One of the mainstays of successful mediation strategies is to get each party to actively imagine a point in time when resolution of their concerns is replaced by the desire to move forward with one’s life. It doesn’t mean that everything works out perfectly, or that they will come to absolute agreement on every issue. It does, however, recognize the freedom that comes from the shared goal of putting concerns in the past in order to get on with the future. The likelihood of a favorable result is largely a factor of the attitude the parties bring to the table.

Communities at large are...