It’s a tough world out there.

People are sometimes careless or reckless. Sometimes they are selfish, inconsiderate, or rude. Sometimes they are just plain mean. Unfortunately, some will lie, cheat, steal, and worse.

Things often just don’t work out the way we expected for whatever reason – someone makes a mistake, the business deal goes south, the repairman screws up, or the event gets cancelled. Freak accidents happen, and things go wrong no matter what we do. Murphy’s Law sometimes seems to control our lives. And, we get into disputes with others – strangers, business associates, neighbors, and even friends and family. We get insulted. We get disappointed. We get delayed. We get frustrated, irritated, annoyed, and angry.

Sometimes we also get hurt in some way – physically, financially, or otherwise. The harm can range from minor annoyance to catastrophic disaster. Sometimes the severity of the harm resulting from an action or event defies logic. We all know of the person who walks away unscathed from the mangled car overturned on the highway, and conversely, the unfortunate soul that chokes to death on a peanut. We are all human, and our lives are brimming with unpredictability, including bumps, bruises, shattered hopes, faded dreams, broken hearts, and losses of every type imaginable.

I’m not critical of those that truly need legal help to rectify genuine harms that can’t be resolved except by turning to the courts. Rather, I seek to focus a spotlight on the “lawsuit mentality” that seems to have permeated our society. For example, there was a recent new story about a thin female airline passenger who sued an airline because she had to give up her standby seat to accommodate an overweight passenger that needed two seats. Without debating airline policy, my point is simply to ask what should be an obvious question: Did this incident really justify a lawsuit against the airline? Or was this incident just the type of annoyance that we all must suffer from time to time in an imperfect world?

Perhaps it is time for all of us to accept life’s roller coaster with the grace and common sense exhibited by our parents, grandparents, and ancestors. The next time something unpleasant happens, ask yourself if turning the matter into a legal issue is really necessary. Maybe you just need to work it out the best way possible. If you can’t, maybe you need to relax and take a deep breath, say a prayer, go for a long walk, or have a talk with a friend or family member. Perhaps you just need to acknowledge and accept the volatile nature of the existence we all share.

Do you really need a lawyer? Or do you just need to find the serenity that flows from accepting life’s imperfections. Only you can look in the mirror and make that decision.