Federal Disability Retirement: The Focus of Happiness

Self-focus necessarily leads to self-examination; and however one recites the variations of Socrates’ admonition, it essentially came to this: An unexamined life is not a worthy life.  And so the race to constantly examine ourselves has always been the focus of Western thought — both in the philosophical tradition, as well as in the theological tradition.  For, both Christianity and Judaism, also, require self-focus: of one’s actions, one’s sinful nature, and the need to self-correct in order to attain an entrance into heaven.

Eastern thought, generally speaking, of course (as all such discussions must embrace generalities unless we are to engage in an endless discussion of unattainable depth) engages in the opposite course of action: Whether Confucianism, which directs one to attain a level of filial piety in sacrificing for one’s family, or Zen Buddhism which calls for one to abandon the ego of self, the ultimate focus is to direct one’s self away from the very essence of self.

Thus is happiness not important or even relevant.  The obsession on one’s happiness, then, is often thought of as an unhealthy obsession more prevalent in thought because of the Western tradition of philosophy and theology.  But of both — Eastern and Western thought — health is a matter of concern quite apart from one’s happiness.  For, without health, there can be no happiness, no filial piety, and certainly not an abandonment of the self, precisely because without health, there can be no self to begin with, and thus no abandonment of the self.

For Federal Gov. employees and U.S. Postal Service workers who suffer form a medical condition which necessitates filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management under FERS, it matters not whether the focus of happiness is the basis for the need to file for Federal Employee or Postal Worker Disability Retirement benefits.  In the end, nothing matters unless one maintains a basic level of health.

Contact a FERS Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and consider that the focus of happiness begins, both in Eastern and Western thought, with the maintenance of one’s health, where mind and spirit must both retain a constant level of vitality in order to live a meaningful life.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill
Lawyer exclusively representing Federal and Postal employees to secure their Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.