In my final blog of the last four Decembers, I have reflected on the previous 525,600 minutes aka the year.  Another 525,600 minutes have elapsed, and it appears that we are finally  through with the pandemic. However, we are not through with Covid-19 (Or should I say that Covid -19 is not throught with us!) If anything, we are facing a triple chance of exposures- Covid-19, the seasonal flu and RSV!! (Indeed, RSV seems to be on the rise!) I seems though that in 2024, most folks just went on with their lives, ignoring all these threats of illness.

So, perhaps another look back at the 525,600 minutes comprising 2022 is appropriate.

The Broadway musical, “Rent” has a song entitled “Seasons of Love” which starts off by asking:

Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes.
Five hundred twenty five thousand moments so dear.
five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes.
How do you measure,
Measure a year?

In daylights?
In sunsets?
In midnights?
In cups of coffee?
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife?

In five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes.
How do you measure a year in a life?

(If you do the math, it turns out to be a year (525,600/60 minutes/24 hours= 365 days.)

My year was pretty much like 2023;  I am still working remotely. While I have attended  more in prson events, I have still been mediating by video-conference. It seems that mediating by video- conference is here to stay. Why fight traffic when you can attend to business in the comfort of your home in sweat pants or pjs!

So, what has the most recent 525,600 minutes taught me.?  To be even more flexible, patient (lots and lots of this!), persistent, forgiving and understanding than ever before.  As we all know,  multiple  years of a pandemic and its atermath have been difficult and tough on all of us.  It is impossible  to get back to “normal” as the “old normal” does not exist anymore. Rather we are living in a “new normal” and this year it seems that we are adapting to this “new normal” or at least learning to live with it.

So, as this year ends, I am still working from my dining room table, with very little thought of conducting in person mediations.  I envision my 2025 be much the same as the past four years- working remotely and trying to stay safe and healthy- avoiding not only Covid-19 but also the flu and RSV!

The one big change – thanks to the “new normal” is that I realize I do not need an office and two conference rooms and so am downsizing my office and moving to a smaller space effecive January 1, 2025! After being in the same space for 29+ years, the change is difficult but much needed! Going through the moving process makes me realize how difficult it is for parties to go through the changes necessary to settle a lawsuit at mediation. Mediation is a process of change which no one likes, is difficult and often necessary! Moving has taught me a lot about “changing”!

I want to thank each of you for sustaining my mediation practice through  another difficult year and for being a loyal reader of my blog. Without you, the year would have been even more difficult than it was.

I want to wish each of you a very happy holiday and a most wonderful new year. My most fervent wish for you and your family is that you stay safe and healthy and have a much happier 2025! I sincerely hope that the next 525,600 minutes will be much much better for all of us than the last many months!

As in the past, I will be taking a “staycation” until the end of the year. I will resume my blog again in January 2025! Stay safe and healthy!

… Just something to think about.

 

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