Groundhog Day and The Razor’s Edge—Two Tales of Rebirth of the Hero

The film Groundhog Day provides a wonderful story about reincarnation though based on a fantastical “time loop effect” whereby the weatherman protagonist, Bill Murray’s Phil, recycles through the same day, a Groundhog Day in small town America.  This man who starts out this day as a crass, cynical boor of a person, learns through trial and resurrection—again and again, gradually—to reorder his priorities and strengthen his  Self. Phil transforms as does a caterpillar to a butterfly, shedding his old, earthbound self to emerge as a spiritually enlightened Being.

This story reminds me of another that Bill Murray also starred in a version of: Somerset Maugham’s The Razor’s Edge, which is one of the greatest spiritual novels of all time. In The Razor’s Edge, a man, Larry Darrell,  disillusioned by classism, modern urban squalor and insincere human relations makes a personal pilgrimage to India, where he gains enlightenment and then returns to Chicago. Played originally by Tyrone Power in the 1946 film version of the story, Darrell’s (Power’s) eyes are blazing with the enlightenment or ‘holy fire’ he has gained after his Return, bringing the opportunity of mercy, growth and healing to his former fiancé and other ‘ugly American’ types.

So, resurrection and rebirth does not only apply to spiritual giants or exceptional Souls. Each of us, all of us—human and animals too—have the capacity for growth and learning, for trials and transformation of our life conditions and our very character. For it is character, not ego or personality, that we may aim to develop as we reflect deeply on our dispositions, forged through habit often, and make conscious choices to amend and improve our state.

Currently I am dealing with a diagnosis that my dear Soul friend, my dog-friend Sophia, is now diabetic. The doctor I have been led to promotes a healthful, radical change in Sophie’s diet, to virtually a vegetarian diet. This is hard for both myself—not a vegetarian—and for Sophie (but probably mainly hard for me to accept and fully administer). My goal of course is Sophie’s longevity and for her to beat this disease altogether.

Change is always challenging. But active change allows great opportunities for personal growth, spiritual advancement, and improvement.

images are from pixabay.com

What about you? What transformative change have you experienced or do you seek to undergo? Go for it!

I welcome YOUR comments and story!

A Montage: Light and Spirit (reblogged from AjayTao and Findingmy inner courage)

 

A innocent smile – Ajaytao

A smile of encouragement 
at the right moment may act 
like sunlight on a closed-up flower
it may be the turning point 
for a struggling life

Unknown

 

 

A pink rose – Ajaytao

morning dew
the subtle sigh
of a rose

Ernesto P. Santiago

 

Canvas of nature – Ajaytao

Don’t look for God in the sky
look within your own body

Osho

 

Within The Light That Does Get In

25TuesdayMar 2014

 

Posted by findingmyinnercourage

There is imperfection in everything. It lives everywhere in our lives; a break, a crack, a fault. We all find imperfections at some point, even if it’s in the smallest of cracks. Imperfection is not bad, it’s merely room for growth.

A cracked window offers a dark room light where one can start to see where we are meant to go next. For those of us who acknowledge our imperfections we learn to appreciate the lifeline to which we cling. Within the light that does get in we feel a love so pure and outreaching, leading to a healing within ourselves.

There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.

– Leonard Cohen

Glowing butterflies – Ajaytao

The flower is
the stem’s cry 
of beauty 
to the universe

Vassilis Comporozos

Crowning glory – Exquisite beauty – Ajaytao

Crowning glory – Exquisite beauty – Ajaytao

Simplicity is the final achievement
After one has played a vast 
quantity of notes and more notes
it is simplicity that emerges 
as the crowning reward of art

Frederic Chopin

White Mussaenda flowers – Ajaytao

White Mussaenda flowers – Ajaytao

A broken light bulb
It’s dawning
The naked street
A butterfly

Vassilis Comporozos

 

***

Thank you, AjayTao and Findingmyinnercourage.

May We All Let in the Light for Better Endings! 

 

 

“The Prologue to Compassion”, by Joshua Bertetta

Story of the Week on Habitual Better Endings:

 

It commenced with an inconsiderable light, an untinged light

It was perhaps part of what was, and what was was only black.

The light was with the black you see, and the light was the black.

And through this light that was the black and with the black, things came to be.

A light breeze scattered flecks of this light. A brief pause let the flecks settle and the wind returned to the inconsiderable light, only to pause again and again go forth to scatter flecks of light. And bit by bit this helpful little laawan broadcasted the light across the black. Bit by bit, the specks sprouted and in spouting, grew a little more with each breeze and each breeze, bit by little bit, continued depositing the little specks of light. Back and forth, back and forth, the busy little wind worked tirelessly, without haste, never whining, though it seemed its task would never cease.

Now as this little wind busied itself, “things” took “shape.” It wasn’t so much that things themselves were made per se, but something more akin to the idea of things took shape, for still, these “things” remained unlit. Until, that is, the wind draped color over the ideas, thus bestowing upon them their shapes. These were not your ordinary run of the mill colors, however, for the breeze did not bother itself with the blues and the reds and the yellows and the greens: no, it beheld the illuminateds and the lucents, the prismatics and iridiants, the opaques and the opalines.

Such provided the environment for the makings of things and things thus did form. First the dragonfly, then the flowers for the dragonfly, the grasses for the flowers, and the ground for the grasses. The water and the air. All pouring their colors and their shapes in tandem with the swashing wind. Hills unrolled in the distance, and trees.

Everything created in and by the light that was the dark and was with the dark.

Flowers giggled diamonds; the diamonds sirulated into butterflies and those butterflies, those luxuriant and splashy butterflies, dripped polygonal pollens and gave lines to birds.

Soften its features did the wind with its gentle comings and goings. This wind, this breath, this breath, just breathe, just breathe, just breathe.

And in that just-breathing did the breath find life; in finding life did the breath find flesh and in finding flesh the breath found itself, fulgurating, reflected in and by the light itself—the light that was the water, that was the ground, the dragonflies and butterflies, the fish, and all the flowers—all of it, every single little speck of it, the light that was the black and was with the black.

What it was it just was and in being was, it kept on being. Being what it was…what it was…it was is. It is what is. Being. Am. What was was was. What is is. What am.

The wind: Be.

The light: Am.

Being and am-ing, am-ing and being; so the wind, the breath, the breath moving in, the breath moving out, passing in, passing out, the breath that am the flowers and the fish, the butterflies and the dragonflies, the ground, the water, the light itself finding itself in the flesh finding itself in the breath, in am.

And thus began the knowing and with the knowing the naming and the first name was the wind’s name:

Rahim.

Bio: An aspiring novelist, Joshua Bertetta holds a Ph.D. in Mythological Studies from Pacifica Graduate Institute and teaches in the Religious Studies Department at St. Edward’s University. He lives in Austin, TX with his wife and three boys, His blog website is: http://storyofthefour.wordpress.com and he has a facebook group dedicated to his work at http://www.facebook.com/storyofthefour. Contact info: joshuabertetta8306@gmail.com

What Do Better Endings Mean to Me? by Catherine Williams

“Better Endings” means that in the past, I would have had some control over the outcomes of events in my life. Many things turned out to be unhappier than I had hoped.  If I were to rewrite some of my personal history, with better endings, I certainly would NOT be where I am now.  Since this is an imaginary rewrite, however, it might be fun to win all the lotteries, get all the Knights in Shining Armor, eat everything I want and wind up with a drop dead gorgeous figure, sin and still get to heaven, grow wise but not old, have lots of money without painful labor, and achieve enlightenment without any personal effort!

If I were to write a better ending for America, I would first state a caveat…I don’t want America to end! But a better ending to our present drama would include that our leaders were actually inspired to LEAD in a way that enhances the quality of life for all citizens.  It would mean developing a culture that has value for personal responsibility, bodily health, pursuit of spiritual evolution and pride for the strength, intelligence and productivity of all Americans.  If we were competing in a global market with people who were healthy, strong, fit, well educated, had high moral values, who loved each other and treated all with dignity and respect, then I think we would truly be worthy of competition amongst other nations.  That might be a better ending…or beginning!

Catherine Williams is a Certified Natural Vision Coach, a Doctor of Clinical Hypnotherapy and a Cosmetologist and Salon Owner.  She operates her various businesses­­ from her home in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and can be reached at The Wave Salon at 719-380-0735. 

To contact Catherine for natural vision therapy, go to www.ReverseTheBlur.com

 

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