Have you ever had to decide between groceries or grass?

Many people are talking about money, including the financial state of the world. An interesting topic for sure and oh so many opinions! While I am not leading into a post about politics and money, perhaps some of what I share sounds familiar to what we are seeing and experiencing from our world leaders.

If you live in a homeowner association, which is an official management of a sub-division ( a group of homes within a planned community) you will understand more clearly the challenges and conveniences a homeowner may face. A volunteer group comprises the board of directors and a management company generally aid in ensuring rules and regulations of the community are adhered to. They also handle various maintenance issues and community finances, depending on the community.

You may have heard stories in the news about people losing their homes from fines due because of association violations like painting their home the wrong color, having an oversized dog, or simply chopping down a tree that was the community property, not their own. Some people who live in planned communities appreciate that they do not have to live in a typical neighborhood where, sometimes, without rules things can go on that are not acceptable or pleasing to the eyes of others. So while there are good and bad points to living in a planned community, it is a choice.

Once you choose to live in a planned community, obviously some choices are limited. As above, there can be a great deal of rules, regulations and fine print when living in a planned community and you are held accountable to an association board and management company. And that’s where I wonder how far does this go, when we give up our ‘right‘ to have certain choices because of the neighborhood in which we live.

This is a story I heard about someone living in a planned community. The association determined that, although there were several abandon homes due to foreclosure and several common ground areas with dead grass, the other homes with dying grass required new sod. Because the association has the responsibility to keep up the landscape of the community (including each homeowners personal property) they determined that new sod was needed and the homeowner had no choice. They proceeded to place the new sod and changed the sprinklers for each of the said properties, increasing the water usage for each property to the tune of tripling the typical water bill. When questioned about this situation the board said they were simply doing what they felt necessary. When asked how people lacking financially to pay for necessary items such as groceries, gas, clothing etcetera were supposed to pay for high water bills for ‘grass‘, they stated that the board doesn’t need to be compassionate in order to fulfill their responsibility.

Apparently, some leaders (and you can decide who based on your own thoughts and research) do have a great deal of control over others lives, but insist that ‘compassion‘ is not a requirement in their decision making process. If it came down to having new grass or groceries, what, for the good of the majority, would you choose to do?

And that is what this post is about. Not what others are doing or not, not about bashing any political parties, individuals or entities. But looking at our own selves and asking our selves what matters most to us and are we living our lives based on our own values and beliefs. We each have some power to exercise over others, maybe at home or work. Perhaps on a volunteer board or other group that we are on a committee of or directing. Do we honestly consider ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ and do we consider the outcome of certain decisions that will cost others time and money? Would we think differently about putting in new sod if it was our own family (perhaps our aging parents on a fixed income) and the cost that would incur for them?

I think many decisions made and actions taken require a lot more thought about the real impact they have on others and the actual necessity of things that are ‘required’ to be done. Things have shifted for a great deal of people, financially and otherwise. It is not about being in ‘crisis’, it is about dealing with changes that are real and have an effect on many, many people in the world. I vote for groceries any day over new grass, but that’s just my opinion!

As always we would love to hear your comments and feedback. We are community (though not a planned community with an association or board keeping us in check!) and welcome your participation.

Photo Credit  Some rights reserved by MSVG on Flickr