One of the things I spend my time thinking about is value. As a solo practitioner, I must constantly make decisions about the value of my time, the value of various tasks, the value of particular clients, the value of different experiences and the list goes on and on. I have also often wrestled with trying to figuring out who really determines the value of these things. Do I decide? Is it my neighbor? Is it the economy? It seems as though everyone has an opinion about what someone or something is worth. 

My conclusion is that Henry David Thoreau has hit the head right on the nail. He said,

The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.

Today, we celebrate the value of life and the value of freedom. Men and women served in the United States armed forces and lost their lives to ensure these liberties that we enjoy. I honor them today.

But I also acknowledge the amount of life we all exchange everyday. Each day in our courtrooms, classrooms, boardrooms and living rooms, we exchange life in varying quantities to send each other messages about value. We may not have the opportunity or necessity to give our physical lives like the people we honor today, but let us not forget that every person we come across has had a price paid for them. Because of that price, the price of life, we owe it to each other to acknowledge our inherent VALUE and protect it. Happy Memorial Day!