09
Feb
Let me start off by saying that I never lied about my abilities. I was just doing my thing and some people assumed I knew what I was doing. Does anyone care that the scientific chance of me being right is around 40-50% – basically a coin toss? I guess not that much, since the tradition is still alive and thriving.
Moreover, I am not the only one. It’s a cultural thing. Other countries have bears or badgers as their weather person. I heard that they are not that easy to get an interview with, especially during this time of the year, so that’s why I am the official spokesperson of the event. Not that I’m not constantly booked, because I am, but I am also a critter of the people. I will always be there for the people.
Shall we discuss this yearly event from an experienced point of view? I believe that would be delightful. But I will move the focus on you (and by you I mean humans and not woodland creatures, as I know their Internet access is not the best) and try to answer the most compelling questions.
What do the people really want?
I bet you are here to hear about the real process, how it is to be on the other side of the red curtain. Just to make sure everyone gets the basic idea, people believe that if I leave my den on the 2nd of February and see my own shadow, winter will continue for 6 more weeks. If not, spring will show its rays earlier that year.
This is what they believe. I never told them this. It was never on my CV. That is the thing about humans, they always need certainty. It doesn’t even matter where it comes from. Even more intriguing, they tend to think that, if a tradition is still going on, it increases in credibility. Weather is one of those things they can’t control, nor fully predict. They can try to. They make businesses and television programs about it. However, in the end, we are all at the whim of the sky.
I merely get out of my den because Valentine’s Day is approaching (the perfect time to look for a mate). They have linked this natural behavior with the beginning of spring, and why would I be to blame for that? Let them think what they want to think, as long as I am not a victim of their belief system. Probably the fact that that particular date symbolizes the cross-quarter day helps the foundation of their stories. It is the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, making it a rather mystical sounding day.
People are really good at twisting details in their favor. I like that about them. But it is an odd phenomenon, to say the least. They decide everything in order to create the perfect scenarios in which someone else makes the decision for them.
Who is afraid of their own shadow?
Okay, look, the truth is that cloud cover is the real buzzword behind everything that takes place on that day. If the day happens to be particularly sunny, I will most likely see my shadow. And – as embarrassing it is for me to confess this – I happen to be a little teeny bit scared of my shadow. But just a bit. I don’t know why. Maybe I am just not used to it. Maybe, after months of hibernating in a dark and humid place, my fur tends to look quite frizzy and unkempt. I don’t want to appear on National Television like this!
By golly, maybe if they offered me a comb, they would never again have to worry about a prolonged winter. It’s all just too sudden, give a groundhog a chance to clean up nicely beforehand. I bet the bears and badgers of the world feel the same. They should’ve chosen a hairless rodent for the job.
I don’t even understand when I stopped being a cub and became a national phenomenon
Or maybe, but probably just maybe, I’m not afraid of the shadow, but of its owner. We, Sciuridae family members, don’t own mirrors or calendars or clocks. The morning hair is not the only problem we encounter. My shadow grows and develops, and I don’t even understand when I stopped being a cub and became a national phenomenon. It is not as scary or abrupt if I am not faced with it. It kind of just became part of who I am. Nonetheless, when there is visual and solid proof of these changes, it gets way harder to integrate.
Who makes the decision?
It’s a twisted symbiosis, people let me decide their fate and I let the shadow decide mine. They put their flower pots outside again if the day is cloudy and my darkest self is nowhere to be found. I fool myself into thinking nothing has changed.
Traditions are wonderful. Calendars are reasonably useful, so are clocks and even mirrors. Unless you choose to plan your entire existence around them. Unless they are a source of control and not of information. If that’s the case, you have to remind yourself that everything in existence has been created in order to serve its purpose, not act as an absolute. Time is an invented concept, as we have heard many times. However, we seem to not fully grasp what that entails. On its own, it has no innate value. No master plan, no sneaky tricks of getting its way.
Just like a shadow, everything is a consequence of souls existing and creating. It can’t hurt you if you don’t use it as a means to hurt yourself. I’m aware of my hypocrisy, of course. It is way easier to preach than to perform it yourself. I know I should make peace with it. Sometimes, I believe I do it for the grandeur of it all, as I understand others are dependent on my reaction. Is that right or good? Nope. Nonetheless, sometimes it is hard to differentiate between what we fear and what others made us think we should fear.
Where do we end and where does our shadow start? Should we stop being afraid altogether? Honestly, I doubt it. Fear is sometimes useful, especially when you have a bunch of natural predators. But I believe we should make peace with our fears, shake their hands. It is different from eradicating fear as a whole. Just like it is not the same to dip a toe inside a river compared to diving suddenly and deeply. Or not experiencing it at all, even if it’s so hot outside and the gurgling sound of flowing water is just so tempting.
Don’t ignore it, but also refrain from indulging it. Instead, be curious. See what’s behind that curtain and why it enjoys lurking in the darkness. Be your own weather person, decide for yourself if the sun is up or if there’s any rain on the horizon.
That is why whenever my ”prediction” is wrong (for example, spring still shows up even if my shadow did too), I smile internally. Because what else is there to do at the beginning of spring? And for everyone, spring starts in different ways, at different time points.
With the season, sunny days are to be expected. On those days, if you happen to see your shadow, I hope you introduce yourself even if you voice trembles.
Kurtiboo
Little Marm, I enjoyed the little photos of you so much! How cute! Humans have a bit of a problem with respecting the privacy of the little hero critters indeed, something needs to be changed! The start of spring can indeed only bring one thing: happiness! I hope you had a great winter sleep! And hopefully, I’ll see you soon outside of the den! XOXO, Kurtiboo:*
The Cozy Sisters
Marm is thanking you for your sweet words (he is still in his den, but not for long!) <3