This is the most powerful question in mediation.
What if this dispute were resolved today? What if you no longer had to dedicate time and energy to fighting this cause? What if you and the other side were able to move forward to re-establish your relationship or conduct further business?
Some mediators will use this as a question in caucus to prompt parties when considering their options. It can be liberating for party to consider life without the dispute. Even if the dispute is just commercial, relationships of trust and mutual benefit may have been overturned by events. There is an emotional and psychological cost to conflict which parties may be unaware they are paying. They may also be unaware of how much of their life has been taken over by the dispute. For some parties this can be a way of clinging to a relationship with the other side, but it prevents all sides from advancing in their lives and moving beyond the conflict.