I Like to Say a Prayer and Drink To World Peace”

Albert Einstein famously said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result. I don’t know about you, but I am absolutely guilty of this every so often. I get stuck in a familiar loop, convincing myself, this has to work this time. Same effort. Same approach. Same outcome.

Today is February 2nd — Groundhog Day. The day we collectively wait to see whether a groundhog (most famously Punxsutawney Phil) sees his shadow. Shadow means six more weeks of winter. No shadow means an early spring. This blonde only realized a few years ago that spring technically arrives in six weeks anyway… but traditions are traditions, and here we are.

While it’s not an official holiday, February 2nd gave us a gift back in 1993: the movie Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray as Phil Connors, a cynical local weatherman sent to cover the festivities in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. A snowstorm traps Phil and his crew overnight — except Phil doesn’t just spend the night. He ends up reliving the same 24 hours over and over again.

I won’t recount the entire movie here (though I could — it’s firmly in my top five cinematic picks), but what I will say is this: the film is a master class in what happens when we stay the same.

Phil wakes up every morning at 6:00 a.m. to Sonny & Cher’s I’ve Got You Babe. At first, he repeats every move from the day before. Then he starts experimenting. Each new morning becomes a chance to change things — indulgence, arrogance, charm, cruelty, excess. He tries being outrageously rude. He tries being wildly self-serving. He tries manipulating outcomes. Yet no matter what he does — good or bad — the result never changes. He is stuck. Eternally.

As the story unfolds, Phil falls in love with his producer, Rita. Day after day, he learns her likes, her quirks, her values. In one scene, he orders her exact cocktail — knowledge gained from countless previous days — and offers a toast: “I like to say a prayer and drink to world peace.” Rita is stunned by the synchronicity. It feels magical. Meant to be.

But the magic doesn’t actually come from knowing the script. It comes later.

It isn’t until Phil stops trying to control the outcome — stops performing, manipulating, repeating — and starts genuinely changing himself that time finally moves forward. He learns. He gives. He becomes kind without expecting anything in return. He learns to love Rita, yes — but more importantly, he learns to love who he is becoming.

And only then does the alarm clock change. Only then does February 3rd arrive.

That’s the quiet truth hidden inside Groundhog Day: nothing changes unless you change. Not the day. Not the season. Not the outcome. We can wake up to the same song every morning and swear this time will be different — but until we do something differently, until we choose growth over habit, awareness over autopilot, we’ll keep living the same day.

Sometimes the shadow isn’t cast by a groundhog at all. Sometimes it’s our own unwillingness to change.

🟤🟤🟤🟤🟤🟤🟤🟤🟤🟤🟤🟤🟤🟤🟤🟤🟤🟤

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Author: KikiFikar

Kiki Fikar is a native New Yorker who is passionate about taking the day to day life we all experience and sharing it in her tales from Suburbia. She will often be found at the gym, writing snippets each day for future story lines, listening to her two children create their lives, and building the perfect beachfront home and writing retreat in her mind.

37 thoughts on “I Like to Say a Prayer and Drink To World Peace””

  6. Haha, love this… Groundhog Day really shows that change starts with us, not the calendar. And I know if that rotten doesn’t end this winter soon, we’re throwing him on the grill and having some groundhog burgers 🥩🐾

    Liked by 1 person

  8. great post Karen! I am a huge fan of this philosophy and have applied it to much success in different parts of my life. may we all be the change we want! Mike

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Loved that film 🙂 I’m not convinced we have a regular cycle any more, not as it was some years back, I kind of expect our weather Winter to start now and into March, we shall see 😉

    Liked by 1 person

  13. HA! I just snorted which is how you know you get to me! Lol this cold is INSANE! I love winter clothes and coats but I’m bundled up like the kid from A Christmas Story every day. Praying for my flip flops!

    Thanks for reading my friend! ❤️

    Liked by 1 person

  16. 😂😂😂 HaHa !!! The snort…. That’s how you know it’s real …
    I am so ready for Spring… But …. NO!!! Not the flip flops 😭🩴😂
    Anything but the flops. The smack-smack on sweaty feet? Eek 😬🙅‍♂️

    Liked by 1 person

  20. nothing changes unless you change. Not the day. Not the season. Not the outcome. We can wake up to the same song every morning and swear this time will be different — but until we do something differently, until we choose growth over habit, awareness over autopilot, we’ll keep living the same day.

    Sometimes the shadow isn’t cast by a groundhog at all. Sometimes it’s our own unwillingness to change. 💯 great stuff… great job… spoke to me… 😎

    Liked by 1 person

  21. I’m so happy you liked it! Sometimes these movie scripts are pure fluff but this one got to me over the years. Each time I watch it I take something different away with me. Kind of like the concept of reliving the same day.

    Happy you are here! ❤️

    Liked by 2 people

  22. It’s a good one… I’ve seen it several times… but now I will definitely look at it differently… thank you… have a good day… not the groundhog kind lol

    Liked by 1 person

  25. I was thinking about this while writing in my journal this morning. I was reflecting on my efforts to stay out of the same crazy cycle that has affected my family for generations. My family tries to drag me back in, but I know better and continue to push back. We need to be willing to change and then stay on that course. It’s not good to keep repeating the same mistakes over and over.

    Liked by 1 person

  26. It’s hard to change isn’t it? Change can be life saving stuff but it’s hard to take the first step! Wishing you peace and hopes that you always have strength to keep going! ❤️

    Liked by 1 person

  28. LOVE that movie! The scene towards the end where he’s mastered everything… what his cameraman says, the old guy, the annoying insurance guy… ice sculpting, piano virtuoso, the shades, saving the guy with the Heimlich…also one of my top fives. Bill Murray is so friggin funny 😎👏❤️

    Liked by 1 person

  30. You must have seen him in Stripes (?) Oh man, funny… the motivational speech to the guys the night before the big inspection… Sgt Hulka… psycho… what a riot! 😂🤣

    Liked by 1 person

  32. Bob is a riot! Poor Richard Dreyfuss 😂 And meatballs, funny and with a nice takeaway. I read that during much of Caddyshack, he’d had a few and much of his stuff was ad libbed. SO much talent.

    What about SCTV? Lotsa great folks there… Joe Flaherty as Guy Caballero in and out of the wheelchair… was watching some low-budget flick the other night and the continuity people weren’t on the ball… this one character, a young teen gal, was popping in and out in diff scenes just like Guy 😂

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  33. I just screeched. Guy Caballero! What a long forgotten memory! Lol SCTV was incredible. I was just searching YouTube last week for SCTV skits with Catherine O’Hara. That whole cast was talented. Every last one! Ok now I need to watch Guy!! lol

    Liked by 1 person

  34. We’ve all been there…. trying to actually hack a situation or a person by saying exactly what we think they want to hear.
    “Sometimes the shadow isn’t cast by a groundhog at all. Sometimes it’s our own unwillingness to change.” – this line is a keeper indeed and wishing you an awesome week ahead my friend ♥️😇

    Liked by 1 person

  36. Apparently Bill Murray relives Groundhog Day for at least ten years, at most thirty plus years. Sort of gives you an idea of how difficult change can be. Science says the brain interprets change as a threat, at least to the extent that change requires more energy in a situation where the body is designed to be energy efficient… And here I thought people were just more inclined to defend their choices, being unable to admit that perhaps they were wrong, and someone else was right. Tut-tut.

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  37. This so true. It is an actual science. I’m working on a project now that deals with change in Autism. It’s really fascinating! Thank you so much for reading and commenting. I appreciate this so much!

    Liked by 1 person

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