Early Retirement for Injured Federal Employees
In one sense, all lives are troubled; otherwise, we would not be speaking about life at all, for “life” itself is a series of troubles encountered. Every now and again, we hear about a life which was “privileged” or “blessed” — of a carefree, essentially trouble-free existence. But how long can that last? And was it truly an advantage to have such a childhood? […]
The common criticism launched against Bishop Berkeley, whether deservedly or not, is that his philosophical positions fly against the common sense of everyday experience. Of course, it all depends upon how you interpret his position. His generally-accepted dictum of “Esse est percipi” (no, we will not try and be like the great William F. Buckley, engaging in the well-known habit of interspersing Latin phrases which no one understood but everyone acted like they did; […]
Anyone with a thought can argue; of a voice which is louder, more aggressive; of incoherence in an age where logic has been abandoned and rationality of methodological proof is unnecessary, but where one’s “feelings” or whether one belongs to this or that victimized class in and of itself validates the propriety of an argument’s perspective. […]
The Biblical reality depicted in the very first verses reflects a reality more real than most would suppose, and for those who dismiss the ancient Books as merely relics of a superstitious past and thus irrelevant for modernity’s wake of technological sophistication, perhaps a redux and revisitation is in order. Most of life is chaos; or, to put it more starkly, the chaotic lives we lead are the rule, and not the exception. […]
How can distant lights dim when they are mere specks upon a blanketed panorama of darkness? One looks up at the stars and we are told, of course, that the sparkling tapestry may contain those which are already vanished, and what we “see”are merely the residue of a dead or dying star. In a universe based upon a visual-centered arena, the reliance upon sight to establish facts and verify truth-statements cannot be avoided. […]
The two concepts are often thought to be antithetical, from opposing philosophical frameworks and inconsistent in their expending of energies to achieve. Of the latter, it connotes self-discipline and an aversion, if not outright refusal and avoidance, of any indulgences that are implied by the former. The former, of course, is what most of us strive for — if not openly, then surreptitiously while denying that it is one’s singular goal. […]
What is it about a phrase that predictably tells us about the mood, content or direction of the mindset? If a person begins with, “Well, it all began when…” — we will often stifle a yawn, try to make excuses and begin heading for the exits. Self-aggrandizing, prefatory remarks that set the stage for a narrative delineation that includes private details of individual lives […]
Goals define an aspect of humanity that differentiates from the beast; just look at nature and the existential encounter with the “now” at all times. Animals besides Man look at the world around and respond appropriately and accordingly. For them, the future is the now; the past is merely a basis upon which to react in this moment of time; and what the appetitive parts of the soul require, the predator attempts to satisfy. Goals, on the other hand, project into the future. […]
They are, in the end, interconnected; yet the conceptual distinctions allow for separateness, such that we can value each independently. And much of the waterways which filter throughout the ecosystem remain invisible and underground, via caverns and unconfined aquifers; but that which we see with the naked eye, we assume to be the reality of the entirety of that which we hold to encompass the universe of our existence. […]
There is clearly a distinction to be made between the general fatigue which life blows upon us all; like the child left to play outside in days of yore, and comes back with the grime of healthy dirtiness, the imperceptible layers of life’s hardships cover everyone, like the light dusting of snow overnight revealed in the morning dawn of a winter’s day. But the profound fatigue which overtakes one from the daily battle against an incapacitating medical condition, is a difference which cannot always be adequately described, if ever. […]