Today, I want to write about a connection I made between Slowing Down to the Speed of Joy and Groundhog Day The Musical.

It happened when I read these lines from the book:

A life dominated by urgent, busy and hurry is incompatible with the health and well-being of the human person, and incompatible with the things we say matter most.

Take relationships as an example. Love says: “I see you. I hear you. I am with you. I care. Rest a while. You are safe here with me. You are worthy.” (Pg. 7)

“Love says: I see you…” I immediately thought of the song “Seeing You” from the musical. I thought of how Phil Conners was stuck in the time loop until he slowed down, was humbled, accepted his situation as it was, and loved other people.

You may not have seen the play. For many years, I wanted my kids to see Broadway plays with me. No one ever wanted to, until one day in 2017, when Joseph asked me to take him to New York to see Groundhog Day The Musical. And so we went. It was very much like the movie, but with wonderful songs. And if you haven’t seen the movie, I highly recommend it. I’m planning on rewatching it this year on February 2nd. Also, if you don’t want the story to be spoiled for you; then you should stop reading this post right now. I’m gonna tell the story of the musical in my own words.

Phil Connors is a self-centered and arrogant weatherman. He is going to a small town in Pennsylvania, called Punxsutawney, to report on the groundhog coming out. Will he or will he not see his shadow? The townsfolk celebrate and enjoy Groundhog Day, but Phil thinks it’s lame and doesn’t wanna be there. His attitude seems to be saying, “let’s just get this over with” and I think he has an underlying belief that tomorrow is going to be better.

Well, it turns out a big snowstorm (that he didn’t predict) comes in and he’s stuck there overnight along with his coworker, Rita. When he wakes up in the morning, it is Groundhog Day once again. He is stuck in a time loop; reliving the same day over and over again.

Before I continue with the story, I wanted to mention another song from the musical that I like called “One Day”. It ends Act One, and at the end of the song, the whole cast is involved and people are singing things that they will do one day.

I’ll cut down on fried chicken takeaway… one day I will do it… one day I’ll stop drinking so much… some day, I’ll buy her that ring… and the one that gets me is this: one day I’ll get a new safety clip for my holster… It opens too quick… I’ll do it next week…

How often do I put things off until tomorrow or next week? Procrastination can be a trap just as easily as urgency can be. But let’s get back to the story.

Phil goes through thinking he’s mental and visiting doctors. He wastes time getting drunk, philandering, eating, stealing money and other things that don’t make him happy. He spends time trying to end his life and is unsuccessful. Next he tries to learn everything about his coworker Rita to get her to love him. It can’t be done in one day. So he tells her what’s going on with him and she gives him more ideas of what he could do with this time. He could learn things, fix mistakes, help people…

For a while, he tries to stop a homeless man from dying on Groundhog Day. (I believe the song during this is called “Night Will Come”. It ends with some foreshadowing. This line is repeated three times: You’ve gotta love life…) He must accept the fact that he can’t stop the man from dying. And he finally accepts that he’s stuck in the time loop.

Neither the movie, nor the Broadway play, say how long he’s stuck in it. Some people on the Internet have estimated 30 to 40 years, in order for him to learn all the things he learned to do, and include all of the time he wasted.

This brings us to “Seeing You”. I think this link will bring you to the song if you want to hear it. I love this song.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gjqcTHQ0ijo

If not, the main lyrics are:

I thought I’d seen it all

Was sure by now, I knew this place

I swear that I knew every hair

Each line upon your face

I thought the only way

To better days was through tomorrow

I know now that I know

I know now that I know nothing

But I’m here

And I’m fine

And I’m seeing you for the first time

I’m a sucker for conversion stories. I love to see attitudes change for the better. And in this story, it’s Phil’s humility that allows him to slow down, and accept the moment exactly as it is, and to have love and gratitude.

He slows down by letting go of working so hard to change his situation.

As Matthew Kelly says:

Busy prevents us from enjoying the things we are doing. (Pg. 8)

You can see this clearly in the movie when Phil is trying to fit everything into one day to make Rita fall in love with him and he’s getting stressed and irritable, which is making her even less likely to fall in love with him. He is still being selfish at that point, working at his own agenda.

The speed of our lives prevents us from recognizing the subtlety of human emotion and the people around us. (Pg. 9)

Slowing down and seeing Rita is what makes him attractive to her.

Other lyrics from “Seeing You”:

Trying to forecast the future

Always staying a day ahead

Well, that was the idea

And I’m here

How often do I project into the future in an attempt to be prepared for it? How often do I worry about things that never happen? How often do I miss what’s right in front of me? There are just so many relatable ideas in this story. 

OK, that’s enough about Groundhog Day. I definitely haven’t finished talking about slowing down yet. More posts to come.

Slowing down and simplifying are some of my favorite topics. I was thinking about slowing down when my pastor announced that they were giving away these books on the first day of Advent. I knew I had to read it.

I’ll admit I haven’t been a huge Matthew Kelly fan. I remember, years ago, someone suggested that we read one of his books at my homeschool moms group and I expressed my dislike of his books. I don’t remember why. I think I thought he would take the ideas of spiritual classics and make them sound like new ideas. And now I will let you know how really judgy and uncharitable I can be. Some years I would follow along with his Best Lent Ever series, and although I appreciated what he would say, I criticized how he looked. I thought he looked unwell and seemed a little fake. I suspected that he was pretending all was well when it wasn’t. (And how do I know that people do this? Because I’ve done it myself.) Maybe it was a case of being bothered by someone because they exhibit some of the traits that you don’t like in yourself.

Now, after reading Slowing Down to the Speed of Joy, I have a whole new attitude towards him. I think we may be kindred spirits! I have a new respect for his honesty and humility. And clearly, we struggle with the same things. 

The first thing that I underlined in this book:

Do you feel like you are doing enough?

(Pg. 2)

Good question. Most of the time I feel like I’m doing too much. But then why do I keep saying that I wanna catch up, and why do I feel behind? It sounds like I think I should be doing more.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of caring too much about things that don’t matter enough. Those things can be material possessions, but they can also be projects, other people’s opinion, social engagements, and a myriad of things we say yes to without considering the implications.

(Pg. 3)

I used to think that decluttering and organizing my possessions would help me to be less busy, and it may help, but it doesn’t solve the problem entirely. Then, I realized the importance of good habits to maintain order in my home, and for my personal health. Later, I found that reducing my distractions was necessary. Today, I’m thinking that slowing down requires humility and prayer.

Why are you so busy?

(Pg. 6)

My immediate response is fear. That sense of urgency might be a reaction to some sort of anxious feeling. (A trap is a good way to describe it.) The activities keeping me busy seem like a plan to get to peace, when really slowing down is the way to it. Being fully present in the moment and knowing I’m not alone brings me peace. Being aware that I have a loving God taking care of me, and everything else, brings me peace. I just need to let go of what I want, and trust in the One who knows everything, is all powerful, and all good.

I’ll continue to ponder “busy” and “slowing down”and some ideas from this book in future posts.