Message from Director

The world breaks everyone, and then some become strong in the broken places. – Ernest Hemingway, Farewell to Arms
 
LAP volunteers have become strong in the broken places. While LAP is often perceived as helping lawyers and judges who don’t know how to effectively cope, what most folks don’t realize is that as soon as LAP participants begin actively using recovery tools, they become incredibly resilient and actually cope better than most, especially in situations that parallel the COVID-19 pandemic. By that, I mean situations steeped in uncertainty (economic, personal, professional, social, familial), situations where there is a sense of a loss of control, not only to shape outcomes (as we like to think we do as lawyers), but even loss of control over the process. This is where people in long-term recovery shine. They’ve had years of practice implementing these tools day in and day out. Recovery is mostly about day-to-day emotional well-being as we navigate the vagaries of life.

It is not that people in long-term recovery somehow do not feel scared, anxious, frustrated, angry, impatient, or overwhelmed. They do; we do. It is that we have learned ways to be more present in the unfolding moment, more emotionally balanced and not make it (life, a difficult situation, etc.) worse than it actually is. Sometimes it (life, a difficult situation, etc.) can be quite bad. So we have to find ways to navigate it with some sense of equanimity to maintain some balance. This is where recovery tools come into play. In good news, these recovery tools are available to everyone.

I reached out to some of our volunteers and asked each to send me a short paragraph on their favorite recovery tool and to apply it to the pandemic. Each entry you see is written by a different volunteer, and yet, you will see lots of overlapping themes. I anticipated only receiving replies from about a third of volunteers I contacted. Instead, I received more content than I can possibly use in one Sidebar (or, frankly, ten). So we will be sending a short Sidebar every week to subscribers, and I will roll out a few tools and articles each week. I have also created a page on our website that can be used like a tool box when a refresher is needed. You can click on a tool and read multiple lawyers’ perspectives on a topic. I will update this webpage with additional content as it arrives.

A note about some of the entries: some speak of God or a Higher Power, and I have not edited this out, where I might normally. LAP takes no position on these issues and encourages readers to insert their own conceptions, whether they be religiously, scientifically, psychologically, or humanistically based. As one of our slogans encourages us: Take what you like and leave the rest.

Robynn E. Moraites
Director, NC Lawyer Assistance Program

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