Seeing Opportunities for Connection

AuthorJoseph 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
32 | LITIGATION SECTI ON

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