The anomaly: If we don’t know of them, we have none. In the objective universe of a perfect world, we would know of each and every one, and moreover, the consequences of each were we to choose them. As defined, wisdom is the capacity to take current experiences […]
At the time, it may have seemed inconsequential. The choices we make — of whether to go to college or not; of delaying further education; of where to live, move to, set roots in; whether to get married, […]
When a medical condition first begins to appear, Federal employees and Postal workers rarely predict or anticipate that Federal Disability Retirement will be the choice that must be chosen in the near-term — or even in the long term. A medical condition arises; we go to the doctor to take care of it; we continue on with life. We rarely “plan” in anticipation of filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits. […]
The two go hand-in-hand, although we may not necessarily see them as unalterable couplets forever ensconced and inseparable. Instead, we often make choices, then afterwards, express our regrets without having learned from the process of “choice-making”. Choices available are often unanalyzed and nebulous;
Of course, we all make them; the issue is one of containment, not of avoiding them altogether. For, the corollary can be equally faulty: Of indecision until and unless all conditions for perfection can be met. In other words, the thwarted view that waits until everything is perfect: The perfect life; the perfect marriage; the perfect career; the perfect choice. […]
When is it too late to begin reflecting upon one’s circumstances and choices? Do we already do that daily, and does the length of rumination engaged depend upon where one’s station in life has reached? Do old men and squeaky rocking chairs justify such reflective modes of behavior, or do the young as well take the time to ponder upon choices made, circumstances encountered, and the spectrum of clashes in between? […]
Often, choices come in pairs, and the difficulty is in deciding between the binary alternatives offered. Chocolate or vanilla? Apple pie or cherry? If taste were the sole determining factor, one can simply submit to the subliminal voices churning deep within the intestinal caverns of digestive tracts, and simply declare one as opposed to the other. Of course, in such matters, one can “cheat”, and simply say to the host or hostess, “Oh, they both look so delicious, can I just have a small sliver of both?” […]
There are still some parts in the world where line of descent and lineage of genealogy matter; certainly, for spectacles such as the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, the origins of breeding, the line of winners, and the genetically pure tree of aristocratic connections matter still. But humans are different; or so we like to think. We are repulsed by the very idea of placing substantive significance upon birth rights, yet we fawn all over royal births and deaths; […]
We all have to make them; and though we may alternatively want to curl up into a fetal position and wish the blunt world to stop bothering us, the decisions we make, and take responsibility for, reflect the state of maturity which binds us to age, experience and level of moral maturity. It is, to a great extent, a superficial and shallow connotation and reference point; for, as the inevitability of choices to be made result from living in circumstances of our own making, so to imply that there is anything “substantive” in speaking about them undermines the very relevance of implication itself. […]
OPM Disability Retirement, Et Cetera… 