So, Yes, It’s Groundhog Day & Also… (the “missing” Sunday post w/excerpts) February 2, 2025

“Nine days and nine nights of blessings and happiness if you are celebrating Magha Gupta Navaratri!” “Happy (Lunar) New Year!” and/or “Happy Carnival!” to those who are celebrating! Many blessings to everyone, and especially those observing Maha Kumbh Mela and/or Candlemas.

Peace, ease, contemplation, and appreciation throughout this “Season for Nonviolence” and all other seasons!!!

This “missing” post for Sunday, February 2^nd is a compilation post. It includes some revised (previously posted) material and excerpts. My apologies for not posting before the Sunday practice. You can request an audio recording of this practice or a previous practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

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“Well, it’s Groundhog Day… again.”

— Bill Murray as “Phil Connors” in the movie Groundhog Day

February 2^nd is always Groundhog Day. For people using the Gregorian Calendar, it is also, always, Candlemas, the second day of Black History Month (for some people in the United States), and part of the “Season for Nonviolence”. However, since people use different calendars for religious and cultural holidays and observations, this day sometimes overlaps a whole lot of other ancient rituals and traditions — and even a couple of modern ones. For instance, in 2025, today is also part of Carnival, the Lunar New Year / Spring Festival, Maha Kumbh Mela, and Magha (Gupta) Navaratri.

Today, the “Season for Nonviolence” principle is “Appreciation”. While the Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace’s site focuses on giving thanks, with regard to this principle, we can also take this opportunity to appreciate the richness of each other’s cultures and how some of our beliefs overlap — especially as it relates to change (and even to our resistance to change).

FTWMI: AN INVITATION TO SHINE

“It’s always Feb 2^nd — there’s nothing I can do about it.”

— Bill Murray as “Phil Connors” in the movie Groundhog Day

Have you ever had one of those moments, like Phil Connors had in the movie Groundhog Day, where you woke up and every day seemed (or actually was) the same? Or, maybe, like Raven Wilkinson (who was born today in 1935), you see things in the world that you want to be different… even though it seems like those things have been the same for so long that they are unchangeable.

I think it is very easy to look at the world and see things we would like changed. I also think we have all had days where nothing we do seems to make a difference. Yet, the reality is that everything we do changes something.

Being alive is like a dance between our body, our mind, our spirit, and the world. Everything is shifting, changing. Everything is balance and counterbalance, inhale and exhale, enter and leaving, rising and falling. Sometimes we lead. Sometimes we follow. Sometimes we are watching from the side, resting, or waiting for our turn to lead or follow. Start to notice that dance and your start to notice change and how you engage it. You also start to notice when you are stuck… and the choices you make when you are stuck.

Do you get frustrated and stay stuck?

Do you “accept the things [you] cannot change”… and stay stuck?

Or, do you “change the things [you] can”… with appreciation/gratitude?

CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE SOME HISTORY ABOUT GROUNDHOG DAY.

FTWMI: “Okay, campers, rise and shine!” (the “missing” post for February 2nd)

CLICK ON THE EXCERPT BELOW FOR A PROFILE ABOUT RAVEN WILKINSON.

Bird on Fire (a special Black History note)

Whether we realize it or not, everything we do changes something about us. It changes our perspective. Maybe the change is a reinforcement of what we already believe. Sometimes, however, we see ourselves and the world in a new way, a special way. That new insight can lead us to interact with people in a different way — and that can change their perspectives. The first part happened to Phil Connors in the movie. Both parts happened to Raven Wilkinson and, therefore, to ballet dancers and ballet fans.

That’s the way life goes. We just have to rise and shine.

“Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don’t forget your booties cause it’s cooooold out there today.”

— Richard Henzel as “DJ #1” in the movie Groundhog Day

NEW YEAR #5 / NEW DAY #4 (EXCERPTS)

For many people celebrating the Lunar New Year / Spring Festival, the fifth day is the day to go back to work after a four-day holiday. Businesses opening back up are met with great fanfare: parades, music, and fireworks. There’s also the promise of “lucky money,” in red envelopes; which business owners will give to their customers — who will then promptly spend some of the money in the business. Some people will also celebrate the birthday of all cows. This fifth day is particularly auspicious in parts of China where it is recognized as the birthday of the God of Wealth.

This year, the fifth day of the Lunar New Year coincides with the fourth day of Magha (Gupta) Navaratri. While Navaratri, the “nine nights” and days of celebration in the Hindu tradition, is different from some of the other celebrations mentioned — because it is a celebration that focuses on Durga, the divine mother, in various manifestations, Hinduism is not the only religion where the feminine aspects of the Divine are celebrated. It’s not even the only religion where an observation related to a woman, as the Divine, is associated with a period of nine days/nights. To my knowledge, however, Navaratri (“nine nights”) is unique in that it celebrates many different aspects of a single woman. Each night/day is associated with a different manifestation of Durga/Parvati, the mother goddess, and is part of nine-part story cycle/journey that ends with a demon-king being destroyed.

The fourth day is dedicated to the Goddess Kushmanda who, it is said, “created the world with her divine smile” — a smile that also powers the sun. She is recognized as Shakti (the creative force) and associated with good health (specifically with improving health), wealth, and strength. She is like the aspects of the Virgin Mary that are remembered on Candlemas.

“[Kushmanda] also lives in our hearts. The fact that she is smiling reminds us that we too are our most creative when we are smiling and feeling positive, courageous (a quality of heart), and strong. The fact that this goddess, like Chandraghanta, rides a lion shows that the power of love is just as potent as the fire of transformation. It reminds us that the ability to love comes from inner strength. When we feel clouded by fear, anger, and grief, it can be difficult to imagine one day having the strength to love again. But Kushmanda is here to remind us that, no matter how brokenhearted we may feel at time, the power of love lives within us, and we can tap into it and become our creative best at any time.”

— quoted from the “Knowing Kushmanda” section of “Chapter 4 — The Art of Loving Your True Self” in The Way of the Goddess: Daily Rituals to Awaken Your Inner Warrior and Discover Your True Self by Ananta Ripa Ajmera

Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “02022025 So, Yes, It’s Groundhog Day”]

If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.

White Flag is a new app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.

If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).

“During that same meeting, I also told Mr. Denham that I didn’t want to put the company in danger, but I also never wanted to deny what I was. If someone questioned me directly, I couldn’t say, ‘No, I’m not black.’ Some of the other dancers suggested that I say I was Spanish. But that’s like telling the world there’s something wrong with what you are.”

— Raven Wilkinson quoted from the Pointe Magazine interview ” Raven Wilkinson’s Extraordinary Life: An Exclusive Interview” by Margaret Fuhrer (dated June 1, 2014)

### THANK YOU! I APPRECIATE YOU!! ###