It’s All Material

'Tis the season many people criticize for materialism, so I thought it would be a good blog topic for today. 

I live in Aspen, Colorado, the town known for extravagant wealth. At first glance, that is. A walk into the heart of town will show you Burberry, Prada and Ralph Lauren stores, as well as several art galleries. 

Like many other first impressions, you need to look beyond the surface to find the truth about a person – or place. 

You can recognize the tourists by their pristine, matching outfits and fur coats. I'm not saying that locals (like me) don't have new ski clothes, but they're usually more practical and designed to last the season. More about function than form.  

The same is true about most of the people I've met. Of course, I'm more drawn to the people with depth and substance, so that would explain part of it. But I do think that my new "home" does attract (or does it cultivate?) people with more depth.  Maybe it's because of the beauty. Maybe it's the physical activity. Maybe it's the radiating energy from the silver or latitude/longitude/altitude. I don't know, but it is a reason to celebrate.  

Since I love, love, love Dave Barnes, here's my Christmas present for you, dear reader: