The Mindfulness Blog

Who would even try? To make a horse drink, that is. Or try to make someone do something they didn't want to do? Good luck with that. And besides-- the horse (or the person) might not even know that he/she/it is thirsty!

That's a pretty common occurrence, in my experience. People often don't realize how little they know about the mind. And we're therefore not thirsty to learn about mindfulness or meditation, both of which can teach us a lot about our minds. We can't know what we don't know.

Granted, getting to know the mind can be a daunting task for a lot of us--it's a personal place from which many individuals, and many businesses, have traditionally shied away. But given the rise of transparency, and the increasing awareness of the American Bar Association's campaign promoting the lawyer well-being Pledge, that reluctance is changing.

Getting to know our minds is about sustainability. Not environmental sustainability, but rather, human sustainability--the sustainability of the legal profession. Resilience, and the ability to thrive in the face of increasing demands made upon us by opposing counsel, clients. our partners and co-workers--even demands we make upon ourselves. That's the kind of sustainability that I'm talking about.

Physical fitness is tremendously important in terms of our effectiveness at work and our happiness at home. So is our mental/emotional fitness--perhaps, even more so.

The world is not getting any kinder, or gentler. Quite to the contrary, it's becoming more demanding than ever, and what was once out-of-bounds is now very much in play. What gradually became acceptable behavior, is now expected-- and that is particularly the case for lawyers.

I think we're all thirsty. And we all need a drink--speaking metaphorically, of course. So let's allow ourselves to be led to that proverbial water, and let's drink up!