Searching for The Middle Path

The essay “Searching for the Middle Path” was originally published on Medium.com

It’s my second winter living in Utah and we’ve received record breaking snow fall. Last year at this time, it felt like there would never be another real winter and as I write this with the calendar about to turn to April, it is snowing with a forecast for it to snow for the next 10 days and the temps are cold which means this white stuff isn’t melting anytime soon.

Of course, the skiers are ecstatic, we’ve had incredible conditions. But what has everyone really smiling is the respite it brings to our drought ridden state, for the filling reservoirs, even a few feet added back to the depth of the Great Salt Lake.

Reporters and state officials are quick to mention, however, one winter isn’t going to solve all our problems. We would need two or three similar winters to restore to pre-drought levels. But still, it is something. As the snowbanks around my house eclipse ten feet, I can’t help but wonder how it isn’t enough while also feeling like man, this is too much. It will cause springtime flooding and a diminished urgency around climate issues. Or should I eschew the negativity bias and try to see the record snowpack as evidence of earth’s abundance? The answer to our prayers?

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