We are right on time.

An introduction to how we got here, why it’s not our fault, (but still addressing our uncomfortable individual and collective responsibilities ) AND some beautiful possibilities.

A groundhog standing on its hind legs in the middle of a field of wildflowers with a full moon. AI by Oleg

We live in chaotic, messy times. So in that spirit, I will mix in science, pop culture and ancient wisdom stories. This overview (and review for my longtime readers) is an introduction to future posts and plays with groundhogs and butterflies.

Ready?!

This first post in a series will be on the long side, but it needed to be.

Feel free to scroll to the bottom and listen to the story in the audio link if you don't like reading a long post and prefer a 4 minute allegory.

OR just read the most essential part of this post located in between the lines of butterfly emojis 🦋 , if you're short on time or informational bandwidth.

Phil & Phil driving over a cliff in the movie “Groundhog Day”

There’s a compelling argument that the movie “Groundhog Day can be interpreted as a critique of late stage capitalism highlighting themes of existential despair, and the emptiness of consumerism” and nihilism.

There are also several other philosophical, and psychological interpretations generated by this classic movie. Fear of our shadows, etc.

And the deeper meaning of how Groundhog Day came to be is associated with Imbolc --the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox when everything looks and feels like the dead of winter*, but underneath the ground transformation is beginning to take place in preparation for spring. My favorite sacred holy day.

I also like the story of the caterpillar/chrysalis/ butterfly (popularized by Elisabet Sahtouris and Norrie Huddle ) in which the caterpillar plays the role of our current paradigm, voraciously consuming until it’s stuffed and exhausted and hangs itself up to create a chrysalis of transformation.

From the perspective of the caterpillar struggling to combat the imaginal discs with their digestive fluids before inevitably dissolving into bug soup, it probably feels like death. And it is the death of the caterpillar (although research shows the butterfly retains some of the memories of the caterpillar).

I try to minimize my use of AI, but I did ask Chat GPT to create this image of a groundhog and a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis.

Humanity is currently in a cyclical moment that looks a lot like the gooey, dissolving stage of the chrysalis. And just like that caterpillar, we are resisting changes that need to happen and will happen one way or another.

There's so much shame and blame being flung from all sides. So much vitriol about who needs need to change, what kinds of changes need to happen, whose fault is it that we got to this chaotic state.

But the truth is, while we all share responsibility to some degree or another, and the consequences of the pillaging caterpillars are wreaking havoc our life-threatening and grim, this is a predictable cyclical event. What happens next is not predictable, but chaos always precedes new creation.

It may feel like the movie “Groundhog Day” with seemingly endless repeating miserable cycles, but, just like the main character Phil (who goes through some pretty dark stages), I believe we are collectively learning from our mistakes and evolving.

We are right on time.

Every morning, when the alarm clock went off in the movie, it played “I've got you, Babe”. We all need to have each other's backs in times like these.

🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋

Here's my theory on how we got here (well, actually not truly mine, but one that is a compilation of a whole lot of other smarter people —and by the way, I will be oversimplifying for the sake of brevity).

Our brains (especially the left hemisphere), are focused on survival. They perceive anything unfamiliar, uncertain, insecure, painful or even uncomfortable as WRONG & BAD. Our brilliant brains will do anything,—including making up ridiculous stories (see split brain research for mind blowing evidence of this) to make sure we are safe.

When we feel unsafe, the automatic response is what I call the 4Fs (I added “Fix” —as in repair or numb with an addictive fix— to Fight fight, flee. ) When our nervous systems are activated and the 4Fs kick in, our neocortex (in charge of higher cognitive functions) goes off-line, our amygdala takes control, flooding us with cortisol, as our bodies prepare for taking defensive action against the perceived threat.

When we are thrown into reactive survival mode, (as so many of us with histories of trauma are much of the time and/or are currently experiencing current personal or collective traumatic events), it feels awful and it is difficult to function. No wonder we perceive it as “Wrong & Bad” and want to make it go away so we can survive this sense of real or perceived danger.

Obviously, survival is a good thing. We owe our lives to having taken countless measures of safety, (including making assumptions that something benign might be dangerous —like a possible snake that is actually a stick in the grass) and to the fact that our ancestors managed to stay alive. Or at least, long enough to procreate.

Oversimplified, diagram of the left and right hemispheres of the brain

It would be neat, tidy and harmonious if these two aspects were always in perfect balance. But that's not how life works.

We humans are a part of nature. And nature is cyclical.

Just as the days move from noon's brightest heat to midnight's cool darkness and the seasons shift from summer's bright warmth to winter's darker and chillier days, no one and nothing is immune from these cycles.

AND nature is full of surprises —like earthquakes or tornadoes. We humans are not immune from surprising and potentially devastating life storms either.

Our individual and collective lives (beginning and ending with the messy, painful events of birth and death) are constantly undergoing both cyclical and sudden, surprise changes.

Change is not only constant, but it is inevitable, and essential.

Any sense of security based on the idea of protection from change is an illusion. As is the belief that whatever is happening should not be—and someone must be to blame.

We might blame ourselves or whoever is the immediate cause of the pain or some person or group in power of the underlying events.

That being said, there definitely are perpetrators of harm that need to be stopped and boundaries that need to be held strong.

And we are all responsible for protecting the vulnerable (which may include ourselves and our planet) to the extent we are able —many factors affect each individual’s ability to take part these actions.

As challenging as it is, we are also responsible for paying much closer attention to what we are feeling as our bodies, minds and spirits take in what is happening around us and inside of us at this transformational time —to the best of our current and evolving ability.

Some days the best I can do is just show up! And given my trauma history, I try give myself a break if I find myself acting from the 4Fs.

However, blaming, shaming, and constant combat (which has been my prevailing strategy—usually turned inward) exacerbates whatever the issue is. This is not about fixing what's “Wrong & Bad” about us or “others” or the world.

Although we bear responsibility for our choices, blame is uncalled for.

We are unconsciously influenced by our neurobiology, and the various other levels of conditioning, including past and present life circumstances (much of which were beyond our control).

Internally, labeling circumstances, or people or ourselves as “Wrong & Bad” with the intention of fixing or punishing (I'll fix you!) is inaccurate, ineffective, a total buzz kill for the creative energy that is so necessary in the middle of crisis. That strategy sends us in the wrong direction and dissipates much needed creative energy as well as sabotaging community.

It can actually be toxic and perpetrate further harm. And it definitely serves the interests of those whose interests are served by keeping things going in a destructive direction.

Fortunately, the gift of neuroplasticity is available to all of us. We are fully capable of eradicating old neural pathways and generating new ones. It's a tricky process, but it can be done!

🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋

Photo from allofnature.blogspot.co.uk

Change and pain are not “Wrong & Bad”! Neither is resistance to them or the tendency to blame. All of this is totally natural. But what if, by changing our perspective and our coping strategy we could co-create a completely different way of life?!

I'm not saying it is possible or even desirable to be saint-like— always turning the other cheek and trusting that good will prevail over evil. But here is something to consider.

What if evil (and in this, I include horrible circumstances) has a purpose ? Click this link ⬆ for the best explanation I've ever found as to why evil exists, and why the strategies I will propose in subsequent posts, make sense.

Messiness and chaos (and sometimes “evil” surprises) are underneath all of creation. It is how we evolve.

Imagine if there were no cycles. Perpetual daylight and summer. Immortality and total harmony. Complete security and nothing changes. Ever. That may sound like heaven, and you might think you would like it, (I can see where it might sound more attractive than our current wild reality!) but it would never work. And, even if it were somehow logistically possible, I’m pretty sure it would get old really quickly!

Insipid cherub from Dreamstime images

Of course we want life to be easy, pleasurable and comfortable. In addition to our incredibly powerful childhood, ancestral, cultural, and neurobiological conditioning; easy and comfy feel good! And confusion and pain feel bad! OF COURSE we resist anything painful and uncertain! Our brains labeled that as the danger zone!

But if it is not possible or beneficial to have a pain-free life, and if shame, blame and resistance to this only causes more pain and strife, isn't it worth exploring different navigational strategies?

Throughout our history from the time when we were no longer small, scattered bands up to our current, complicated world, we have become increasingly left brained and more likely to shun the qualities of the right brain.

Here is a fascinating article featuring Ian McGillchrist and Jill Bolte Taylor (the brain scientist, who had the stroke and who's TED talk has been viewed 30,375,029 times) that helps explain the current left brain dominance and the effects this has had.

I believe this imbalance, has had a huge impact on both creating and now destroying all of the structures that we now see crumbling around us —including, of course, our planet, and so many living beings and entities in the more than human world.

Colonization, industrialization, patriarchy, racism, classism and all other forms of exploitation as well as the addictions (including the addiction to power by those who have been warped by unchecked privilege and consumption) that flourish with this kind of imbalance, once seemed like viable ways of life. At least to those who benefited from them. As I have.

But the Wheel of Life is turning, and as more and more people come to this realization, I am hopeful that together we can use the gifts of our right hemispheres (including some not mentioned in the diagram above like mystery and magic!) to co-create a new kind of world for a new cycle.

If you made it all the way through this very long post in the midst of the overload of information available to you and all of the craziness happening in the world right now, I am deeply grateful for your time and attention.

I am curious what your thoughts are about how we can support each other if you relate to being a fellow caterpillar, dissolving, imagining and creating. Please let me know in the comments! ✨🐛🍵🦋✨

The Goddess Brigid.

The wheel of life is constantly turning, and so is the wheel of the year.

In addition to the cross quarter celebration of the goddess Brigid on Imbolc (today through 2/3)🔥🥛, and Groundhog Day (2/2)🦫🕳️ there is also Candlemas, (2/2) 🕯️Yemanja day (2/2) 🌊🧜‍♀️and Setsubun (2/3 aka Japanese Bean Day) 👹🫘😃.

AND Imbolc falls on the full moon (in my sign of Leo) tonight. 🌝🦁) It truly feels like a potent time in so many ways, with so much to celebrate —for me in my currently safe little bubble. This is my favorite holiday season of the year!🎉

I was just reading from my book The Wheel of the Year this morning and was struck by how apt this is for our current time—and I'm not only referring to the season of winter.

As always; paradox's abound in liminal times like these (the space between stories, the Neitherlands, the woods between the worlds, the neutral zone, the special world —there are many names for this magic portal in the perilous adventure of life) .

So much to celebrate, as well as, SO much to mourn. Whether or not our old way of life worked for the benefit of all, many are experiencing grief in the loss of this familiarity. Especially when there is nothing yet to take its place and no guarantee that whatever happens next will be better. In fact, it looks pretty grim right now.

I personally, believe that things will degenerate further, and there will be tremendous loss, but I also have faith in magical possibilities we cannot yet fully imagine. I also trust that the there are ways to navigate these liminal spaces, to help bring about a new world. I will share more about that in subsequent posts.

On Candlemas, I will once again light a candle for my many loved ones in Minneapolis and to all of those who are not only having to endure the frigid temperatures and chaos in their day-to-day life right now, but especially those lionhearted ones showing up for their community in the brutal cold with the I.C.E. brutality.

And I light the candle for all of the innocent people swept up in senseless cruelty. My heart breaks every day for them. And especially for the children incarcerated or having lost their parents in the midst of the dark and cold time. The images of those faces are seared into my memory.

A fun project for creating beauty, light and warmth out of ice.

*at least in the frozen Northlands. I remember all too well (38 years of Minneapolis winters and 10 in Milwaukee), how desperately I clung to the idea that maybe some rodent poking its head out of a hole could make a difference in surviving the brutal winters which I always hated.

Shout out to my friends in the frozen Southlands in the U.S. right now as well. I'm guessing you'll be looking closely at that groundhog this year.!

Even though I didn’t actually believe that winter would be shorter by six weeks, at least it sometimes helped me burrow out of the hole of my usual winter depression with a fun reminder to celebrate something silly knowing spring would eventually come.

In an incredibly fortuitous twist of fate, (involving a surprise divorce and the total implosion of my previous world —which precipitated magical and miraculous events beyond anything I could've ever imagined, and which reshaped my entire way of life), I began a wonderful new life in California (15 years ago ) and winter is now, by far, my favorite season!

Also one other personal Groundhog Day note is that this will be the first year since 1973 that will not involve my mother --aside from me sending a greeting to her spirit. We transformed a significant, chaotic and heartbreaking event that happened to take place on that day into an annual celebration.

And in 2014, I started (what I didn’t know would become a yearly tradition with myself) offering myself up to a public new change! And I’m changing direction in terms of my substack offerings this year in honor of that!

Also, I am honoring the requests of those who wanted audio vs text. Here you go, my friends!

PS apologies if you received an extra email yesterday, entitled “What's good about evil?”I was trying to put it in my website under “explorations” and also in my notes, but it wasn't meant to go out to everyone.