As you may know, yesterday was Groundhog Day.  For anyone who lives in colder climes or who has seen Bill Murray's movie by the same name, you know that Groundhog Day is a day that conjures up all kinds of images.  Its origins buried deep in ancient European belief and lore, Groundhog Day occurs roughly midway between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox.  It is, as those who live through cold and snowy winters, the point at which maybe, just maybe, things are on the upswing that, going forward, they are closer to spring than winter.  For people whose families come from Central Europe, they can imagine their ancestors, less equipped to deal with the hardships of the winter than we are today, rejoicing in the idea that "Old Man Winter" has, in part, and for another year, been conquered.
     Of course, our present capacities to predict weather far exceed those of our ancestors (but not always!), and of course, we have the capability to examine long term weather trends and draw assessments and prognostications which our forebearers likely could not do.  When particularly harsh weather, in whatever season it may be, is forecast, we can take steps to mitigate the effect it has on us.  We benefit from our modern technologies.
     On the other hand, with each new statistic and predictive instrument we devise and use, we put one more layer between us and our world.  We're safer, yes, but we are not necessarily richer, culturally and otherwise.  We forget what the world is like.  We fail to remember our deepest roots.  We overlook the beauty of the rhythms with which the world breathes.
     And maybe, maybe, maybe, we forget that we live and occupy a reality whose meaning does not consist in our ability to tame and conquer it, but rather in our willingness to subject ourselves to its mysteries--and to learn that, finite that we be, we will never fully outwit that which we did not make.