HERE'S How To PREPARE For ALL Of LIFE'S DO OVERS....!

 

Young Matt Murdock: So what kind of training is this?

Stick: You like ice cream?

Young Matt Murdock: Yeah.

Stick: Then shut up and eat it. I'll ask the questions. First thing you gotta understand is nobody feels sorry for you and nobody ever will. 'Cause when it comes to being born lucky you won the friggin' lottery.

Young Matt Murdock: I did?

Stick: [Smacks him with his cane] What did I say about questions?

Young Matt Murdock: "Shut up."

Stick: Good. How old were you when you got blinded?

Young Matt Murdock: Nine.

Stick: Nine? So you had nine whole years of looking at movies, blue skies, up girlies' skirts that I never had. I was born blind. You don't hear me whining about it, do you?

Young Matt Murdock: No.

Stick: So, you're nine years old, walking along, minding your own business and whammo! Get hit by a truck, killed dead on the spot.

Young Matt Murdock: I wasn't killed.

Stick: You lived? Praise God, it's a miracle. So you survive the truck and get this chemical shit in your eyes. What next?

Young Matt Murdock: I hear things.

Stick: What kind of things?

Young Matt Murdock: Everything. Coughs and fights and cats meowing. Sometimes blocks away. I can sense things. I know where things are and when they move. But I can't see.

Stick: You know what they call stuff like that? Gifts. The special kind. The kind that very few people have. Or deserve.

Young Matt Murdock: I never thought of it that way.

Stick: Well, that's because you're stupid.

Young Matt Murdock: I'm not stupid, I'm smart.

Stick: Because you taught yourself how to run your little fingers over the bumps and read Braille? Smart don't come out of books, kid. Smart is making the right decision at the right time. Like now. What's it gonna be, Matty? You gonna spend your life crying and rocking yourself to sleep at night? Or are you gonna dig deep and find out what it takes to reshuffle those cards life dealt you? Your call. [Matt looks at Stick] [chuckles] Good choice, kid.

FROM MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT: THE DAREDEVIL

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Growing up in the 80's, Bill Murray was one of my comic heroes.  As I am quite sure he still is for many fans of comedy.  But there is one particular film of his that is much more profound for its inherent nature of sharing many truths about the path to self improvement that it is given credit for.  The film is called ‘Groundhog Day’ and if you have yet to see it, I highly suggest carving out some time in the near future to do so!  

The film is also a wonderful representation of one of life's greatest gifts, that being the delectable DO OVER.  And for those of us who use this magnificent opportunity when in it presents itself in our lives, it is perhaps the most effective manner in which to be RE-BIRTHED into a Greater Version of The Greatest Vision of yourself!  

In the film, Bill Murray's character gets caught up in a ‘time loop’ that has him reliving the exact same day, Groundhog Day in fact, over and over.....and OVER again!  Each morning as he awakes, the day starts EXACTLY as it did the day before.  As he progresses  through each day, he is confronted at the same time by the exact set of individuals and circumstances from the day before.  A virtual life glitch that has no ON/OFF button he can find.  

Murray plays an obviously discontented meteorologist who believes the menial task of traveling to Punxsutawney, PA to cover this annual event is way beneath his talent and good sensibilities.  Like most films transcendent in nature, there are many lenses through which the manner in which the story unfolds can be interpreted.  For me, it is a superb metaphor for the way that the Universe, sensing a need, will essentially RECREATE a very similar set of circumstances in our lives from the past, giving us the opportunity to engage them(Hopefully) with a new earned sense of understanding and change in perspective;  basically we are given the gift of a DO OVER!   And very often, if the prerequisite lessons are not learned, the Universe has absolutely NO problem setting up the circumstances once again, until we finally grasp the knowledge that these events were provided for.  Some of us are perhaps slower learners than others, and that is OK!

The movie plays out such an example on DAY 3 of this perpetual GROUNDHOG DAY.  Murray's character once again steps in the middle of a large muddy puddle, ruining his shoes and pants, still not having learned his lesson from the previous two days.  Sound familiar?!  Filled with self judgement, he begins to despair his actions and choices in life.  Again, does that resonate with you?!  It sure does with me!  LOL  That night in a local bar, he decides to drown his sorrows with booze and says, “I was in the Virgin Islands once.  I met a girl.  We ate lobster and drank pina coladas.  At sunset we made love like sea otters. THAT was a pretty good day.  Why couldn't I get that day over and over again?”  Ah, but what lessons could be drawn from reliving a magnificent day such as that?  No, we receive FAR more wisdom and knowingness from reliving situations that caused us despair, pain, and suffering.  At at its core, that is exactly what a DO OVER is all about!

In fact, I am currently in the middle of a DO OVER myself.  And I couldn't be more THRILLED!  I mean how often have you even prayed for a chance to go back in time and relive a set of experiences, already knowing how you would engage them with a higher sense of care, consideration, and intent?  Well guess what, the Universe has this paradigm built into its programming.  And when there are certain lessons and knowledge that are needed to complete your Hero's/Heroine's Journey, the Universe, like a genie in a ‘life circumstantial’ bottle, will offer you the opportunity that you seek.  You will inevitably receive a DO OVER that mimics many of the same set of circumstances as something that has transpired before.  Just like MAGIC!  All in the hopes that THIS time, you will grasp the gift and opportunity at hand, and receive this gift with reverence and awareness!  

Murray's character Phil, after sensing there is nothing he can do but ACCEPT his situation of reliving each day over and over again, finally succumbs to his reticence about the situation and begins an arc of self improvement.  He begins practicing generosity, reading books, taking piano lessons, and even learning French!   Admittedly, many of his actions are at first all in an attempt to impress his producer Rita.   It isn't until Phil (Murray) begins to Let Go and Let God and allow the changes he has made in himself to be experienced and noticed by those around him in a truly authentic manner, that he wakes up and it is FINALLY February 3rd, the day AFTER Groundhog Day.  His lessons learned, his purpose now clear, he is allowed to continue on with his life!  

What I find quite fascinating, is that the film's late director and comic genius in his own right, Harold Ramis has been quoted as saying that Phil (Murray) needed close to 30-40 years of reliving the same day to  have the lessons he needed for his Hero's Journey to be fully engrained in his sense of BEING.  And as harsh as that may sound, I know that it has taken me decades to finally come to the understanding and full comprehension of many of my own life lessons!  There are many more I am still working on!   And, if you are truly honest with yourself, I am quite sure the same rings true for you!  Agreed?!  :0)

Life is a constant Journey, that allows us many opportunities for us to learn from our past mistakes and is more than gracious in sending us as many DO OVERS as we may need until we receive with deep reverence the knowledge and understanding at their core.  However, it is up to us to stay AWARE.  We are often so consumed with LIFE, that we are not present enough to recognize that circumstances are lining up in such a transformative and magical manner to allow us to relive our own version of Groundhog Day for the Re-memberance it can bring.  And when we are fortunate enough to have the Universe bless us with such a gift, enter into it with verve, gusto, and no fear!  Become a SOULdier of Love, and a Steward of Remembrance to extract every juicy amount of wisdom the opportunity was brought to unfold into your experience! 

And BE AWARE, if you chose NOT to learn from these blessed gifts of DO OVERS, they WILL RETURN.  So it's your call!  Do the work NOW, or later.  Either way, eventually it must be done!   
And take it from me, the longer you wait, the harder it is and the more it HURTS!  

BE SUPER HEROIC!

BE LOVE - SERVE ALL - INSPIRE ALWAYS

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez