A Modern day example of this is found In the movie Groundhog’s day. Bill Murray finds that he is stuck repeating the same day over and over again. At first, he is very frustrated and thinks he is going to go insane. No matter what he does he cannot affect or change the events of the day. Then he goes through a period of resignation. He simply goes through the motions with helpless and hopeless, knowing that nothing he does makes any difference. Then, towards the end, he decides to use his time for new skills, he masters the piano and he learns another language. He pursues a young woman, and eventually falls in love. Soon thereafter, he wakes up to find that time has moved on, and it is February 3rd, the day after Groundhog’s Day.
The Movie Groundhog’s day is a comedy, but art imitates life, and I’m sure that there are times in our lives when we roll out of bed and realize that we are repeating the same situation over and over again. Our job can frustrate us because there isn’t anything novel, nothing is new, nothing to be discovered. We face the same challenges, day in and day out. Nothing we do can change the fact that there will always be dirty diapers, or a deadline to meet, board meeting, or endless voice mail and email. It is frustrating. We become trapped.