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Strength, Courage and Wisdom

April 15, 2021 By Joy Rosenthal

Strength, courage, and wisdom And it’s been inside of me all along Strength, courage, and wisdom Inside of me… India Arie I don’t think there is any question but that 2020 was one of the toughest years on record.  Was it for you?  It certainly was for me.  The year brought one challenge after another – personally and professionally. Everything shut down so quickly!  We thought it was going to last a few weeks… and now it’s been over a … read more »

Filed Under: Happiness Tagged With: compassion, grief, hope, resilience

As I Live and Breathe…

April 30, 2020 By Joy Rosenthal

As I Live and Breathe… by Joy Rosenthal

In early February, before the whole world turned upside-down, I traveled to a tiny village on the Pacific coast of Mexico to attend an intensive, week-long training for conflict resolution professionals from around the world. Led by master trainer Gary Friedman of the Center for Understanding in Conflict and Zoketsu Norman Fischer of the Everyday Zen Center, the program was called Inside Out: Conflict and Compassion. We were there to look deeply at our reactions to the conflicts we witness … read more »

Filed Under: Happiness, Mediation, Mindfulness, Spousal Maintenance Tagged With: Center for Understanding in Conflict, Conflict Resolution, Everyday Zen Center, Gary Friedman, meditation, Zoketsu Norman Fischer

Love in the Time of Coronavirus

March 10, 2020 By Joy Rosenthal

White board with list of things to do during the Coronavirus scare

Coronavirus is showing us how incredibly connected we ALL are. Who knew that we are only six degrees of separation from the good people of Wuhan, China? Or that Italy, South Korea, Japan and Iran are actually neighbors? We are all, actually, so close. And, of course, we are learning that the virus does not seem to care who is rich or poor, what race or religion we are, who we love or what we believe. What matters is that … read more »

Filed Under: Caregiving, Happiness, Mindfulness Tagged With: Coronavirus, Self Care

… And the wisdom to know the difference

January 15, 2020 By Joy Rosenthal

Landscape with sun shining through clouds

At the start of this new year and this new decade, it seems like a good time to take a self-assessment and to think about my goals for the new year. I am asking myself, “What can I change in my life, and what can’t I?” Then I ask, “What do I want to change so I can meet my goals?” There are so many things that we cannot change — for instance, we cannot change the things that happened … read more »

Filed Under: Happiness, Mindfulness, Negotiation Tagged With: Life Changes, Life perspective, Personal Goals

Hold Your Grudges!

May 30, 2019 By Joy Rosenthal

Hold Your Grudges! by Joy Rosenthal

“But you had an affair!” “But you started drinking … again!” What is a grudge? The Oxford Dictionary website defines it as ‘A persistent feeling of ill will or resentment resulting from a past insult or injury.’ As you can imagine, nearly everyone who walks through the doors of my office to get divorced has a grudge or two in their pocket. I’m sure some are well deserved. Certainly, past insults and injuries are what lead to divorce in the … read more »

Filed Under: Divorce, General, Happiness, Negotiation Tagged With: Frederic Luskin, Grudges, Let Go of Your Grudges, Separation, Stanford Forgiveness Project, Tim Herrera

What’s Your Story?

May 2, 2019 By Joy Rosenthal

What’s Your Story? by Joy Rosenthal

“If you are not writing your stories, your stories are being written by others.” – Wajahat Ali “The world is made up of stories, not atoms” – Muriel Rukheyser We are winding down the spring semester Family Law class at CUNY Law School. Last week, in our class about domestic violence, I showed the students a documentary, Crime After Crime1. It’s about Debbie Peagler, who participated in the murder of her boyfriend after he brutally abused her all through her … read more »

Filed Under: Families, Happiness Tagged With: Crime After Crime, CUNY Law School, Family Law class, Life perspective

Facing Your ‘Other’

December 11, 2018 By Joy Rosenthal

Facing Your 'Other' by Joy Rosenthal

  When I mediate, I am sometimes struck by the fact that our lives can be profoundly affected by  the actions of others. It can be frustrating to think about our lives being out of our control. I am happier when I focus on what we can control — particularly our own thoughts, our attitudes, and our actions. Of course, change is difficult, but certainly possible. I have used my thoughts and actions at critical points to change the course … read more »

Filed Under: Families, Happiness, Mindfulness, Negotiation Tagged With: Empathy, Jacqui Lewis, mediation, Middle Collegiate Church, Revolutionary Love, Tolerance

The Power of Dignity

November 8, 2018 By Joy Rosenthal

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of giving a Continuing Legal Education presentation on the Dignity Model with attorney-mediator colleagues Teresa Calabrese and Andrea Hirshman. Here is a clip from it, where I am talking about the concept that we ALWAYS have dignity — no one can take it away, no matter how badly they treat us. It is an important part of negotiation— you have to honor your own self-worth before you can honor that in others. … read more »

Filed Under: Happiness, Mindfulness Tagged With: Andrea Hirshman, Communication, Dignity, Donna Hicks, Mandela Consciousness, Teresa Calabrese

Just Listen

October 19, 2018 By Joy Rosenthal

Just Listen by Joy Rosenthal

I write this on my way back from a conference in Washington, DC for the Project for Integrating Spirituality, Law and Politics (PISLAP) entitled, “Fostering Human Connection in an Era of Alienation.” One workshop I attended there, led by John Spiegel and Judith M. Glasser — and based upon the work of Nancy Kline — was called “Souls in Action: Using ‘Generative Attention’ to Resolve Conflicts.” Their assertion is that attention is a creative act, and that we can help … read more »

Filed Under: Happiness Tagged With: John Spiegel, Law and Politics (PISLAP), listening, mediation, Nancy Kline, Project for Integrating Spirituality

R-E-S-P-E-C-T — Find Out What it Means to Me!

August 22, 2018 By Joy Rosenthal

R-E-S-P-E-C-T — Find Out What it Means to Me! by Joy Rosenthal

I write this just days after the death of the infamous Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. Hers was the voice of a generation — my generation — but she meant so much more. While it is difficult to imagine a world without her, I am grateful for her music, which will live on. From my perspective, Aretha’s most influential song was “Respect,” written by Otis Redding. As Wesley Morris wrote in her obituary, she turned the song — and the … read more »

Filed Under: Clients, Collaborative Process, Cultural Competence, Divorce, Happiness, Marriage, Mediation, Mindfulness, Negotiation, Nonviolence Tagged With: Aretha Franklin, Dignity, Donna Hicks, Respect

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Joy S. Rosenthal, Esq.
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