that he had promised to seek out an acupuncturist this week for a back injured moving his daughter into her college dorm. In Spanish, I called out to Miguel , the young server cleaning up tables, and told him to travel safely on his trip to Mexico to reconnect with the brother he had not seen in seventeen years. Bethany, my client’s West sales district manager, dropped by. I wished her all the best in making the big move with her family from San Diego to Seattle; a single mom with an elder mother in tow, pulling it off would be no small challenge. There were another two dozen individuals whose life stories I knew at least as well.
My client’s remarks had been effusive, full of superlatives, but something larger was transpiring. My spirit felt absolutely buoyant. I noticed an extra bounce in my step as I headed toward the lobby. I could not help but think: “God, I love this work.” I seemed to be in full stride. Firing on all cylinders. Could life get any better? What was up?
Then I got it: It was Groundhog Day!
Like the character in the movie, I was getting better and better at dropping all thoughts of the future, making it my agenda to fully inhabit the present. In a handful of hours I had formed a heart full of powerful connections. I had invested all my interest and energies in the people I was with. The result was beyond my expectations. The lesson hit me like a ton of bricks:
We will always be successful in the future If we are committed to living fully in the present
Gandhi once said: “Full effort is full victory”. I would add: “Full presence is full victory”. Whenever we overcome our ego-centric preoccupation with ourselves and tune into the events and people around us with genuine energy, our environment responds in kind. Suddenly, we find ourselves in ‘the zone’, full of energy and light. Able to leap buildings in single bounds. It is what Eckhart Tolle calls “ the power of now”.
Looking for happiness? Inner peace? Ultimate success? Look no further. Glance around you. These people are worthy of your authentic interest and affection. This is the moment at hand. Wherever you go, there you are. So give it everything you’ve got.
Remember - no matter the date or month - it is never too late or too early to have a....
Happy Groundhog Day!
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