Groundhog Day

I found this little vid on the wonderful blog, "Cute Overload." It made me laugh and then it made tears come out of my eyes from laughing! Apparently this kitteh's name is "Maru."




Aren't we all just like this?

Doing the same thing over and over, having the same problem over and over, getting stuck the same way over and over, using the same strategies over and over -- often using them to try to solve that same problem over and over!

"Oooh! what a wonderful box! I must investigate! Aaaagh!!! Get it off me!!! Oooh! what a wonderful box! I must investigate! Aaaagh!!! Get it off me!!! Oooh! what a wonderful box! I must investigate! Aaaagh!!! Get it off me!!!

Here is Maru the Kitteh again to demonstrate:



That wonderful unintentionally Buddhist film, Groundhog Day, certainly speaks to this human (and animal) tendency; making the same mistakes over and over, and (hopefully) eventually becoming more refined, more skillful.



I recall after my very first Sesshin, I was amazed at how much it all reminded me of that movie -- Groundhog Day. At Sesshin, we do the very same things every day. Same schedule, same work practice, same meditation hall, same dining hall, same bed, same chants, same everything, with very little variation. Only sometimes I'd feel in a hurry and forget to hold a door open, or move past someone in a sleep-deprived rush, maybe even somewhat rudely, focusing on getting me! me! me! to the Zendo on time, and then have hours of silence to recap the day; or at least my Inner Critic would.

So I noticed that I did manage to become ever more conscious every day. I'd move a little more aware of my surroundings and the people in them. I'd slow down and be able to look a little more deeply into what was in front of me. Ideally, that's what we're doing.

And of course here is that popular poem which expresses it so well:

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
Portia Nelson

1) I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in.
I am lost...I am hopeless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

2) I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I'm in the same place.
But it isn't my fault.
It still takes time to get out.

3) I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I see it is there.
I still fall in...it's a habit
My eyes are open
I know where I am
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

4) I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I walk around it.

5) I walk down another street.

Just a slightly unrelated note on dear Maru: I was also reminded of one of my favorite books as a child, My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes, by Eve Sutton.
My mom is quite masterful at taking on various accents, and would read in the appropriate accent:

The cat from Norway got stuck in the doorway!
But my cat likes to hide in boxes.

The cat from France liked to sing and dance!
But my cat likes to hide in boxes.

The cat from Spain flew a big aeroplane
But my cat likes to hide in boxes.

Here's Maru again -- just being himself.