Thoughts on Balancing Life & the Law

It took me over 40 years to learn the meaning of life.  Family.  A loving, caring, joyous, supportive family, that is.  A family that often encompasses our dearest and closest friends. For years I thought that my happiness would be realized through a career in academia, and then as a counselor.  I've done both in varying degrees.  I've enjoyed aspects of both and I've loathed aspects of both, but I never found the contentment which I sought.  Little did I know that I had projected my wish for happiness onto careers that, while perhaps gratifying in many ways, were incapable of giving me true happiness.  And I've learned that more than a few lawyers share my experience.

Research shows that we are happiest when we make connections with other people.  If you think your career, by itself, will bring you true happiness, consider this:

I once worked for Hospice and had the privilege of hearing some of the last words spoken by others.  Interestingly, they never spoke of their careers, their pride in working 12 hour days or crushing their competitors.  They spoke about the people they cared most about.  They told long and wonderfully rambling stories that spoke of love and laughter and the people most dear to them.  They spoke of loss, the cruel twists of fate such as miscarriages, children dying first who defied the natural order of things, and the parents, spouses and friends who were gone too soon.  They spoke of love lost and love found.  But they did not speak of loving their jobs/careers immensely.

In the same vein, I've been thinking about the theme for this year's Recent Developments seminars at Barristers - lessons inspired by the hit movie Tombstone.  In the movie, do you remember what Doc Holliday spoke of on his deathbed?  He spoke of the only woman he had ever loved, and he expressed his deep love for his best friend, Wyatt Earp, by saying, "you're the only human being in my entire life that ever gave me hope..."  In turn, Wyatt thanks Doc "for always being there."  Who will you thank for always being there?  Who gives you hope when the law or other aspects of your life let you down.  What will your last words be?  Hopefully, we can all take a lesson from Doc's last words:  "Live every second.  Live right on to the end."

For more information about the upcoming Tombstone-themed Recent Developments seminars from Barristers, visit www.BarristersCLE.com.

By Charissa Newman, LPC, Program Coordinator at Barristers CLE

Thoughts on Balancing Life & the Law is written by Charissa Newman, a licensed professional counselor, and will become a regular feature on the Barristers blog.  It will alternate with the other blog regulars:  New Law Briefing, Tech Tips for Lawyers, and Odds & Ends in the Legal World (Mostly Odd).  Thanks for being a loyal customer of Barristers Educational Services.