Stages of Enlightment

At the beginning of "Groundhog Day" Phil is a rude, self centered individual who seems to have no respect for anyone, not even himself.  When he realizes that he is trapped in the same day, he takes advantage of being able to do whatever he pleases without facing any consequences.  He takes advantage of people who have done nothing to him.  We see as he becomes more aware of himself and who he truly is inside, he starts to change into a person who cares more about others than anything else. 

Phil has to go through many incidents before he understand that he cannot always have what he wants, even if he knows the future.  He comes to understand that there is sometimes things that you cannot control, and this is when he begins to discover he needs to be a better person.  In a way he has an epiphany, or he becomes enlightened.  His path that he chooses to try to help people in the town takes him in the right direction to find the way to "tomorrow."  In order for him to cross the path to reach his enlightened area, he has to first see how he can help others, and how others can help him.  His good deeds such as saving the man in the restaraunt from choking, or doing his best to save the old man from dying of natural causes, open his eyes to a whole different perspective of life which is what he needs in order to reach his highest potential. 

His enlightment also comes greatly from Rita, who helps him see that he has to do a lot more than "act" as though he knows her, but he needs to genuine about the things he does and tells her.  Rita has the ability to see through Phil's sincere voice and can see from a mile away that he's not genuine about anything he says or does.  Once she breaks his heart over and over, he comes to understand that he has to open himself up to her, and maybe, just maybe, in return, she will do the same.  Once Phil has Rita understand everything he is going through he becomes content with himself and is able to open his eyes to many points of view.

Enlightment starts out with one understanding what their particular problem is and having the courage to accept it, face it, and be able to move forward.There is a prayer that says, "God, grant me the serentiy to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdome to know the difference."  I feel that Phil goes through these three phases in order to reach "tomorrow."  He learns that he cannot save the old man from dying and futhermore cannot rescue everyone every single day, develops the courage to change himself into a better person and to change things that are changeable, and lastly he becomes able to know the difference between situations that can be controlled and those that cannot.  I feel that being enlightened takes realization first off, then comes serenity, courage, and wisdom, and before you know, "today is tomorrow."

The Long Road to Success

Everyone has to overcome many shadows in their life to find the truth and reach the light at the end of the tunnel.  Almost every situation that a person enters has obstacles they have to overcome in order to come out of the situation.  My older brother, was faced with an obstacle about a year ago.  He was in college, working his way up to get his teaching credential, but also working in a group home.  He is hard worker, whether it be at school or work.  One day, his boss offered him a full time job with benefits and a good hourly wage.  Obviously he was torn.  He was so close to finishing school, but yet, if he took the full time job, he would have to quit school.  His boss told him that he could not guarentee my brother a full time job once he had graduated because it would depend on if spots became available.  My brother made the wise decision to finish out his college career.  Throughout the rest of his college career,  my brother, just like every other college student, struggled to pay rent and other various bills, he struggled getting into classes and keeping his grades up in these classes even though he worked hard.  All of these things were shadows that were blocking his sunlight, and sometimes it seemed impossible for him to reach the light at the end of the tunnel. There were many times that he wanted to give up and take the full time.  But then again, who wouldn't?  He would  be able to quit school, make a good amount of money, and have a base to start his career and work his way up in the company.  There were many times he would pick up the phone to call his boss, and then put it down because although it was the easy way out, he knew getting a degree was worth the time and energy.

Finally, he graduated.  And now, he does not regret a single moment of the struggle.  He now has a full time job getting paid twice as much the amount his boss offered and is more educated than he ever could have imagined.  With the help, support and courage of family and friends, my brother pulled through and took the long road to success.  He climbed mountains and jumped through hoola hoops, but in the end, made it to see the light at the end of the tunnel.