A legal professional mental health series by Senior Fellow Don Blackwell of Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial, LLC, in Miami, Florida
#ADifferentKindOfToDoList
- Find Your Way Back To The Playground
There was a time – not so long ago – when a twig, a leaf, and an empty playground on a sun-kissed November morning was all it took to evoke joy like this in you and me!
It was a simpler, more innocent, quieter time. We were above the fray and undistracted by the noise.
We were lighter, unburdened by the weight of the world, of life, of work, of flawed relationships, and of an overwhelming sense of responsibility – for everyone and everything but ourselves.
We had an unobstructed view of self – not one obscured, if not entirely distorted by others, by comparison, or by our own self-loathing.
We (and our hearts) were free to live in and express our acoustic / authentic selves without fear of criticism, abandonment, or exclusion.
We were exactly who we were made to be and experienced life exactly the way we were intended to – with curiously, wonder, excitement, and awe.
We were adventurous and fearless in all the right ways.
The challenge – for all of us – is to find our way back to that playground and rediscover our own twigs and leaves – and the joy and beauty to be found in the simplest of things.
Thank you, Macie for reminding us of what we left behind and what’s waiting for us when we find our way back.
LCA Senior Fellow Don Blackwell is a Partner in the Florida offices of Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial. At various times, Don’s also been an Adjunct Professor of Law at Southern Methodist University, St. Thomas University, and the University of Miami), the creator and host of a charity golf tournament benefiting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and a little league baseball coach. Don is an outspoken mental health advocate, and the author of numerous feature articles that have appeared in various local, state, and national legal publications. Don’s first book, "Dear Ashley ..." - A Father's Reflections and Letters to His Daughter on Life, Love and Hope, is a compilation of life lessons learned in the midst of his daughter's decade-long struggle with a life-threatening illness. Since its publication, Don has written and spoken extensively on issues relating to mental health, eating disorders, compassionate professionalism, and the need for greater civility in the legal profession, all of which has made Don a highly sought after guest on webinars and podcasts tackling those increasingly critical subjects. In 2020, Don organized and hosted the “Legacy of Hope Summit” - a first of its kind symposium attended by more than two dozen highly-respected experts in the eating disorders field aimed at arriving at a blueprint for the path forward in the care and treatment of those insidious illnesses. Don’s second book, Retune Your Heart, is scheduled for release in the Fall of 2025.
