Happy Ground Hog Day, 2023
Groundhog Day? Shadows? Happiness?
On February 2, 2023, so the story goes, Wiarton Willie who lives on the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario, did not see his shadow at exactly 8:07 a.m. So what?
Apparently, not seeing his shadow on the morning of February 2 in this small town on Georgian Bay means that Canada will endure six more weeks of winter.
Right.
Is that all? Now that February 2 is over for 2023, maybe we would be wise to listen to the wisdom of Wiarton Willie’s socially genetically connected relatives for the other 334 days of this calendar year.
How about asking the noble ground hog or marmot (pictured here) or a colony of Rocky Mountain Columbian Ground Squirrels not about the weather, but about how to thrive and survive times of hibernation followed by intense periods of socialization?
Rather than ask a single celebrity rodent a single question designed to lighten our February blahs, how about asking our burrowing rodent harbingers of optimism and activism – groundhogs, ground squirrels, marmots – how to thrive in the company of others in times of intensity and challenge?
I can imagine Gramma Groundhog’s Rules for Living Well, posted at the entrance of the Burrow:
In winter:
1. Sleep. Sleep all the time. And if you aren’t sleeping, listen to your Grampa snoring gently.
2. Huddle. Stay warm using your body heat.
3. Sleep until it is time for the babies to be born.
4. Once the kits are born and the ground has thawed, get up, get out and play in the sunshine.
Summer rules include:
5. Eat. Eat. Eat.
6. Find a mate and procreate. As the saying goes – make hay while the sun is shining.
That is pretty much sums up the first orders of seasonal living for a rodent with a short life span, but if time permits, the other rules for colony happiness include:
6. Stay alert
7. Communicate! If danger approaches – sound the alarm. Use your voices. Whistle sharply.
8. Be sociable.
9. Play. Run together and talk to each other.
10. Don’t stray too far from home, be home at sunset and retreat to safety often.
As for how this relates to our human communities? Our happy hormones rise in the sunshine, and sink in times of darkness. We lose energy and become lethargic – until the phone rings or a friend nudges us. Relationships are our best investment and communication is key.
Scientific studies related to human development as we age, stage, change, diminish and thrive through the seasons are definitive: Happiness and well being are highly correlated to our social fitness. The quality of our social relationships, like a colony of happy ground squirrels, is higher when we have good levels of emotional, physical and spiritual fitness.
Pay attention to the rules of the colony. Pay attention. Stay alert. Communicate your feelings – both positive and negative. Eat well and play often.
And always, always – stay curious and open minded. Life for ground squirrels and for each of us, is actually very short, but can be really fun, if you have a good imagination and a growth mindset.
Listen to Robert Waldinger’s TED Talk on what makes a good life.
And here is the link to his “secret to a happy life” interview.
