Can’t cling to the past
What seems to be the true resistance to change in the Snowmass Base Village? What motivations truly linger in the souls? What is change, anyway?
The only reference we have to time passing is change. Therefore, if things don’t change, a grand illusion seems to exist that time isn’t passing. Hmm. Maybe I’m not getting older. Funny thing is, the time in our lives when we are truly young and vibrant, we are experiencing the most change.
The revelation really struck me at a high school reunion (I won’t tell you which one). The classmates who had embraced growth and evolution in their lives were the most youthful and vibrant. Whereas the people who were clinging to their past and sameness had, without a doubt, aged the most.
The Base Village of Snowmass is an example of one group’s desire to grow and evolve as a response to a changing environment, and another group’s desire to cling to the past.
Chemist Ilya Prigogine, a Nobel Laureate, quotes, “When a molecule’s implicate (existing) order starts to fall apart, the entity faces a moment of choice, the ‘bifurcation point.’ It can either go out of existence, or reorganize at a higher level to accommodate new variables.” Simply put, when you reach the “bifurcation point,” change or cease to exist.
The Base Village project is a response to the basic needs of our visitors and community. The current arrangement is clearly outdated and unfriendly. Some things are even in disrepair.
Consider families, local or not, getting up for a ski day at Snowmass. The parking arrangement is a hassle, getting to the slopes after the shuttle ride is a hassle, the various ski school drop locations are a hassle. Must I go on?
Remember the roundabout? How many folks were opposed? Was it because of the inconvenience during construction? Do we really want to go back to a traffic light at that intersection?
The Base Village is well thought out and even scaled back to address community concerns. Let’s look beyond our own personal motivations. Let’s be certain we see the project’s entirety before saying no.
The community and the resort need what this project has to offer. Clinging to the past is sure demise.
Martha Rose
Aspen/Snowmass
Aspen City Council puts brakes on Old Powerhouse Preservation Project
With many lingering questions still surrounding the fate of Aspen’s historic Old Powerhouse, City Council decided during Monday’s work session to hold off on providing staff direction on moving the preservation project forward until more information can be presented.
