This is a time for compassion. This is a time for communication. This is a time to seek understanding. This is a time to find peace. This is a time to be mindful of money. This is a time to not squander time. This is a time for mediation.
It is always time for the sensible, efficient, empathetic resolution of disputes. It should not take a global pandemic for humans to understand the sanctity of their connection, just as it should not take repeated murder to mobilize the push for equal human rights. However, if we find silver linings in the dark clouds of the current moment, such discoveries have outsized value. For people to discover the magic of mediation, for people to reject the traditional litigation path would be a step toward balancing the cosmic equities.
Failure to heed the signals of this dynamic, turbulent epoch is inexcusable. A global, viral scourge combined with inevitable upheaval against an unjust society reveals that our civilization remains at once vulnerable and cruel. Instead of combating the supposed shame of that human weakness with further militancy, we should instead be focusing on solutions that strengthen our bond and care for the needs of our citizenry. Mediation is one such answer.
Periodically, I stand on this small soapbox and preach the gospel of mediation, making its case from various angles. The business case, in particular, should be the most obvious and acceptable: spending much less money and much less time while creating your own destiny seems like a wise choice. Yet, regardless of how hard I proselytize, I continue to field numerous calls from people keen to fight.
I would never judge those that call me seeking litigation; their motivations are personal and therefore inherently valid. Further, they do not know another alternative; they have been conditioned to believe that lawyers are the only people that can solve legal or legal-adjacent problems. Traumatized already by the quarrel that compelled them to call me, and of the perilous state of the world, they just need salvation in some form.
The best help that I can offer, in these times or in any other, is to guide warring parties through the labyrinth of their conflict and the emotions that it engenders. Instead of fomenting further discord by pontificating on the methods of attack, I prefer to engage in delicate diplomacy to seek as full of an accord as possible. Once the parties are made comfortable with the process, once they feel at liberty to speak freely, once they are empowered, once they have a chance at catharsis, the tension melts away, and rational discussion can be had. The door is then wide open to reconciliation.
On the verge of revolt, in tumult, forging a new direction, we are in dire need of a way to ease the hostility and clear the way for constructive, positive change. Mediation is the optimum option.