Choice

For most of my adult life, I’ve lived in apartments. Looking back, I consider myself thankful to have lived in what most would consider ‘luxury’ apartments, as all of them were well-above basic living scenarios.

My first apartment after ‘campus living’ was top-of-the-line, with a large spiral staircase and loft space to accompany my roommate, who had the second-worst body odor of anybody I’ve ever met. Thankfully, my room was on the opposite end of the space as his, though his door was right next to the front door of the place and you’d get blasted by his aroma as soon as you walked inside.

As I got older, I bounced around between different places and living experiences before discovering a love for ultra-modern apartment ‘homes’. While I loved each place, my all-time favorite home was situated in the prominent Turtle Creek neighborhood in Dallas; sporting floor-to-ceiling windows and an outdoor terrace that was absolutely palatial.

On most mornings, I’d stroll outside with a cup of coffee and watch the neighborhood come alive; cars whizzing by, neighbors walking their dogs – and the occasional walk of shame.

One of the things that apartment communities do really well in Dallas, and other metropolitan cities, is offer a suite of amenities beyond the walls of your apartment. For example, the Turtle Creek apartment had a 2-story fitness center that rivaled most small gyms I’ve been to, as well as concierge services.

One thing I noticed about apartment living is that despite the way they’re presented, you can’t escape the fact that you’re practically living on top of a large number of people. Literally. Every door you walk by in the hallway contains somebody else’s life (and noise) and there’s an overarching element of chaos no matter where you go, because a majority of the variables are out of your control.

Most people transition out of apartment living and move into a neighborhood with traditional homes. However, the element of chaos is still there when houses spaced a few feet apartment with windows that look into each other.

The difference between expensive apartments/homes and cheap apartments/homes boils down to one simple factor:

Choice.

Most people that live in expensive communities do so because they chose to live in that particular area, while low-cost areas are filled with people that have no other option. In both cases, the quality of life is impacted pretty heavily by either variable.

Choice counts for an awful lot in life. It’s one of the ways where people feel free, overwhelmed or wealthy; almost like the icing on a cake when you’re fortunate enough to be presented with options, like picking the color on your new car or selecting one of the countless menu items at The Cheesecake Factory.

“What outfit feels like me today” is a question that many get to ask on a daily basis as they walk into their closet and don clothing before walking out the door.

Without choice, life can feel like a prison. In prison, there is no choice; you’re told what to wear, what to eat, when to shower and where to rest your head every night. There are no alarm clocks with snooze buttons in institutions or weekend getaways.

A lot of people go through life outside the walls of a prison while being just as locked up as those inside jail. Why? Because they’ve forgotten that in every element of life, there’s a choice that’s presented to them.

Ayn Rand famously drew the metaphor that even in a gunpoint robbery, the ‘victim’ still has a choice in the matter, and their action(s) could have drastic consequences.

This morning, I had a choice that was presented to me; stay inside on my couch and drink coffee, or walk outside and sit on my patio to drink coffee while I wrote this blog. No sooner had I walked outside, I realized that all of the bird feeders were empty and I decided to walk over to the small outdoor storage closet to refill them.

No sooner had I opened the plastic door, I noticed that I had been robbed. Late at night, a gang of squirrels made a break-in to one of the bags and got into the ‘critter mix’ bag. I couldn’t help but laugh at their ingenuity or the relative hilarity of the situation as I told Rocky:

“Well, Rock. We’ve had a break-in!”

As I walked through the yard to refill the feeders, I couldn’t help but notice one thing about my home; the quiet. There are no thundering trucks rolling down the road, which I experienced my prior townhome. The only thing to break the song of the birds is the occasional jet that flies overhead, which doesn’t bother me in the least as it provides Atlas with entertainment.

Sitting outside, I realized what a difference it made to sit outside rather than inside on the couch. The air is filled with the song of birds, squirrels are racing on the fences and excitedly eating from the bird feeders and Rocky is contentedly sitting on the patio – and staring at me as I write this with big puppy eyes.

It’s beautiful.

There’s a verse in the Bible that says “Choose ye this day whom you will serve.” and it’s a great reminder that every day, we have a choice in the life we live. Jesus was offered all of the wealth and power in the world if he would simply bow a knee to Satan. However, He chose to resist – and did so on His feet.