Seeing Opportunities for Connection

• Date: 01 January 2022
• Author: Joseph P. Beckman

Published in Litigation News Volume 47, Number 2, Winter 2022. © 20 22 by the American Bar A ssociation. Repro duced with permissio n. All rights reser ved. This informati on or any portion the reof may not be copie d or disseminated in any

form or by any means or sto red in an electronic da tabase or retrieval sy stem without the ex press writt en consent of the Amer ican Bar Associatio n.

MENTAL HEALTH & WELLNESS

By Joseph P. Beckman, Liti gation News Asso ciate Editor

Seeing Opportunities for Connection

am sitting on a plane revising this article, and I am

mortied. I am also fortunate. My experience the past

eight days validates the premise of this piece—stepping

away from your daily routine and volunteering your time

and talents is a very good thing for your mental health.

I am mortied because I logged in for the rst time in a

week (the longest period I have ignored my laptop in a quarter

century) and learned the draft of this story was still in my out-

box—it did not transmit eight days earlier when I hit “send”

at the airport upon my departure. The intervening eight days,

however, underscored for me the value of the topic of this

piece—the benet of giving our time (and talent) to others.

Learning Cha rity at an Imp ressionabl e Age

My parents were a grammar school teacher and a police of-

cer. They understood service to others (and society) provides

rewards that eclipse the pay.

A WWII veteran, my dad valued and taught a “military

bearing.” This required me to look someone in the eyes when

speaking and respond to strangers’ inquiries with a “Yes,

ma’am” or “No, sir.”

It did not matter whether this person was a teacher, priest,

police ofcer, or panhandler at an El stop as we waited for

the train to Wrigley Field. In fact, I would be reminded on

the platform that the others waiting for the train were just as

important and worthy of conversational respect as the teacher,

priest, or coach.

It was in instances where I might avoid eye contact with

one of the “least of my brothers” that I recall my dad engag-

ing in a bit of “manipulation.” He would give me 75 cents

(which, if I recall correctly, was more than enough to score a

frosty malt at the ball game)—but only if I had the condence

to engage the panhandler in conversation and share some of

the coins entrusted to me.

© Getty Image s

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