Finding the missing pieces . . .

by David J Bilinsky

Somewhere over the rainbow way up high,
There’s a land that I heard of once in a lullaby,
Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.

Music by Harold Arlen
Lyrics by E Y “Yip” Harburg
Performed by Judy Garland

A satisfied client has just left your office – and as you parted, you heartedly wished them well in their future endeavours – just as you have said goodbye to clients countless times before. In a little while you will be greeting a new client – and the wheel will turn around once again. Looking ahead you see the yellow brick road paved with clients stretching far ahead of you to…what? Retirement? Does playing golf each and every day really hold an appeal for you? Or tennis? Or skiing? Let’s face it – as lawyers we are driven by intellectual stimulation and challenge. Sports and other activities are pleasant – a little bit at a time – since they allow us to relax and unwind a bit. But while one or two days of golf are heaven, endless days of golf could be downright maddening. Furthermore, while we hope for glowing health in our golden days, reality is that not all of us will share such a gilded future. Unfortunately at the end of our road there is no wonderful Wizard of Oz who can magically produce whatever pieces are missing once our practices are gone.

So what can we do to prepare for our future days? Here are some suggestions to enjoy today and tomorrow:

Carpe diem
Seize the day. As lawyers we are prone to deferring rewards – in fact, almost to the point of putting them off permanently. Long hours followed by longer hours are the norm. Don’t stop working to pay for the mortgage and office rent – but practice taking a few minutes each day just for the sake of enjoying the day. Go for that run – or walk. Visit the art gallery. Read (or write) that novel you have been thinking about. Develop a habit of finding activities that you find just as interesting and challenging as the practice of law – and then pursue them. You will bring back some of the energy and vigour you generated in the alternate endeavour – to your practice – and have a good motivator to finish off your daily tasks.

Build a bridge
It has been said that if you don’t know where you are going, then any road will get you there. Is your vision for the activities during your retirement completely different from what you are doing now? Heretical question – but if you don’t take the time for these activities now, what guarantees do you have that these activities will be satisfying later? In fact, some people don’t think about retirement as they simply do not wish to consider being permanently out of the office – with the result that they either never retire (and drive their partners crazy) or they go from full practice to full retirement (and drive their significant other crazy).

Finance your future
RRSP season is upon us. While the stock market has taken a beating this last year, over the long haul it has steadily increased in value. Spend the time and set aside the money to ssure yourself of your future. Seek out financial counsellors and consider their advice. Talk to your significant other and determine their vision for retirement and figure out what it will all cost. Notwithstanding the present federal budget surplus, there is no guarantee that in 10-15 years the CPP/OAP systems will be able to handle the load of the retiring baby boomers. Furthermore it is a sad fact that there are many lawyers who are still practising as they simply cannot afford to retire. By taking control of your financial future now, you have taken away at least one uncertainty of retirement later.

Look for alternatives
There are rewarding, fruitful alternatives to traditional retirement – I just learned of a lawyer who is going off and doing human rights work in the third world. Another is helping to write legislation in a developing country. At retirement, you will have a lifetime of legal experience behind you – and there are places in the world that could use that experience. Contact CIDA – the Canadian International Development Agency and similar organizations to learn of such opportunities. Best of all, you can take on a shorter-term engagement now to see if they offer the type of experiences you desire.

Start something different
Winston Churchill faced some difficult times during his life – periods when he was out of elected office or out of favour with the current administration or under stress – and as much to his own amazement as anyone else’s, he found satisfaction and relief in painting. It offered the absolute involvement and engagement of his faculties that he needed – and allowed him to come back to his duties refreshed and invigorated. It could be that you have hidden talents in fields that you haven’t even considered.

Plan
I once read of a Frenchman who had made up a list of all the things he wanted to see and do during his lifetime. In his 80’s, this fellow had managed to cross off almost all of them. How many of us have taken the time to explicitly write down what we want to do with our lives? Seen in this light, retirement is an opportunity to devote yourself to crossing off those entries remaining on your own personal list. Moreover, if you keep that list nearby, you will be looking for ways to check off items as occasions arise. Remember that opportunity sometime knocks but once.

Home
It is an irony that most of us spend an inordinate amount of time at the office to be able to spend an insignificant amount of time at “home”. What does home mean to you? As we approach retirement, we will be spending less and less time focused on the office and more and more time focused on “home”. It is our retreat, our refuge and resting place and the one place where we should be most able to hear our own inner voice.

Do we spend a great deal of time at the office to avoid entering that black hole called “home”? Do we immerse ourselves in work to avoid confronting our own reality and perhaps the emptiness of our own home? If so, we can start - immediately - to rework our homes to resemble the vision that we carry around in our own minds. I am not talking about doing a Martha Stewart rework of your interior space – but rather in creating the physical and emotional environment that we find comforting and welcoming. Progressively, if we make our homes into our ideal nest and place of comfort, then we will welcome the opportunity to finally leave our workplaces and retire to our homes, knowing that they contain all that we find worthwhile and rewarding in life.

After all, as we all have learned, there is no place like home.

David J Bilinsky is the Practice Management Advisor at the Law Society of British Columbia. Contact him at dbilinsky@lsbc.org. The views expressed herein are strictly the author's and may not be shared by the Law Society of BC.

This article originally appeared in the February 2001 issue of BarTalk and is reproduced here with permission of both the author and the Canadian Bar Association, British Columbia Branch.