Why Mediation?

Why get into Mediation? Most of you reading this have probably asked yourself this at least once. If your experience was similar to mine, you also had to answer questions like "what is mediation? So your like a judge or something? What can you do with that?" Nearly two years ago, I had to ask myself these questions. I knew a little about mediation through negotiation

and law classes I took in undergrad. However, I could barely answer the same questions my family and friends asked. Now that I am nearing the end of my formal classes, I am able to pinpoint what attracted me to mediation.

First of all, I would like to think that there is a bit of a "higher calling" with mediation. While I am somewhat religious I am not trying to invoke religious overtones. I simply think that mediation has a way to help and empower some that would otherwise be left behind. I have a lot of satisfaction from that fact. While people today debate whether Jesus was a Democrat or Republican, I say he has aspects of a mediator. In addition, I wanted more for my life than sales. I felt that I was stuck in the mud with no direction. I would like to think that ADR has really provided a path for the rest of my life.

Second, I really like the aspect of fairness in mediation. It seems that the world if full of biases and unfair treatment. The rich get richer, celebrities only serve one day of a 30 day sentence, and the Kansas City Royals have been at the bottom of baseball for more than a decade.

Lastly, I believe that there is an exciting future for Mediation and the field of ADR. It it my hope that the field grows in the mainstream, and I am there with it.

So whats your story? What brought you to mediation?

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