Reflecting on my life from a newfound perspective on the other side of the hill, I can see that I have been literally encompassed by hard-charging, A-type, ambitious personalities since childhood. My formative education was at a New England style, all boys, college preparatory school, where very high expectations in academics, sports, and extracurricular activities were set. I tried to roll that intensity back a touch in my college years, but the daily grind of creatives and fine arts education knows no professional time boundaries. I tried to roll that fervor back again by working as a ski instructor and fly-fishing guide, only to meet some of the highest-functioning people on the planet and, by necessity, adapt to their pace to keep the day positive and remain employed. Albeit unwillingly, this background set me up well for an entrepreneurial mindset and has helped me professionally, but man, some folks, particularly in Utah and the Wasatch Back, just need to practice what they preach and chill out!

Cacti get it. These guys are nature’s tribute to toughness and longevity. Once established, most can endure heat, cold, wet, or dry conditions. They are covered with passive self-defense mechanisms. Most cacti grow very slowly: they pace, they rest, they replenish. They will store water and spend it responsibly during periods of scarcity. Ironically, if a cactus takes in more water than it can absorb, the plant body often ruptures from the swelling, causing permanent injury or death. Once established, the balanced practice of growth, rest, and replenishment strategically allows cacti to endure most any hardship. I can think of no other plant or animal that is better suited to the various harshness of Earth’s reality.

The ‘hard charger’ persona might look at a cactus, compile a surface observation in the less than three seconds allotted to such minutiae as a ‘highly effective person,’ and think about being a prick. If one pauses for a genuine moment of thoughtful reflection, cacti employ a slow, adaptable, and intentional method that leads to better long-term outcomes and ultimately to survival in a harsh, ever evolving ecosystem. This is one of my many fascinations with cactI, and the primary attribute I like to remind myself to emulate while tending to my garden.

Soil conditions are critically important to the success of any plant. Different soils suit different needs, but a common thread is that all soil eventually needs replenishing. Natural replenishment happens with nutrients and rest. Composting and ‘resting’ soils in the winter season creates a beneficial soil biome and leads to far more productive growth and yields. While it is true that an artificial injection of chemical fertilizer will boost outcomes for a season, those crops do not thrive perennially. Chemical fertilizer sparks a spike in growth, but it is a short lived and poorly visioned strategy. The natural soil biome eventually disintegrates amidst the salinity, and all life becomes dependent on the next injection.

Organic winter gardens teach us that rest is not necessarily laziness—it’s preparation. Henry Miller, a somewhat controversial American writer of philosophical fiction and social criticism in the Second World War era, stated:

To be silent the whole day, see no newspaper, hear no radio, listen to no gossip, be thoroughly and completely lazy, thoroughly and completely indifferent to the fate of the world, is the finest medicine a man can give himself.

In the ancient B.C.E. period of my life (Before Children Enveloped), I was pretty good at the concept of rest and replenishment. I loved afternoons spent in leaf diffused light scattered across my Peruvian blanket style hammock, reading paperback editions of dystopian science fiction I acquired at the local thrift store. I became a very proficient fly fisherman, which in my reality was a lot more based in ‘Norman Maclean’ or ‘John Gierach’ romanticism than the Zoomer, catch-at-all-costs, ‘bro’ edition, fly-guy released in the mid 2000’s. I would travel to remote places and immerse myself in full-day explorations, sometimes longer, without any interaction beyond entomological curiosities, piscatorial presentations, and canine companionship. I trained myself as a fine artist to have a studio ‘sanctuary.’ An artist’s studio is like the mainstream concept of a “man-cave” or “she-shed,” except it is designed as an intellectual oasis for reflection and pondering. I would read, eat, nap, and bring ideas to life in my studio. Outside of the dog, I almost never let others into that personal, introspective space.

But alas, middle-aged life goals wiggled free and emerged like a spring Blue Winged Olive nymph from under a cold water stream’s tumbled rock bed, and the self-containment and self-mastery life model and all of its color-chromatically organized precision was traded in for the wonderful and fulfilling chaos of family life. Further goals included self-employment, then staff, and long term investment strategy. One day, not long ago, I woke up, looked at myself, and realized I had become “the man” to at least two generations below me and a handful of my peers. What a surreal epiphany for a guy who once lived in a backpacking tent for three months!

Amidst the chaos of whatever tier of life you find yourself, and enduring our ‘oh-so-connected’ modern society, we must periodically detach from the very thing that provides our daily bread if we want a healthy, naturally grounded, metamorphic headspace that has generationally connected our species to our planet. Most of our homes require dual incomes to sustain in our region. As a consequence, our children are being raised by the state, and the ‘connection’ being taught is to Wi-Fi networks, not to the naturally stabilizing tactics of rest and replenishment. We throw in hurry-up-and-relax yoga classes on a timer, talking points about self-care from entities that care only about profit margins, and government-stamped rack cards promoting mental health. Such efforts are considerate and well-intentioned, but the one thing that truly heals does not fall within the allowable constraints of a corporate benefits package or of the internet backed precision timepiece that monitors your personal production on the company hamster wheel.

It is a backwards reality, and I do not have a magic equation to change society’s priorities, the methodology of our governmental institutions, or the Western banking system. My best poke at building a healthier community is to promote awareness and lead by example, hoping that some will change their outlook enough to unplug from the Matrix. Yet behold! Some insist “ignorance is bliss” and just want steak, whatever the cost.

Life can be easier if you simply let the channel current guide your thoughts and actions. Many choose to submit to the current and get sucked downstream in that particular river crossing, but not me. I will choose a calculated course, with the current at my back and my posterity in the eddy I create, to overcome the channel and reach the other bank intact and with dry waders.

Most of us chose the Heber Valley to ‘reconnect’ with nature, but our hometown is becoming a downtown, and access to traditional charging outlets has changed with that growth. Utah’s popularity will not change in the foreseeable future, and our community will continue to evolve with that demand. What we have in greater abundance than most is proximity. Hot pots, solitary river walks on the Middle Provo, horseback rides on the benches, shooting cans in the canyons, or a Heber Valley deer hunt may be outside of reality at this point—but all is not lost, and many similar opportunities exist minutes away.

Be creative this spring. Embrace rebirth. Be adventurous. Get outside, rest, and replenish. Ponder. Be still. Learn to be comfortable within your own headspace. Life.. is a road, no simple highway, between the dawn and the dark of night. And when you go, no one may follow. That path is for your steps alone.¹ Strive to make your path memorable and noteworthy. Digital accomplishments are false victories subject to purge on the next software update. Real accomplishments happen in the real world. Choose to spend your time wisely and create higher level, sustainable personal yields.

¹Ripple, Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter, 1970.

The caption said, “They are getting good at this.” Initially, one might suspect that the commentator was referring to the deer population and their gymnastic and aerobatic skills. However, after further reflection, the technology that created the illusion was, in all likelihood, the actual focus of the comment. It is challenging to distinguish fact from fiction these days.

As we wrap up 2025, the theater surrounding readily available media and the technology that enables it will be among the historical milestones we reflect on in the future.

The game has changed. On a positive note, the conspiracies surrounding media agendas, spin, and misinformation campaigns have been repeatedly validated. Less than two decades ago, the common belief was that if it was published, it was probably true. This is no longer the case in the mind of a discerning citizen. The downside of media sources promoting the agendas of their owners, financial backers, and advertisers is that the same discerning citizen faces tough choices when seeking to be informed about actual events.

At an early age, I was taught the adage commonly attributed to Edmund Burke, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” This concept has resonated with me and served as a driving force in both my personal and public policy-making.

In my own eclectic thought process, I connect this ‘action’ philosophy to the often-modified statement by George Bernard Shaw, “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach,” which originates from his 1903 play “Man and Superman.” My favorite variation is carried on by [not Woody Allen, but] Douglas Preston, which is “Those who can’t do, teach, and those who can’t teach, critique.”

During my tenure as a university-level fine arts student, I found it natural to despise those who criticized without being skilled enough to replicate the task being cited or offering an implementable solution to the critiqued dilemma. I vowed not to exhibit such weakness or cowardly behavior in my own life at that pivotal moment in my education.

The net result of internalizing these two philosophies is an understanding that individuals forego their rights and deliberations when they choose to abstain from action. Apathy when action is required is a choice to become an accomplice to evil. In the context of Thomas Paine’s statement, “lead, follow or get out of the way”— through inactivity, you have removed yourself from the fight, and your thoughts and opinions should no longer be considered of consequence.

Furthermore, it is a weak and cowardly practice to criticize without offering a solution to partner with the critique. Providing a viable, implementable solution to a problematic situation is statistically improbable without being genuinely informed and having thoroughly researched the topic. To be a respectable leader, teacher, or critic, one must dedicate oneself to becoming a subject matter expert (do the work) and provide feedback that can be fact-checked and replicated. Thomas Sowell once stated:

“The beauty of doing nothing is that you can do it perfectly. Only when you do something is it almost impossible to do it without mistakes.

Therefore, people who are contributing nothing to society, except their constant criticisms, can feel both intellectually and morally superior.”

Often, I see critics and influencers, particularly on social media platforms, who generate viewership and fan followings through critical commentary on those who are attempting to lead. These statements are often subjective and primarily based on partial truths, mingled with opinion. This massive collective of critics and their messaging should be treated judiciously. Suppose the content originator has not offered a basis of auditable facts and is not offering a legal and implementable solution to the problem cited. In that case, their opinion loses its significance, and the source should be flagged if the receiver’s overall goal is to discern the truth.

Now, back to the aerialist stag and the conscientious truth seeker: how do you navigate these minefields of misinformation and personal agendas in modern media?

The first stage is to understand that every media outlet, platform, and influencer has incentives. These incentives may include, but are not limited to, financial, political, ideological, or algorithmic motivations. The journalistic purist is not well-suited to this environment, and independents seeking objectivity tend not to win in any of the categories mentioned above, thereby making them invisible and short-tenured in the profession. When evaluating your source, consider its ownership, funding, associated advertisers, and any known partisan or philosophical alignments. Nikola Tesla stated:

“When you understand every opinion is a vision loaded with personal history, you will start to understand that all judgment is a confession.”

Follow the money trail or potential for the originator to find some manner of personal gain (which could be as petty as attention or perceived popularity). Doing so will generate a filter that reveals the histories, and the confession will come into focus.

Secondly, seek out the primary source. The overwhelming majority of viral outrage collapses when the original source is brought into focus. This fact is accentuated when considering official documents, transcripts, studies, and bills. Read the actual government staff reports, watch the meetings, and listen to the debates or conferences. When you do the work and become a person of action, you begin to follow the path of liberty, self-reliance, and critical thought analysis. Independent thinkers are challenging to fool, but it takes work to reach that status.

Another trick is to consider multiple angles. Read the original report, then a left-leaning take, a right-leaning take, and an independent take. The common threads in all four will likely point to the factual truth.

It is advantageous to learn the common tricks and traps. These may include headline clickbait that doesn’t match the article, selective video editing, AI-generated content, anonymous sources with no corroboration, incomplete or unsubstantiated statistics or datasets, and photos from a different event or date. The presence of any of these elements should raise suspicion about the source and their motives.

Over time, if you put in the work, you will build a network of sources that you favor as ‘factual.’ Please remember that all sources are fallible; treat them as trusted but verify. If, at any point, you find yourself feeling immediate outrage or a sense of victorious vindication, you may assume you have been manipulated. Generating a powerful and polarizing emotional response is the primary goal of modern media.

With all of this in mind, why should you trust Heber Valley Life? Well, run us through the tests and see what you find. I have created a brand, fully aware of these trends, as a countermovement. Stay skeptical; we must earn your trust. I encourage you to read everything we publish and listen to our weekly podcasts. If we are doing our jobs over here, you should feel warm, uplifted, and more deeply connected to the fantastic community that we call home.

I genuinely appreciate your ongoing support. It is needed. Have yourself a based and magical winter season in the Heber Valley.

Deer Valley was much smaller back then, by way of skiable acreage and guest capacity. However, the guests of that era were not stereotypically ‘small’ people in their lives back home. This ‘guest chemistry’ created a unique work environment. You see, for most of these visitors, they were the executive authority in their respective professional and social circles. They were accustomed to respect, exemptions, and special treatment due to the station of their everyday office. As staff, we were familiar with this reality and ran our guest hospitality models accordingly. The ability to service guests in this manner, as if it were a four-star hotel, was a core identity of the company as prescribed by its founder, Edgar Stern.

Occasionally, situations would arise where ‘alpha’ guests clashed with each other. The problem in an ecosystem where everyone is a ‘someone’ is that being a ‘someone’ becomes average. Furthermore, nobody in that particular fish pond is willing to humble themselves or submit at any level because that gesture is foreign to a ‘winning’ mindset. Nevertheless, a guest’s tenure is short-term at a luxury resort, and with that inherent churn, battles are fought, but wars are generally averted.

I like to do many of my downtown errands on foot. On one of these occasions, I was waiting at the crosswalk on the northwest corner of Main and Center in Heber City. My mind was elsewhere as I waited for the signal to change. My daydream was interrupted by a car horn aggressively and repeatedly blaring over the din of traffic. What I looked up to see was an event that saddened me, as it was a behavior that does not belong in our paradisical mountain valley.

I witnessed a person in a Bentley using the horn, the vehicle, and non-verbal communication to bully another driver in an aged sedan through the left turn from Main onto eastbound Center Street. The lead driver was visibly intimidated by the speed and consistency of the oncoming traffic and was, subsequently, not as aggressive as the driver from behind would have preferred. The horn, engine revs, flashing high beams, crowding, and hand gestures coming from the tailing car added to the lead’s panic. The unchecked aggression was not light-hearted, and should not have stood, man. I felt immediate empathy for the driver being victimized by the shortsightedness and impatience of another.

Eventually, the first driver cracked and was pushed through the light by the second, at which point, the lead yielded to the tail, who subsequently ran a test on how long it would take that supercar to go from 0-60 MPH in a 25 MPH residential zone.

The Heber Valley has humble roots. Early settlers of the West endured legitimate hardships and were correspondingly grateful people when life got easier. Here in the HV, unpredictable weather in the shoulder seasons made it so we couldn’t grow much more than hay or alfalfa. Cattle and sheep were the predominant industry, occasionally supplemented by mining opportunities. One needed to work by the sweat of their brow to survive. The concept of a ‘recreational lifestyle’ would have been as intuitive as a foreign language. Death by disease, childbirth, complications of injury, exposure, and even malnutrition were reasonably common. Still, the trials and hardships the early settlers faced helped them appreciate the easier seasons of life, and they found happiness through humility and gratitude.

Hardships make you humble. Humility, if coupled with grace and dignity, facilitates a service-minded outlook. Voluntarily serving others invites the spirit of gratitude, which in turn leads to shifts in perspective, feelings of abundance, and a reduction of fear and anxiety. People who gracefully endure hardships ultimately find joy. Without trials, one lacks a barometer or scale for measuring what is, in fact, difficult, a metric that, when not available, leads to impatient and shortsighted behavioral patterns.

Sitting in prolonged positions of comfort or authority has the opposite effect on human beings than hardships. Arrogance, pride, condescension, and domineering attitudes tend to creep into even the most genuine of hearts when life’s difficulties are obstructed. The tendency to become ‘spoiled’ is an inherent human trait that can, interestingly enough, be observed in all ages, demographics, and locales.

The remedy for this natural tendency begins with acknowledgement that falling into the trap of comfort and privilege is a real possibility and that you are indeed vulnerable. Secondly, one must want to avoid this destiny. With acceptance and desire established, the next step would be to make a conscious effort to implement precautions.

What would these precautions look like? It could be any number of things that remind you to embrace humility as a daily exercise. In some cases, humility will come naturally as life finds a way to create struggle. If ‘life is good,’ one might need to generate reminders deliberately. Serving others, by way of whatever means you may possess, is a great place to start. Service helps human beings to look beyond themselves and build empathetic capacities. Some may relate to physical or material reminders. I know a local ecclesiastical leader who chose to keep the same white dress shirt from the day that he was extended a leadership assignment, which remained a physical reminder to him of where he started, even as it frayed and discolored over 10 years. There are many ways to find humility if one chooses to look. My experience has been that if I don’t actively seek it out, it will find me—and I prefer to choose my battles if at all possible.

I am grateful for the fortunate life I lead in the Heber Valley. I hope that what we publish and promote is received as a positive force serving the community. I find joy in sharing our history and reminding our readers and listeners that the Heber Valley is the gem of the Wasatch, and our lives are blessed daily in this choice community. Our future is bright. A positive mindset sheds light on the doubt and confusion that some people use to promote their agendas. Embrace positivity and find humility in your daily actions this fall. By doing so, you will help build our community and find personal fulfillment. Thank you for supporting our community voice!

I have always found water particularly healing. Throughout my early adulthood, I spent many years pursuing gamefish with a fly rod in hand. There was always a quarry, but in hindsight, I realized that ‘the hunt’ was more about self-discovery and healing, while the fish’s ‘existence’ justified the untold hours on the water.

Nature heals. Some are more sensitive to the energy than others. My mother often told me that going outside was the sure-fire way to keep me from fussing as an infant. As I became self-aware in my early teenage years, I yearned for time outside, for barefoot walks on native earth, for starlit nights bedded next to the dying embers of a campfire, and for distance from the contrived parameters of society, including its inhabitants. Old habits die hard, and those inherent desires ultimately landed me in a small agricultural town in Utah with proximity to the necessary amenities to pursue adulthood.

Heber Valley is different today than it was twenty-five years ago. Clearly, Heber’s culture was not the clichéd ‘city life’ that upset me in my adolescence, but it was far from perfect or paradisical. Even though I had deep genealogical roots in the formation of the Utah territory, I was perceived as an outsider and forced to find my way independently. Being a ‘loner’ suits me well, and I saw plenty of solace with my dog and my time on the river, in the mountains, or in the desert. The benefits outweighed the costs, and despite a curious and thoughtful nature, I could never answer the question, “If not Heber, then where?” So here I sit today. Nature heals, and kindred spirits are drawn to common hunting grounds.

On another evening, my eight-year-old daughter and I discussed growing pains. “Dede, my legs hurt, and I can’t sleep.” As we pondered the philosophy of growth and decay models, one of my favorite take-away concepts from art school came to mind.

“Every Act Of Creation Is First An Act Of Destruction.
– Pablo Picasso”

I recall this quote as being troubling at the time. My identity as an art student was built around creating beauty from raw material. Destruction is ugly. How can the act of creating something beautiful be grounded in ugliness?

I eventually discovered that the dilemma I faced was quite subjective. What defines beauty? The pigment I used for my “beautiful” creation would commonly be mined from the earth, crushed, chemically treated, packaged in a tube that also required harvested, treated material, then contents mixed with more chemical vehicles, and smudged on a surface that had also been aggressively processed from trees, plants, minerals, and metals. For me to create, there was a necessary chain of destruction. The rabbit hole runs quantum-level deep on this one. Our entire universe is growing, and all matter is competing down to the atomic level; macro to micro realities. Animals, plants, fungi, protists, archaea, bacteria, looking upward to the push and pull of the atmosphere, the oceans, the galaxy, and beyond: the sole outcome is creation, represented by concurrent growth and decay, perpetually destroying the status quo.

Some kids get bedtime stories about magic kingdoms and happily ever afters. Applying quantum mechanics to creation models can also put kids to sleep. Oh well…

As we reenter the firmament and settle back into the Heber Valley, our community continues to have growing pains. While the development trend is evident, the more subtle growing pains have surfaced in social media messaging and politics. I first learned the word ‘narcissism’ in the context of Hanna-Barbera’s animated character, Vanity Smurf. Vanity is always portrayed with a flower in his hat and a cosmetic mirror in hand, frequently gazing at his reflection and correspondingly oblivious to others. In recent years, I have seen rampant narcissism spawning from city centers and spreading like mycelium to the reaches of the world, fueled by pocket computers, networking software applications, heart buttons, data analytics, stainless steel mugs, and designer stretchy pants. I wish the fallout were as benign as what Vanity Smurf projects.

Comparison is the thief of joy. As any creation begins as an act of destruction, comparison will destroy the joy of a positive reflection or self-image. When a self-image is destroyed, the mind must reconstruct what was with something else. It is far easier to be told than it is to invent. The simple act of comparison makes the individual vulnerable to new messaging. Networking platform users generally post artificially ideal lifestyle portrayals. Misinformants chirp pleasing half-truths, like Pied Pipers to their rats, to achieve their desired increase or outcome. Herein lies the danger of social media and why the overall future of marketing leads to social channels.

Narcissistic personality disorders have symptoms that include a pervasive need for admiration, a lack of empathy, an exaggerated sense of self-importance, and personal entitlement beliefs. Such individuals commonly adopt an ‘ends justify the means’ mentality to achieve their agendas instead of a collaborative resolution process that ultimately leads to compromise. Without empathy or a willingness to ‘come across the aisle,’ we introduce partisan politics to the social ecosystem, and logic is systemically replaced by emotion and fallacy. When the ‘ends justify the means,’ the means are characteristically immoral, which is why the action requires justification. The alarming social acceptance of those misinforming, disinforming, and manipulating others to achieve an outcome is regrettable. Knowingly supporting a movement that utilizes such tactics makes you an accomplice and near equal to the content originator.

How does one find accurate information in the present-day minefield of narcissistic agendas? First, find time to heal and reconnect with your genuine, kindergarten-level, positive self-image. In my life, this boils down to unplugging and spending quality time in nature. Everyone will have their unique solution, but if it involves screens, material acquisition, or something your favorite influencer suggested, it will likely not generate the healing you need to become a critical thinker. A device-free afternoon reading a printed book under the shade of a tree may be a good place to start. Others may set a goal to summit a mountain peak, or catch a fish on a dry fly. Do these things without posting to your Strava or Insta accounts for accolades and affirmations. Once you have rediscovered your optimistic self, set an emotional baseline for how it feels to experience joy.

Truth will inspire joy. Not necessarily happiness, like getting what you think you want, but a more profound sense of contentment with your world. Be skeptical of those who aspire to influence your thoughts. Become an intellectual ‘loner’ and a critical thinker. When you achieve this goal, you will more plainly discern truth in media messaging.

I have experienced that life as a critical thinker brings more peace. I do not believe everything I read on the Internet. I read, consider the source, analyze motives related to the message, and then draw my personal conclusion. If you do this, the truth and subsequent joy in your life will increase.

Thank you for being so supportive of Heber Valley Life. I encourage you to join our new podcast, Building Community with Rachel Kahler. There, we will meet with the entrepreneurs, visionaries, and decision makers who have shaped who we are and where we are going. Have a happy and healthy summer!

It was in just one of these instances that a benign conversation altered a personal perception I possessed. I was living in the Gunnison / Crested Butte area of Colorado. Hitchhiking was pretty standard because the road to CB (and the chairlift) was essentially a ‘dead end,’ and the more obtainable apartments were found in Gunnison. I was headed up to the mountain to make a couple of turns in my faithful old 1988 Jeep Cherokee Laredo and decided to pick up a rather earthy-looking fellow from ‘The Hitching Post’ at the north end of Gunnison.

This dude was pretty chill. He spent the first 15-20 minutes staring out the window. He had a bit of a cosmic aura; his hair was unkempt, his face unshaven, his winter clothes were nearly as faded as his gaze, and a distinctive aroma of patchouli and cannabis loomed about him. We had passed the confluence of the East and Taylor Rivers at Almont and were on the straight away to the Butte when he finally decided to speak. At about this point in the journey, there is a fish hatchery named Roaring Judy. As an abundant food source, bald eagles often congregate at the fish hatchery in the depths of winter. To my surprise, my travel companion’s first utterance was, “slackers.” I raised an eyebrow and asked him to expand on that statement.

“It’s our national mascot, man. They are nothing but a bunch of slackers. Look at them—out there. Just sitting around looking for an easy meal. They are lazy… and they disrespect themselves.” His statement hit me with far more weight than the sender intended, and I have spent years circling back on this oddly profound statement.

Initially, I was slightly offended, which is an odd reaction to a quasi-accurate wildlife assessment made by a half-conscious youth. So, I unpacked that reaction. I had been taught that bald eagles were a majestic apex predator. They are noble, formidably large, strong, fast, with keen eyesight, and tremendously adaptable to North America’s geographical variances. They are amazing birds to behold in person and visually distinctive to the point that children can quickly identify them. All these contributing facts have aided the decision to adopt the bald eagle as a symbol of the United States of America. I had never once looked at this bird-of-prey and thought, “slacker.” But there they were, and the facts were undeniable. Perhaps we can call them ‘opportunists’ and move on—so I did.

Several years later, in the fall, I visited a friend in Jackson, Wyoming. I had not fully recovered from my ‘Beat’ phase of life and was visiting an old cohort from my personal chronicles of ‘On the Road.’ The lifestyle placed little importance on material acquisition, and correspondingly, our interpretation of ‘Beat life’ involved lots of hunting and fly fishing for sustenance.

On one such frigid October afternoon at Jenny Lake, we were wade fishing for lake trout that had moved to shallower waters to spawn. The air temperature was well below freezing, making dry hands a priority. I hooked a laker pup, fought it onto shore, and deftly grabbed the streamer, flinging the fish farther up onto the rocks while removing the hook at the same time. It was so cold that I wasn’t worried about the fish living long or spoiling, so I took another set of steps down the beach and recast. We needed several more fish to alternate protein from the current staple of ground antelope, which had become tiresome.

All at once, I had a ‘Chicken Little’ moment where the sky blackened, the wind from above punched me, and my ears were overwhelmed with a concurrent “whump.” I was sure my time on the planet was up, and my ticket was punched. I raised my eyes to behold a bald eagle, nearly on top of me, now flying away with my fresh fish dinner. I did not catch another fish. The nobility of that bird decreased by a measure at that moment.

Another series of years later, I was driving northbound on US 40 toward Park City on a lovely late summer morning. I had just summited “Mount Doom” and was ultimately rolling down the hill to Quinn’s Junction to make a connection in PC. In the years before the highway fencing was installed, wildlife collisions were a much larger problem, and it would be familiar to see three or four animals on the side of the road during any given commute. I saw a pile of turkey buzzards picking at a carcass near the base of the hill. As I drove by, the birds spooked and took flight. Our national mascot, a bald eagle, remained behind. It had been feeding on a mule deer carcass with a flock of buzzards.

Not that I have anything particularly against buzzards, but apex predators they are not. As far as the food web goes, carrion feeders, while important, are not perceived to have the same majesty as the hunter. What happened in this bald eagle’s life to land it feeding on roadkill deer with a flock of buzzards? Was it a lack of opportunity? Not likely, given the big five local reservoirs, the Provo and Weber River systems. Eventually, it must have succumbed to temptation and embraced a regrettable habit. The visualization of a carrion-eating bald eagle surrounded by turkey buzzards was challenging to shed from my mind.

Then I pondered, are human beings different from an ‘opportunistic’ bald eagle?

The Beat Generation was titled as such, not about the “kicks” or the “jazz.” It was that the generation had been beaten into weariness, used up by WWII profiteers while being governmentally and culturally forced into a new life of commodification and consumerism. They faced the death of their known way of life and the new future that was an inevitability. The Beats felt ingloriously pinned against a wall where nothing was left but their naked soul. At what they perceived as a societal rock bottom, the Beat movement turned off mainstream programming and reduced their core beliefs to find beauty in corresponding base simplicity. Analyzing their new reality, they determined that how one lives is more significant than why—particularly when the why was prescribed by their temporal overlords. The Beats sought spiritual fulfillment in the journey, opposing the consumption, acquisition, and debt recipe for what was societally prescribed as acceptable behavior. The Beats were culturally presented with an easy opportunity and alternately chose to explore what was traditionally ‘human’ over the product wrapped in shiny cellophane and wonderous technicolor convenience.

With the moral exploration of that time, many of the ‘Beats’ and the ‘Squares’ became lost. They both ‘disrespected themselves’ for an easy meal. For the Squares, the easy meal was found by being unquestioningly governable and subscribing to the commodification and consumerism movement. The problem the Beats faced was that, with moral degeneracy, permanently life-altering bad decisions were made—as Kerouac chronicles in On the Road.

Having lived in both of these worlds, which, make no mistake, still exist today, I believe that the way to avoid these traps is always to keep your spiritual identity in focus. If a bald eagle knows who it is, what it is and believes in its purpose, it will be less likely to be allured away by the enslavement of easy opportunity, aversion to hard work, fear of conflict, or the identity confusion created by bad decisions that may equivalently land you eating roadkill with a flock of mutually minded buzzards.

Spirituality is innate within all human beings and is a definitive human trait. Spiritual quests are personal and manifest to each soul in unique ways. I don’t believe any spiritual journey is without merit—so long as it focuses on acquiring light and further knowledge.

I challenge the citizens of the Heber Valley this spring to explore the reality of their spiritual selves. Start by accepting that you are a noble creature capable of greatness. Find quiet time to ponder, read, and meditate in your own personal way. Set expectations that challenge ‘easy-outs’ and avoid apathy. Be assertive and speak the truth without a spin or background side agenda. Own a calm mind, slow to be provoked, and consider positive and negative consequences before making decisions. Explore the wonder of nature and creation as our flora and fauna emerge from their seasonal dormancy. Celebrate what it is to be human in this very moment. There is no better time than the present to emerge from spiritual hibernation.

“Love and hate exist like oil and water in a closed container – they don’t mix.”

Multiple sources have told me throughout my life that we all possess unique talents. One of my innate abilities is that music, literature, and imagery are easy for me to categorize and recall. This knack is generally good and suits me well in trivia games and conversation. However, it may be more difficult for my wife, who must think I suffer from madness with the aimless and arbitrary references I tend to produce on a whim. Furthermore, the fact that I may forget what I had for lunch yesterday mystifies her further when I cite musical, pop culture, and art-historical references from the depth of Western civilization.

One such moment occurred a month or so back. I woke up in the middle of the night with cerebral echoes of Christopher Cross crooning about being caught between ‘The Moon and New York City.’ Messed up… right? What alternate reality spawned this 40-year-old pop reverberation, and why is it in my head? Bear in mind that I am more of a psychedelic rock dystopian sci-fi guy, NOT a 1980’s soft rock rom-com fan. Nevertheless, the earworm was writhing around in my subconscious, and there was nothing to do but free the serpent by airing the tune. As a youth, this would have required a trip to the shopping mall to purchase the official soundtrack to the 1981 film Arthur, starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli. With today’s wonderfully convenient streaming services, the media was available with a quick voice prompt, and I moved to resolve the situation permanently while preparing for my morning shift.

So there I was, taking an early morning hot shower while laying down some tight karaoke tracks with Christopher to ‘The Best That You Can Do’ — on repeat.

Once in your life, you find her

Someone that turns your heart around

The next thing you know, you’re closing down the town

Wake up and it’s still with you

Even though you left her way across town

Wondering to yourself, “Hey, what’ve I found?”

In that nostalgic moment of star-crossed love overpowering the world’s desire for wealth, ‘she found… me.’ Desperate to excise the demon, I had failed to acknowledge the rest of the family, also getting ready for the day. With the jaded skepticism that only years of marriage can propagate, my wife demanded, “What on Earth are you listening to?” Well, naturally… the soundtrack to the film Arthur, Dear. You see:

Arthur he does as he pleases

All of his life, he’s masked his choice and

Deep in his heart, he’s just, he’s just a boy

Living his life one day at a time

And showing himself a really good time

Laughing about the way they want him to be

The exchange ended with an audible sigh of disgust and, quite possibly, the world’s most expansive ‘eye roll’ on record. The film Arthur must not have received the same media exposure in Western Canada — the only plausible solution to such a reaction.

As unique individuals possessing singular minds, we must acknowledge that, more often than not, ‘The best that you can do is fall in love.’ I dare say we have societally forgotten that message in recent years. ‘I know it’s crazy, but it’s true.’

The stumbling block facing our global community in the past several decades is that our programming has taught us to despise distinctiveness and opposing viewpoints instead of celebrating individuals for their genuine attributes, conventional or otherwise. Ironically, much of that programming has been labeled under the banner of love — but as a loving person, you should hate others who don’t believe in the brand of ‘love’ that you do.

The problem with this line of rhetoric is that love and hate are antonyms. You cannot live ‘in love’ and hate your neighbor within the same headspace. Love and hate exist like oil and water in a closed container — they don’t mix. The two liquids oppose each other at a molecular level. Trying to blend them makes a murky mess that may take hours, even days, to congeal into the previously identifiable layers.

The net result of this popularized love-hate fallacy is core identity confusion. The uncertainty of self leads people to seek strength in numbers. Groups form and create polarized tribes of similarly agitated humanity with opposing camps believing they each exist on a moral high ground of love and tolerance. At the same time, their inner cores are embodied in the spirit of confusion and resentment. Being that it is easier to be critical of others than self-assess or self-amend, each camp readily accuses the other of being the very thing they manifest — hatred by way of terminal intolerance.

Today’s youth are victims of a decades-long cultural civil war created and perpetuated for no better reason than to distract a populace from questionable policy decisions. They have and continue to suffer from the stress and trauma of this manipulation in the ever-sensitive ‘coming-of-age’ period of their lives. As adults, we suffer from bitterness and disenfranchised notions about how things ‘used to be.’ These crippling feelings are characterized by doubt, fear, intolerance, and hatred — the opposite of hope, courage, acceptance and love.

Regrettably, these negative attributes have become culturally systemic within our war-weary populace and manifest themselves daily, even in our quaint mountain valley. Some refer to this as the ‘mental health crisis.’ Impatience and disregard for others can be noted with every drive across town and in every place of business. We are not immune to this global trend of fear and resentment in the Heber Valley.

Diving back into the dusty attic of musical randomness, the second single from Styx’s triple platinum album The Grand Illusion, released in 1977, is titled “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man).”  After an optimistic and upbeat synth intro, the track begins with singer and composer Tommy Shaw stating, “Relax… Take it easy…,” a sentiment I have found myself reciting on a near daily basis to those closest to me. Tommy goes on to state:

You see the world through your cynical eyes

You’re a troubled young man I can tell

You’ve got it all in the palm of your hand

But your hand’s wet with sweat and your head needs a rest

And you’re fooling yourself if you don’t believe it

You’re kidding yourself if you don’t believe it

As I listen to this song today, I can’t help but take a moment to look into the mirror. Do I find myself regularly irritable? Do I perceive the world with cynical eyes? If so, is it truth or conspiracy? If the cynicism is justifiable, is there anything I can do to change the reality? The absolute truth is that ‘you’ve got it all in the palm of your hand,’ and you are empowered to define your reality.

Whatever the source of irritation — a life-altering or relationship-redefining emotional reaction will not help your overall condition. Psychologically speaking, new emotions are generally short-lived — like 90 seconds short. Attaching the emotion to an event facilitates memory persistence. As the mind revisits the event, the memory of the emotion is attached. This allows the emotion to be indefinitely resurrected. Neural plasticity is created as the synaptic trail is frequented, like a well-worn single track on a mountain hillside. Over time and repetition, plasticity can reprogram the mind into a new trail related to that emotion. This pattern can be replicated for any emotion, positive or negative.

Get up, get back on your feet

You’re the one they can’t beat and you know it

Come on, let’s see what you’ve got

Just take your best shot and don’t blow it

Should you discover that your world is more cynical than it used to be, you may actively choose to ‘get back on your feet.’ Adopt the mentality that you control your destiny and are accountable for your actions, and take the appropriate measures to create daily patterns that will facilitate the outlook or perception you desire.

As citizens of the Heber Valley, we truly live in a privileged community. We should feel gratitude, generosity, and reciprocated kindness for our fortunate circumstances. Even for those who may feel disadvantaged, a brief hyperopic view will reveal that we are some of the most blessed people on the planet. Be humble, respectful, and empathetic to avoid petty quarrels with your neighbors or fellow citizens. Let us adopt a mentality befitting of our surroundings. Fall in love with the Heber Valley and everything in it. After all, ‘when you get caught between the Moon and [Heber City], the best that you can do, is fall in love.’

“I’ve been searching for years for the ideal place. And I’ve come to the realization that the only way to find it is to be it.”

While the net result may be visually remarkable, my children occasionally express their frustrations with our local climate’s unpredictability and erratic shifts. The internationally bestselling author and social entrepreneur Bryant McGill said, “Our Children can be our greatest teachers if we are humble enough to receive their lessons.” When searching for an acceptable answer to our children’s queries over “why” the weather has to be so trifling, my wife has used an analogy: winter and summer constantly fight each other because neither is willing to compromise.

It’s genuinely heartening to see that the children have accepted and understood this explanation. The analogy is relatable because they have observed and experienced the ‘uncompromising quarrel’ in their lives. With the shift that we call autumn, we witness a planetary-scaled climate battle in the northern hemisphere. This allegorical abstraction makes sense to the children because they have seen humans mimic similar behaviors as an approach to conflict ‘mediation’ in their daily lives. They have given and received arguments such as, it’s MY way or the highway, take it or leave it, I am not giving an inch, your opinion is noted, etc. It can be safely assumed that we have all experienced this approach to negotiation, starting in our elementary years and perhaps drawing into adult communications.

Evolving from biology to physics — Newton’s Third Law of Motion states, “If two bodies exert forces on each other, these forces have the same magnitude but opposite directions.” Paraphrased: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. I have observed that this physical law crosses over into human psychology. An uncompromising argument would be expected to be met with an equally uncompromising retort from the other affected party. The debate becomes a matter of magnitudes. One force seeks to destroy the other by overpowering the balance. One side eventually dominates the other. Summer ultimately loses to winter, and by absolutes, all must adapt in the aftermath of the conflict or cease to exist. In the context of human communication, to ‘adapt’ is forgiveness, and ‘ceasing to exist’ would imply the relationship.

Some irony about the autumnal splendor is that extreme stress on the ecosystem creates ‘beauty.’ Early snow melts and refreezes, creating freeze-thaw erosion that cracks and crumbles mountains. The vibrant colors of fall leaves are generated because the tree is preparing for dormancy and has ceased chlorophyll production. The leaves will stress, defoliate, and decompose as a byproduct of this process. The grasses follow a similar process and transfer their sugars to their roots while their ‘lungs’ become lifeless husks soon to be matted down by heavy snowpack. Large and small creatures that reside in the lakes, rivers, and surrounding foothills have hopefully completed their respective cycles in the warmer months. All localized life must adapt to survive the violence of the seasonal conflict between summer and winter. If an organism fails to fulfill the measure of its creation and pivot to the change, it will likely not live to see the pendulum swing back to summer. While it is true that stressful scenarios can bring strength and beauty to humanity, we have been equipped with minds capable of adaptation through thought and planning. Adopting patterns of violent, natural precedents may not be the most successful strategy for navigating negotiations in a tightly-knit community.

Stubbornness can be both an aid and a hindrance to adaptation. The pioneer mindset that settled the Heber Valley was gritty and obstinate, hard and absolute. Such focus and intensity were mandatory for survival during the United States’ westward expansion period. That mindset exists today and is one characteristic that has preserved the Heber Valley as a remarkable destination and the paradisical mountain community that it is. However, there comes a time in human communication patterns where a calculated compromise may be better for a relationship than adherence to an absolute by principle alone. This understanding and flexibility are crucial for maintaining healthy and harmonious relationships with nature and each other.

Contrary to popular opinion, words, statements, and viewpoints cannot hurt you. The receiver has to be complicit in accepting the message and then actively choose to allow that sentiment to create an emotional impact or resonance. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle is cited as saying, “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” This statement is as relevant today as it was two thousand years ago and is the foundation by which a dictation becomes a discussion. We are born impatient, demanding, and absolute. These traits ensure survival in infancy. To fulfill its measure, a human mind must be taught to rise above natural survival instincts. Media messaging is the 21st-century form of tribal warfare, replacing spears and swords with deception, half-truths, and faux realities. Failure to adapt will isolate an individual and leave them vulnerable to manipulation. Cultivating an “educated mind” and disciplined self is the modern-day equivalent of the infantry shield of antiquity.

Start your journey to a negotiation strategy through calculated compromise by listening to another’s viewpoint without reacting. Practice being emotionally neutral. You may choose to accept or decline the message at your discretion. The words cannot hurt you, and, at the very least, you will gain a tactical advantage by knowing where the sender’s point of view originates. At a higher level of communication, you may discover validity to a proposed thought and add several miles on the journey to an educated mind. In a best-case scenario, you may learn that goals can be aligned and peace is attainable between the tribes. In any outcome, you are in control and can choose what is best given your particular scenario. By listening, you illustrate respect and will likely receive similar consideration as a return on that investment.

With that centered emotional stance, embrace humility and be teachable. Develop an ‘educated mind’ that can discern and stand unwavering. You will become confident as you develop experience and wisdom. Whether we are willing to acknowledge it outwardly, not one of us ‘knows everything.’ Be willing to educate yourself and be taught perpetually. If you cease to adapt to ‘seasonal changes,’ you will risk irrelevance and deep frustration as the societal pendulum swings. The ‘compromise’ becomes ‘calculated’ because you have considered the scenario adequately and understand the implications from varied positions. Such discernment requires both strength and humility to be done effectively.

The English writer and philosopher Alan Watts stated, “I’ve been searching for years for the ideal place. And I’ve come to the realization that the only way to find it is to be it.” Many of us have chosen to be here because we perceive the landscape as idyllic. While that may be arguable, the community makes a mountain valley ‘home.’ Let’s try to be more compromising in our neighborly interactions this autumn and ‘be the place’ where we have come to reside.

If you have lived in Utah for more than a couple of years, you will know about the near-month-long celebration from Independence Day to Pioneer Day. Liberty is a historically significant principle to the generational people of Utah. Citizens of the United States of America are familiar with the Revolutionary War and the celebrations surrounding the ‘Fourth of July.’ This Federal holiday commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, hence establishing our sovereign nation. Citizens of Utah have a state holiday called Pioneer Day, commemorating the entry of Brigham Young and the first group of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints into the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. In both cases, the affected parties, colonists and pioneers alike, chose to flee an environment they believed to be oppressive, and, in doing so, underwent great hardships, trials, and loss. To each of these historical groups, the benefit outweighed the cost — the benefit being the right and privilege to exercise their liberty and peacefully lead their existence in the way they saw best for their best lives. The state of Utah and the United States of America share this founding principle in common, and Utah locals have created a history of making July a memorable month for the celebration of personal liberties.

I love the principles of liberty and freedom. This likely originates from a series of innate personality traits I possess, for better or worse. The basic life skills I learned as a child, such as “mind your own business,” “don’t tell me what to do,” “no harm, no foul,” “play fair,” “you mess it, you clean it,” “don’t hurt people or take their stuff,” “you are in my personal space,” and “come back with a warrant,” seem to have stuck with me throughout my life and influenced many of the decisions that have made me who I am today.

An oft-misunderstood facet of liberty is that it is, in fact, a responsibility, a privilege. Responsibilities and privileges come at a personal cost and can be lost when abused. The freedom to choose is both power and liability. In a liberty-minded society, you have the right to “do what you want,” but simultaneously, you must accept the consequences of that decision, whether positive or negative.

I recognize that there are opposing viewpoints to a liberty mindset. My mind is hardwired with the desire to be free, and I have struggled to empathize with individuals whose inclination would be to restrict the liberties of others. Never being one to shy away from a challenge, I have attempted to step outside of myself and talk to some of these people about their feelings and perceptions. What I have discovered is that the fear of someone exercising their liberties poorly causes so much anxiety at a core level that they would sacrifice it all to feel safe – even if that ‘safety’ meant being unrighteously governed.

This conceptual analysis brings me back to the responsibility and privilege of living in a liberty-minded society. Another adage from my youth states, “Just because you can, does not mean you should.” I often hear justifications for behaviors that align with laws, rules, codes, or ordinances. Right or wrong becomes subjective because “it is legal,” “it’s just business,” “I am following code,” “just doing my job,” “this is how stuff gets done,” “everybody else is doing it,” etc.

Far less frequently, I hear that decisions are made on the principle that “it is the right thing to do.” This is a ‘good — better — best’ scenario. It is good to follow the laws of the land. Understanding why the laws exist and being part of the process is better. Living where your love and respect for others transcends governmental regulation is the best-case scenario. In other words, to maintain a free society, we must ‘do the right thing’ voluntarily instead of requiring coercion.

Imagine a world where a community could meet all of its needs through the honest exchange of goods and services and the voluntary application of charity toward those in need. The necessity for a governing entity could be reduced to mediating liberty infringements between citizens. Taxes and the innumerable agencies would not be necessary. Don’t be afraid — think about it for a minute or two. We are a long way off from this vision today, but the founding principles of the United States of America are not that distant from such a concept. This type of society was the goal nearly 250 years ago when United States colonists declared independence from the British, and why we actively celebrate the Fourth of July. The concept only works if each citizen buys in and participates in the community. Self-sufficiency, volunteerism, and freedom are intertwined.

It takes courage to face the world as a self-governing individual in a whirlwind of authoritarianism, deception, moral vagrancy, and misinformation. Wisdom from one of my favorite stoics comes to mind:

“When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous and surly. They are like this because they cannot tell good from evil. But I have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own — not of the same blood or birth, but the same mind, and possessing a share of the divine. And so none of them can hurt me. No one can implicate me in ugliness. Nor can I feel angry at my relative, or hate him. We were born to work together like feet, hands and eyes, like the two rows of teeth, upper and lower. To obstruct each other is unnatural. To feel anger at someone, to turn your back on him: these are obstructions.”

-Marcus Aurelius, Meditations: Book 2:1

Positive living amongst humanity takes patience, empathy, and daily courage. It is too easy to “turn your back” on your neighbor, write them off, call the cops, send a legal notice, blast them on social, or light them up on their DMs. What takes maturity and bravery is to respect the “meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous and surly” for “possessing a share of the divine” and working through your issues as conscientious and self-sufficient human beings. Our potential as a free society increases with the ability to resolve our disputes independently.

There have been times when I have felt invisible, like I am the only one who thinks the way I do. Those looking to establish their authority probably like it when people like me feel that way. With a little dose of life experience, I have come to believe that inwardly, most of humanity wants the liberty to choose how to live their best life the way they see fit. As stated in a summertime anthem from my youth:

Went to the well but the water was dry
Dipped my bucket in the clear blue sky
Looked in the bottom and what did I see?
The whole damned world looking back at me

– Robert Hunter, Liberty

The human spirit is not meant to be caged or placed in isolation. Fear creates a herd mentality where tribal lines are drawn and wars are instigated. Take the time to speak genuinely, and you will find common ground with your neighbor because, in reality, we are all part of the same tribe.

As a liberty-minded soul, I witness that voluntary acts of charity and love towards your fellow citizens will bring joy. Joy is not a fleeting moment of happiness but an inner glow, peace, satisfaction, and contentment with one’s connection to one’s species and planet. To desire liberty is not selfishness, and the risks are worth the reward. If you crave individuality, wanderlust, independence, self-discovery, a limitless life, authenticity, or a life without labels — the path is freedom, and the vehicle is self-sufficiency.

I challenge the Heber Valley to embrace their liberty and celebrate the human spirit this summer. Accept people for their differences and learn to respect another for an opposing viewpoint. Don’t let the political silly season get to you, but be a part of the process, all the same. We live in an amazing location, but without the people, it is just a place. Be part of the reason the Heber Valley is amazing.

I yearn for the emotional simplicity of that stage of my life. I often look at my 7-year-old daughter and wonder if or how she could have a similar security or belief system. She can’t because the world is different. Regardless of that reality, she seems to carry strength and resilience that I know I didn’t possess at her age. She has only known the chaos of the pandemic years and the ongoing fallout of the decisions made on that timeline. Nevertheless, she wakes up every morning and is not afraid. The recent socio-economic changes are ‘normal’ in the eyes of a child who does not know or remember how things were otherwise. She has faith in our future, as stunning as it may be to my jaded middle-aged mind.

The antagonistic relationship between faith and fear is a tightrope we will ultimately walk in some chapter of life.

It is difficult for thoughtful people not to recognize risks and negative consequences. We discover risk assessment at some of the earliest stages in our life development, commonly through physical discomfort. A child who receives a ‘skinned knee’ will generally be more judicious the next time the same scenario is encountered. Eventually, we learn about emotional, even financial ‘skinned knees.’ A seed of fear is planted after the event of any such physical, financial, or emotional ‘trauma’ throughout our lives.  Those seeds of fear, if left unpruned, may grow into a jungle that can paralyze decision-making in adulthood.

As a teenager, my mother repeatedly told me to “lighten up.” In response, I would remind her that I neither see the glass as ‘half full’ nor ‘half empty’ but as a quantifiable number of fluid ounces — neither an optimist nor a pessimist, but a realist. With some more life experience, I discovered philosophical realism comes with risks. When perceived in its recklessly honest and transparent state, the world’s reality contributes to a profile of fear.

Individuals all have different reactions to fear. Regardless of the origin or validity, the commonality of people consumed by fear is a downward spiral of negative thoughts and actions. Being true to my Gen X roots, I was pumped up when the Star Wars prequel trilogy was announced. The excitement that led to the release of The Phantom Menace was palpable. I remember sitting in the movie theater when Qui-Gon Jinn presented the young Anakin Skywalker to the Jedi Council. Yoda’s response was so powerful that it touched my mind and heart at a time in my life when my faith was at a historic low.

“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
Jedi Master Yoda

In the chronology of my life, I had received many a ‘skinned knee’ by the time The Phantom Menace was released. My innate tendencies towards ‘realism’ had germinated and procured a forest of harbored fears. I was an impetuous young man, backed by academic achievement and what I perceived to be worldly knowledge. 25 years later, I know this identity was a façade, cloaking the doubts, regrets, and anxieties I had collected. The discovery of light often comes after knowledge of its opposite.

If we break down Master Yoda’s statement — the common initial response to fear in the animal kingdom is a choice between ‘fight, flight, or flop.’ Regardless of the choice — anger enters the chat as fear’s recipient reflects on the situation and analyzes their doubts and decisions. Anger distills into resentment, stereotyping, judgment, and ultimately hatred. A person consumed by hate will begin to act in hatred towards others, compounding the hate upon itself indefinitely. Master Yoda also stated, “When you look at the dark side, careful you must be. For the dark side looks back.” Hateful action will be reciprocated, and the pattern of suffering begins as it is received. In the simplest of algebraic deduction, fear = suffering.

I have cited many quotes from stoic philosophy in the past. My message today is less about becoming an immovable and solitary stone but about deliberately embracing the virtues of our humanity that perpetuate all things positive and lovely. Just as one can choose to curb emotional reaction behind the logical premise that it is ‘out of my control,’ one can also choose love over hatred.

The antonym of fear is faith. The two cannot exist in the same space as they are opposites. Faith has a similar progression to fear, moving in a divergent path on the line graph. The common response to actions of faith is hope and patience. As one looks at the world with optimism and tolerance, light becomes evident, and beliefs are formed. Belief in something greater than oneself evolves into love. A person consumed by love will love others, and the pattern of love will be reciprocated by its recipients, and they will feel joy. In the simplest of algebraic deduction, faith = joy.

Deftly darting around on a Sith speeder, a ‘Phantom Menace’ spreads fear worldwide. The work is evident everywhere, including the Heber Valley. The fruit of that work is hatred, and the collective harvest is suffering. While we may not have global influence, the Heber Valley is a microcosmic environment where the slightest shifts can still be felt. I challenge the community to choose faith when faced with fear, deliberately sewing seeds of love and harvesting joy indefinitely. Implementing this culture shift may be the only preservation effort that will matter in the long haul.

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In October 2003, the vibe in the Heber Valley was still a bit of a 2002 Olympic hangover. The community had expected a massive change in growth and property value in the wake of the Olympic games, and it had become apparent that it wouldn’t happen as anticipated. The community was fractionally the size that it is today. Heber City was limited between South Fields Road and Mill Road, 500 N to the Crow’s foot on South Main. There was a buzz about the ‘massive’ new development called Timp Meadows that stretched Heber City from the traditional boundary of 500 E eastward to Mill Road, connecting the homes in Valley Hills in the north to Center Street in the south. This controversial development effectively coined ‘Old Town’ Heber by its construction. Timberlakes was so distant that it might as well have been in another county, and there was very little, aside from random farm properties, between the Heber Valley’s eastern bench and Heber City limits. Interlaken, Hideout, and Independence did not exist as townships. Mainly generational residents still populated Daniel, Charleston, and Wallsburg, and if you lived there, you likely knew everyone in town on a first-name basis. Midway had just started to spill outside the historical limits of the city with communities such as Dutch Fields, Valais, and Pine Canyon Road. Several cabins were up on the western bench, up Snake Creek Canyon, and the resort community northwest of the town was established, but that was about the extent of the population. Fracking was not a financially viable means of gas and oil extraction, so there was minimal truck traffic on US Highway 40 between Vernal and the SLC refineries. You could make left turns without the aid of a traffic signal on Heber Main Street. There was a healthy (and somewhat bitter) rivalry between Wasatch and Park City High School, and the teams competed against each other regularly. The Provo River Restoration Project was only 25% complete and had just started construction south of the Bunny Farm (River Road). Fishing pressure was minimal. Deer Valley Resort still had a celebrity country club reputation, and most locals avoided skiing there because they did not want to be perceived as an intermediate-ability tourist skier. I was introduced to the Heber Valley with that Olympic-era wave of move-ins and, having been western Colorado-based for just shy of a decade prior, thought I had landed in a ‘pre-John Denver’ time warp to a literal mountain paradise.

Moving forward to 2023, the growth phenomenon predicted during the excitement of the 2002 Olympic Games has become a reality. Many have become outraged about the recent development trend in our community. This growth has been anticipated for decades. Utah’s growth is several decades behind similar western states, such as Colorado. The Utah growth trend started to gain momentum in 2006, which was stifled by the economic recession beginning in 2009. We have seen consistent year-over-year growth in the Heber Valley since 2013. The ‘work from home’ trend has accentuated the growth curve of recent years. One of the only variables that historically kept destination resort populations from exploding across the globe is the lack of financial opportunity at those locations. When one can work virtually — the option to live anywhere with internet service opens up.

Heber Valley citizens must maintain two principles if we are to sculpt the community into its best possible outcome. The first is a grounded understanding and acceptance of the relationship between growth and decay. Secondly, we must accept an implementable vision compatible with the demands of who we are and what we want to become.

My hometown of Saint Louis, Missouri, is a prime example of what can happen to a community when there is a lack of vision for growth or redevelopment. Saint Louis was once proudly touted as “The Gateway to the West.” The location was a hub of commerce for the westward expansion movement and carried a larger economy than Chicago, respectfully, at that time. Saint Louis hosted the World Fair in 1904, and was showcased as one of the greatest American cities for the world to observe. The city’s first significant error was siding with the riverboat trade instead of the railroad. Nevertheless, a sustainable growth trend held its course for decades. The city attracted business due to its centralized location in the nation. It became a hub for aviation. Certain populist social trends began to become policies in the late 1970’s. These policies effectively drove business away, first from the city center and then from the region. If you visit Saint Louis today, the downtown district is narrowly maintained by the support of professional sports teams, some riverfront bars, and a federally maintained national monument. Downtown’s appearance outside the ‘tourism district’ is that of a third-world nation. All growth has been pushed to the outside edges of the county for decades because the policies downtown have become so prohibitive that nobody wants to locate there. The net result is a dilapidated city center that has significant crime and poverty issues directly related to a general lack of opportunity. If a historic community is going to survive, it has to accept the correlation between economic growth and decay and create policies that encourage a healthier long-term outcome.

The Heber Valley once had a thriving economy and was a destination getaway for residents of the Wasatch Front. This is why Heber City Main Street was once filled with drive-in restaurants and motels, and Midway with quaint nightly rentals. Our economic downturn happened in coordination with the recession of the 1970s, the improvement of the Provo Canyon highway, and shopping malls being developed in Utah County. Having ‘given up’ on the viability of local businesses, our city officials believed we could be nothing more than a bedroom community, regardless of the long-term economic implications associated with that status. They needed to service resident commuters — hence the fast food, auto part store trends, and welcoming of franchised chains that could offer outside economic subsidies to sustain a Heber location. Jobs in local government seemed to be the only way to support oneself within Wasatch County limits throughout those years. Over time, our civic visions ultimately become a reality. This is why it is so important for a community to understand and align on a logical and implementable vision.

My professional role in the Heber Valley has allowed me to be at many discussions over visioning for the future. We have so many incoming opportunities to be grateful and excited about. However, the identity issue for most of the HV is still under considerable debate. This fact, coupled with in-progress commercial developments and the inevitable international attention that will accompany them, gives me a bit of ‘marketing heartburn.’ Still, I respect the process and welcome the discourse that comes with varied opinions. Our higher elevation identity problem is that we have so much to offer that it is difficult for our strong-willed population to unify on a single path to travel. While there are many identity assets to focus on, I would like to riff on one particular variable, given the season and circumstances.

An undeniable and overlooked identity asset that Heber Valley has, and one that most communities would sacrifice greatly to claim, is that we are a Winter Olympic destination with an active facility and quickly becoming the hub for cross-country skiing and biathlon in the United States. US Biathlon relocated this autumn to Soldier Hollow from New Gloucester, Maine. Soldier Hollow will be the only US destination for the International Biathlon Union World Cup competition in March 2024. These events fill grandstand stadiums in Europe and are consummate sporting event parties. The discipline of biathlon exemplifies the “I’m big in Europe” t-shirt and is dramatically overlooked by US citizens. What could be more ‘American’ than guns, strength, speed, and technical excellence? We are societally missing the target on this winter sport. Biathlon is the only Winter Olympic discipline the US has never medaled, which needs to change. We must also remember that our local venue will likely host another Olympic event in 2030 or 2034. The Soldier Hollow Nordic Center facility is regularly used for training by, quite literally, the top Nordic athletes in the world, including our own US ski team. The Heber Valley is an internationally recognized winter sports destination. I challenge the Heber Valley citizens to unify on this one simple thing: learn about the Nordic disciplines and support the IBU World Cup event at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center this March. The world will be watching. Let’s show them all we know a thing or two about throwing a party.

I love the Heber Valley. This fact is the predominant reason Heber Valley Life magazine exists. If you have taken the time to read or analyze this note, I hope you have learned a little bit about our past, and can more actively participate meaningfully in directing future growth. Better yet, if you appreciate the effort we invest every quarter to publish this collection of articles, please consider a financial sponsorship in the book or through a purchase in our online store. These little tokens, by our community, for our community, keep the project alive. Please enjoy our winter 2023 edition of Heber Valley Life magazine.