Early Retirement for Injured Federal Employees
That’s a slice of the old stand-up routine, isn’t it? Where the old man is asked about whether this or that hurts, or whether he can feel such-and-such sensation, and he declares, “At my age, I’m lucky to feel anything at all!” Life sensations – it is too general a concept to retain any meaningful applicability. Instead, we are merely satisfied with portions and slices – of a cramp that is rubbed away, […]
It seems to come and go imperceptibly; we barely notice; then, one day, we wake up and life has passed by; the past is now an elongated prism through which we judge the remainder of our lives; the present is but the despair we feel because of wasted time allowed to blur beyond into a vestige of forgotten winds; and the future remains as the uncertainty we quivered about before we grew up. […]
How is it measured? What constitutes it – a subjective sensation, an objective judgment, or the loosely aligned combination of both? Is it the quantifiable reaction of others, or the measurable amassing of possessions and the value of the gross aggregate? Is the last one atop a proverbial hill of owning stuff what determines and adjudges the success of a person? How does one analyze a life – at what age, in which stage of the slice, and is there a specific point on a pendulum or spectrum, or is it more of a linear continuum where specificity in a point of historical categorization should be resisted in favor of looking at a wider expanse of a ‘period’ evaluation? […]
There is, then, the job or career we undertake (the distinction between the two is often lost, and depends in large part upon a multiplicity of factors, including length of commitment, opportunity within a given field for growth and advancement; whether any qualifications, certifications or professional degrees are required, etc.); and then, the conditions and context of participating in a greater culture of our choosing, including where we live, with whom we live, what social circles we expand into; as well as how we interact with the extended community surrounding us, and whether we even decide to abide by the rules, laws and limitations imposed by society. […]
Life requires sifting through a sieve; otherwise, the unwanted and undesirable particles of coarseness and garbage will become part and parcel of the component of one’s daily living. Have you ever watched how the screen picks up, prevents and protects against intruding contaminants attempting to interlope? How dust sticks to likeness and filth collects upon kindred spirits? […]
Doomsayers are everywhere, and in every generation and region of thoughtful pronouncements, prophets foretelling of anticipated events await to ring the ears of those who desire future confirmation of that which was already expected. Beyond the general prophesy of future events, however, is the one who focuses upon minutiae and details irrelevant to the greater paradigm of events. It is like the man who was informed that major surgery would be necessary, and oh, by the way, the scalpel to be used is made by a German manufacturer whose great uncle was related to Lord Byron. […]