It’s Groundhog Day, and though I don’t necessarily trust the meteorological forecast of a large rodent, I imagine it can’t be much worse than the never-accurate predictions I get from the Weather Channel app on my tablet.
But I don’t want to talk about rodents—either the groundhog or the weatherman variety.
I want to talk about change.
If you get down to it, Groundhog Day is only a holiday because it marks a turning point. The pagans called it Imbolc, and it marked the day when everybody collectively agreed they could see the light at the end of winter’s long tunnel and they knew spring was coming soon.
Now, anybody who’s read my blog this year knows I’m kind of a fan of winter—or, at least, the way the cold weather makes my poor, overworked brain feel like it can work a little faster than it does during the hot, muggy summer.
But today? I realize that it’s not so much WINTER that I embrace every year but CHANGE: the changing calendar at the New Year, my changing body and attitude as I carry out my goals, and, of course, the changing seasons (which, luckily, we get to experience here where I live in New Jersey).
I always hear about how much people fear and hate change, doing anything they can to keep things exactly the same in their lives, and I find myself thinking: Are they crazy?
Me? I love change. Can’t get enough.
At least once every six months, I feel compelled to move my furniture around into some new arrangement. Even that kind of small change makes me feel empowered, like anything is possible.
I’m always starting some kind of new self-improvement plan or taking a class because, no matter how well I might be doing, I always fervently believe I can still change for the better.
Change may be my oldest and very best friend.
And as much as other people seem to cringe when they hear that things might be changing, the truth is, they’re fooling themselves. Whether they realize it or not, they love change, too.
Just look at Groundhog Day—when people go nuts counting down the days left until spring. That little transition from winter snow to spring flowers? Hate to break it to you, folks: It’s change.
And change is a wonderful thing.
