Mediation is like the Pimento Cheese & Avocado Sandwich I made at lunch.
Hum…how so you ask? There before me was a Pimento Cheese Sandwich. It was complete enough in itself, ready to be eaten. Beside it sat half an avocado left over from the Chicken Tortellini Soup with cheese and avocado chunks that had been served and eaten earlier.
When two people are able to combine their interests in a new way it can become more that either had thought or imagined earlier. A mediator can help that merger of ideas become an agreement. Done well it can be a durable, mutually agreed upon settlement.
So, the new sandwich, the merger of previously separate, stand alone ingredients is an example of that kind of merger. Apart they were good, together they were great! One difference in the lunch illustration and my mediated settlement description is that my sandwich was not a lasting merger. I ate it within seconds!
