Bill Murray Has the Secret To Healing Your Life

I have a confession to make.

I love movies. Not in a classy way, like loving cinema or indie films, but straight-up, main-stream popcorn-chugging flicks. Other people are audiophiles or literary snobs; I’m a major studio movie freak.

I love them because I do believe, as Steve Martin says in Grand Canyon, “all life’s riddles are answered in the movies.” Yes, really. No, not really…but sorta really.

In this regard, I was perusing my DVD collection last night and pulled out the early 90′s classic, Groundhog’s Day. As I watched it for the twentith time, I realized it’s such a metaphor for personal growth work.

If you’ve never seen it, Bill Murray plays jerky weatherman Phil who gets stuck reliving the same wintery day in a small town in Pennsylvania. Realizing that no matter what he does, he will wake up the next morning with no consequences, he goes through many stages of acting out.

First, he tries his hand at theft and reckless behavior, and uses the situation to satisfy all his animalistic desires. Getting bored with that, he sees the glimmer of something worth working for–the heart of a kind and soulful woman.

But the Beloved cannot be won through trickery and manipulation, he finds out. She cannot fall in love with him because, as he blandly confesses, ”I don’t even like myself.” Now that his veneer of pleasure has worn away and the veil has parted so that he sees the truth of the life he has made, he falls into despair.

He begins the process of literal self-destruction, but, for whatever magical (spiritual?) reason, he continues to keep waking up alive on that same Groundhog’s Day morning. Having eventually grown weary of punishing himself, he finds humility, which draws his Beloved nearer.

This helps him to realize the importance of honesty with himself and he finally starts to work on becoming the kind of man he can enjoy being (instead of pretending to be). By the end, he’s living a day that makes him happy regardless of the future, and he is united with his Beloved.

And yes, it’s Bill Murray, for pete’s sake, but it’s really a funny and truthful movie about all the ways a person can live a life that makes them unhappy, and the one way to live instead a happy life.

So what’s the secret to living a happy life? Well, you should watch the movie, first of all. It’s much more evocative to see it in story. But I’ll give it to you in prose:

• Be honest with yourself.
• Take personal responsibility for your behavior and what parts you play in relationships.
• Be compassionate with others.
• Give back as much as you can.
• Take care of your mind, body, emotions, and spirit.
• If you want to learn something, practice hard and be patient.
• Forgive yourself for your mistakes.
• And remember that all you have to make yourself happy is the present moment.

If there are other fans out there, I’d love to hear your comments on what secrets to happiness you’ve gleaned from Bill.

p.s. I’m not the first person to find psychological depth in Groundhog Day. Check out this journal article, if you dare: Revisiting Groundhog Day (1993): Cinematic Depiction of Mutative Process.