Dear Readers, Happy Lunar New Year! And Happy Groundhog Day! Interestingly, for me, both of these holidays are connections I hold from the years I lived in Philadelphia. I’d never lived in a city with an actual Chinatown before, and I was delighted to experience the Lunar New Year celebrations for the first time. I loved the traditions — eating long noodles for prosperity, sharing red envelopes, snapping firecrackers on the ground and embracing the energy of a new animal year with intention.
I also came to love Punxsutawney Phil and the utterly ridiculous spectacle of his emergence each year. Despite living so close, I never actually made it to Punxsutawney, though I added it to my bucket list. One year, I discovered that several YouTube channels offer a livestream of the adorable pre-dawn festivities leading up to his big moment. Since then, watching Phil’s prognostication has become my own quirky tradition — just as celebrating the Lunar New Year has been for the past 20 years.
This lunar calendar marks the Year of the Wood Snake, which feels perfectly timed. The snake is patient, grounded and strategic. She sheds her skin to grow, embracing change rather than resisting it. I’ve encountered many snakes while hiking, paddling Texas rivers and even spotted a few sea snakes while surfing in Costa Rica. My instinct has always been to freeze and let her pass, hoping I do nothing to disturb her. Other folks react differently sometimes — flailing, scrambling or even choosing violence, but I don’t believe fear or aggression is the way. We cannot control how others react, only how we respond. That is an important mantra for me when striving toward my own resilience: What can I control? What can I let go? I think this is also the mantra of the snake. And for that matter, the same goes for Punxatawny Phil.
