Charles Darwin was just 22 when he set out on his five-year voyage aboard the Beagle in 1831. Returning at 27, he was celebrated throughout Europe for his discoveries in botany and zoology, and for his early theories of evolution. Over the next 30 years, Darwin took enormous pride in sitting atop the celebrity-scientist pecking order, developing his theories and publishing them as books and essays — the most famous being On the Origin of Species in 1859.
But, as Darwin progressed into his 50s, he stagnated; he hit a wall in his research. At the same time an Austrian monk by the name of Gregor Mendel discovered what Darwin needed to continue his work: the theory of genetic inheritance. Unfortunately, Mendel’s work was published in an obscure academic journal and Darwin never saw it. Depressed in his later years, he wrote to a close friend, “I have not the heart or strength at my age to begin any investigation lasting years, which is the only thing which I enjoy.”
Johann Sebastian Bach quickly distinguished himself as a musical genius. In his 65 years, he published more than 1,000 compositions for all the available instruments of his day. Early in his career, Bach was considered an astoundingly gifted organist and improviser. Commissions rolled in; royalty sought him out; young composers emulated his style. He enjoyed real prestige.
But it didn’t last—because his career was overtaken by musical trends ushered in at least in part by his own son. The fifth of Bach’s 20 children, C.P.E. exhibited the musical gifts his father had. He was fascinated with a new “classical” style of music, which was taking Europe by storm. As classical music displaced baroque, C.P.E.’s prestige boomed while his father’s music faded.
Bach easily could have become embittered, like Darwin. Instead, he chose to redesign his life, moving from innovator to instructor. He spent a good deal of his last 10 years in the company of friends and in writing. In his later years, he lived a quieter life as a teacher and a family man.
What’s the difference between Bach and Darwin? Both were greatly gifted and widely known early in life. Both attained permanent fame posthumously. Where they differed was in their approach to ‘the fade’. When Darwin fell behind as an innovator, he became despondent and depressed; his life ended in sad inactivity. When Bach fell behind, he reinvented himself sharing his musical ideas in the service of others as a master instructor. He relished his relationships with family and friends, and he died beloved, fulfilled, and — though less famous than he once had been — respected.
The 'fade' is inevitable and it occurs earlier than almost any of us wants to believe. For some in this judging job it happens around five years after appointment, after the sweetness of elevation is over and you at least don’t know what you don’t know! For others, 10 years in harness risks wearing down the natural cadence of our abilities. We know well how to judge, but the constant grind of the job wears you out risking compassion fatigue and EGHS (Easily Grumpy at Home Syndrome)! There has to be more, right? But what? Then, of course, the final decade before statutory senility at 70. Just how do you manage that particular decline?
JANZ has written, submitted, and talked about the concepts of our judicial call being a commitment of trust on both sides. We describe that as a ‘long handshake’ lasting throughout your judicial career and far into retirement. Our official policy is that on surrendering to appointment we become a ‘judge for life’ along with our whānau. And that is often overlooked when our value to justice is misunderstood, misrepresented, or overlooked.
There needs to be a shift to a well-resourced and tangible career path for judicial service. There needs to be a simple decision to provide us with opportunities to look above the daily grind and think and talk about how to meet the challenges we face and those challenges we have not yet seen. But such a shift demands more than mere platitudes. Much resource is invested at our inauguration, there is none, I can find, spent on the natural way points of five and 10 years on, and the last decade of judicial service is totally unplanned.
We especially don’t do retirement well, it’s a brutal process, devoid of debrief or mining of the rich experience of years of judicial service. The connection with our retired judges is haphazard. JANZ wants to ‘fill in’ those gaps. We want to create opportunities for you to gather, to ‘check in’ at those regular five-yearly way points. We want to provide helpful opportunities for you and yours to breakaway and, in the company of others, learn about what has worked and what hasn’t, what your future holds, what the next five years may bring.
An abundance of research strongly suggests that happiness— not just in later years but across the life span — is tied directly to the health and plentifulness of one’s relationships. When you think about it, abundant relationships for judicial officers are the bedrock of both our wellness and independence. An interconnected bench is a healthy one and one harder for life’s challenges to breach. There is a whakatauki from Tainui that sums this up well. Dr Hine Elder attributes this to King Tawhiao in her book, Aroha.
Ki te Kotahi te kakaho, ka whati; ki te kapuia, e kore e whati
If a reed stands alone, it can be broken; if it is in a group, it cannot.
When we stand alone, we are vulnerable, but together we are unbreakable. The secret to this judging job, to bearing the fade — to enjoying it — is to become more conscious of the roots linking us to others and to pause now and again, just to take breath and see where this service of the law might take us.
The lesson for you and me, especially after 60: Be Johann Sebastian Bach, not Charles Darwin.
So, here’s something you can do right now. Something for you and your significant other. Send that email to admin@janz.nz and commit to the enjoyable company of your brothers and sisters at our fabulous Hilton Break-a-way weekend from the evening of Friday 18 November to a late check out on Sunday 20 November. Come one, come all, but especially our cohort approaching the last decade of service. Go one better and make a road trip of it with a group of friends. We promise, no talking heads, just time to talk about the things that must endure and matter to you. And of course, the great hospitality of the Karaka Hilton.