Today I’m writing from a hotel next to the Detroit Metro Airport, and it’s a whole different world. Coming from a quiet enclave where the loudest noise in the morning is the cat and the traffic outside disappears after the school bell, it is always startling to be back in the hustle and bustle of urban areas. I remember the days of traveling an hour each way for the daily commute. In peak times of business, I may have covered 400 miles in a day, but it was what you did and what was the norm – or at least not out of the ordinary. Now, I walk two blocks to the studio and dodge squirrels and mourning doves. Neither is right or wrong, just different. But what saved my sanity, and my life, was I realized all was a choice. Living as expected isn’t always the correct method. Living life as the masses because it’s what you do or because it’s what mom, dad, and uncle Irving did, may not be the most congenial to a longer life of happiness and self-satisfaction. The picture I use most often these days in my posts was taken by son Josh on one of our yearly fishing trips to the shores of Lake Superior. The reason I’m laying in the sand in my most vaunted outdoor attire? Taking in what’s real. The hustle, the bustle, the rush for the next deal, the next big score all goes away. That lake, that sky, and that shoreline may change with the seasons and the weather, but their roots of majesty prevail. I relished the fast lane and came pretty close to destroying myself and forgetting every ethic and moral principle on the way, and worse, even on amazing trips to lands and vistas most never experience, I kept moving back to the fast track faster. The deep breaths became fewer and more shallow. This morning, I looked across at Christine, who came from the far reaches of fast tracked consumerism as well, and I asked if we’d ever find ourselves in these busy environs on a full-time basis? No, she said without hesitation. Never say never, but I believe she’s right. Why? Because we now understand it’s a choice.