PRESIDENT’S PAGE
James I. Stealey, President
The WV State Bar

FUNNY BUSINESS
"Nothing in man is more serious than his sense of humor; it is the sign that he wants all the truth."  - Mark Van Doren
"All the animals except man know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it."
- Samuel Butler
"To appreciate nonsense requires a serious interest in life."  - Gelett Burgess

I don't know about you, but it seems to me that some people who focus on their work too much oftentimes have little or no sense of humor. Perhaps they think that laughter is a time waster, or that humor is a cover-up for some type of personal weakness that they would rather not reveal. Or maybe they think that life really consists of going to work, coming home, thinking about work, and then going back to work.
Admittedly, I've found myself going through periods in my own life in which I could rightly be described as someone who has concentrated too much on his work and has temporarily forgotten the other important things in life that matter. And truthfully, whenever I am preparing for a trial, I tend to revert back to that persona. I get it in my head that in order to win, in order to zealously represent my client, in order to avoid personal embarrassment in front of the Court and jury, and in order to avoid being a miserable failure, I am somehow required to work twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, taking no time for rest, for relaxation, or for fun. In fact, I almost deliberately forbid myself to have fun, as if having some fun might cause me to lose focus on what I'm doing, or, worse yet, jinx me and cause me to lose.
It is hard to maintain a sense of humor and to have fun in the midst of all the stresses and pressures of an active law practice. Yet, can we not agree that it is during the most hectic, the most stressful, and the most demanding of circumstances (and preparing for trial certainly fits into that category), it is more important than ever to make time for some fun, or perhaps just some plain old fashioned nonsense? Oddly enough, perhaps even the absurdity of our situation - the overwhelming amount of work that remains to be done; the deadlines; the stress; the pressure to perform; the pressure to make money; the expectations of our mentors, our colleagues, our clients; the fear of embarrassment or failure - can be a source of humor. For if we pause for a moment and attempt to see the forest through the trees, maybe we can see that while our situation may seem totally hopeless, yet at the same time, it may be so bad as to be hilarious too. The truth of the matter is that sometimes, not even Superman or Wonderwoman could do some of the things we as lawyers are expected to do on a daily basis. And we might be better able to understand and come to grips with that fact by maintaining a sense of humor about ourselves and our work. Not that we shouldn't take our work seriously, but certainly we should understand that a hundred years from now, no one is going to give a damn if we billed that last hour, got that contract done, or God forbid, lost that trial. There are going to be successes and failures in everyone's lives. The sooner we realize that fact and accept it, the better we'll be able to enjoy its successes and come to grips with its failures.
Humor can give us freedom. Yet humor is deadly serious. It can enable us to deal with things that are painful to us, distasteful or sad. It can also help us realize that while our work is important, our lives, our families and our health are even more important. We must not let our lives get out of balance. Sure, we can't expect everything to turn out like it used to in Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, nor can we expect to be endlessly happy. That should not be the goal. It is not realistic. What is realistic, though, is to enjoy ourselves; to engage in the absurd from time to time; to have some fun; to maintain a balance between work and life; and to enjoy our time here on earth rather than just pass it.
I hope you'll each resolve today, no matter how hectic things are, to set aside some time in the future to do something fun, or to do something that makes you laugh. Then, most importantly, when that time comes, DO IT. Enjoy!!!