FERS Disability Retirement Law: Mistaken Identity

Mistaken Identity can take many forms.  In its simplest version, it is to merely mistake one person for being another.  But there are other, more complex forms.  For example, of going to an extravagant dinner party, enjoying the lavish food, being impressed with the splendor of the decor, the fine mansion, the seemingly expensive furniture, and the elegance of well-dressed people — and mistakenly identifying the wealth of accouterments for the foundation of a fine evening.

You had “fun”.  It was a great evening.  Elegance was the appearance; conversations — well, they had their moments.  The “mistake” is, indeed, in making the identification with the surroundings, and not with the relationships.  That is the difference between modernity and times past; we tend to think that the surroundings — the furniture, the paintings, all of the “possessions” — make up for and constitute the conclusory declaration of a “fine evening”.

But that is where the mistaken identity takes place; for, could not the same result have been achieved in less extravagant settings?  Was it because we were so impressed by the wealth abounding, that we forgot the importance of relationships?

And so we have gone about destroying human interaction, thinking that the accouterments were the basis for a fine evening, disregarding the relational interactions which should always take precedence over the superficial trappings which deceive.  But that is the consequence of materialism — of thinking that, at the end of the day, the winner, the king of the mountain, the one who prevails, is the one who has amassed the greatest volume of possessions.

It is the greatest of mistaken identities — that acquiring “stuff” is what makes us happy.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition and need to consider preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management under FERS, the “mistaken identity” is often in failing to see that one’s health takes precedence over all else.

It is something we have always taken for granted; yet, without it, all else becomes secondary and irrelevant by comparison.

Contact a FERS Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and begin to correct the misconception which has resulted in a mistaken identity — that health comes before all else, and getting a Federal Disability Retirement annuity will help you to prioritize your health.

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.

 

FERS Disability Law: Mantel and Mantle of Sadness

By either word, it relates to the significance of the emotion, and where it is placed — or remains — in one’s daily life.  Is sadness placed for prominent display upon the mantel of your existence?  Or, do you cloak yourself with the mantle of sadness, and walk about each day with it tightly wrapped around you?

Other characteristics can also be applied — as in the medical condition which one suffers from; the daily pain which one experiences; the panic attacks, depressive moods, and heightened anxiety which cannot be avoid, impacting the ability to perform one’s essential duties in one’s Federal or Postal job.

Is it time to take the medical conditions down from the mantel, and by doing so, shed the mantle which impacts and pervades all aspects of your life?

Federal Disability Retirement is a benefit available to all Federal and Postal employees under FERS, who have a minimum of 18 months of Federal Service.  Whether it is the mantel or mantle of sadness, or the mantel / mantle of a medical condition which needs to be attended to, you should contact a FERS Medical Attorney who specializes in OPM Disability Retirement Law, and see whether or not you, as a Federal employee, may be eligible for a Federal Government benefit you deserve.

For, in the end, however we try and escape or avoid life’s difficulties, it is the mantel of our own making, or the mantle we choose to enshroud outselves in, which will make all the difference.

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.

 

Federal Government Employee Disability Retirement Help: Life’s Libations

Originally applied in identifying a drink poured out in honor of a deity, it became a somewhat humorous way of referring to an alcoholic beverage via an alternative way.  The concept of “life’s libations” expands that perspective, to include anything which inebriates, excites, comforts or otherwise enlivens.

Life’s libations can be many.  It can range from the adventurous to the mundane.  But as with anything which inebriates, the spectrum itself is what matters.  On the lower end of the spectrum, a bit of libations will do no harm.  On the other extreme, the abuse of alcohol can have tragic consequences.

The point of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics is to find that “middle point” between sobriety and drunkenness, so that the gods to whom libations were poured do not laugh uproariously in response to the foolishness of man’s behavior.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal worker from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, Life’s Libations reflects the condition of one of life’s dominating themes — of whether you can go on making a living in the career which now has been impacted by a medical condition.

Medical conditions tend to wake us up because of their impact upon our lives.  Contact a FERS Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and consider that life’s libations are often the elixir which prompts a change.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Lawyer

 

Federal and Postal Medical Retirement: Destiny of Inevitability

There are those who exhale a sigh of inevitability and say, “Well, what does it matter? We are all going to die, anyway.”  But that misses the point, doesn’t it?

One’s destiny of inevitability is one and the same with everyone else in the universe — but it is the “getting there” (i.e., the journey itself), which makes all of the difference.  The intermediate steps between A to Z are comprised of B, C, D … X, Y, etc.  Yes, it is inevitable that the ultimate destiny is “Z”, but how one gets to it, the quality of one’s life encapsulated by the multiple steps and processes in order to arrive at that destiny of inevitability — that is what makes the difference.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal worker form performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, getting from Point A to Point Z is all the more important.  Perhaps Federal Disability Retirement makes up Point E; and getting a job in the private sector constitutes to Point L; the point is, there is still much of life to live, and Federal Disability Retirement benefits are merely another point in the process before the destiny of inevitability must be contemplated.

Consult with a FERS Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and consider some of the intermediate points of your life before resigning yourself to the destiny of inevitability.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Disability Retirement: Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience

Much of life is an experience of repetition.  It is the act of habituation which allows for the sustainability of life.  If every experience — each day, each hour, every day, every hour — is a new experience, it would be tantamount to the antithesis of sustainability: Chaos would prevail.

Then, there are once-in-a-lifetime experiences — perhaps of an astrological event where certain planets align themselves once in a million years; or of a “Supernova” that is witnessed; or of filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.  Yes — that, too, is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, inasmuch as it is unlikely you will file for the benefit more than once in a given lifetime.

Being such a unique event, it is advisable to consult with an OPM Disability Lawyer who has performed the chore of legal representation more than once, in order to obtain the experience of wisdom and advice which is, indeed, a once in a lifetime experience — but not for your FERS Attorney.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Employee Disability Retirement: The Fight

Not everyone relishes one.  Yet, the challenge comes about often when we do not expect it, when our proverbial defenses are down and we cannot muster the energy to properly engage it.  For children on the rough-and-tumble playgrounds, it can be over in a matter of minutes, where a few black eyes, a scrape and a bruise may be the worst of it.  For adults who actually engage in a fist fight, more serious consequences may ensue, and beyond hurt egos and wounded pride, there are laws against assaulting and battering.

But there are many other forms of “fighting”; of neighbors squabbling over overgrown trees which cross fence lines; of public debates and shaming; of aggressive trolls on the Internet.  Time was where once there were unspoken “rules” (like no hitting below the belt; no scratching or kicking, etc.), but with all-out “mixed martial arts” and other forms of unfettered fights, it seems that the art form (if there ever was one) is gone, and the only thing which matters is the outcome.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition begins to prevent the Federal or Postal worker from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, the “fight” is against the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, and fortunately for those who engage in this fight, there are rules by which all combatants must abide: The Statutes, Rules, Regulations and Case-Laws that circumscribe and dictate how the fight must be implemented and managed.

Consult with a FERS Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and find out what the rules are governing Federal Disability Retirement Law before you are in the “thick of it”; for, you do not want to have been taken unawares by a sucker-punch before you know what to expect.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Disability Retirement Benefits: The Weekend Warrior

It is always interesting how words expand over time, and how conceptual constructs and meanings extend beyond the elasticity of roots and origins, like the rubber band which can be stretched further than the critical juncture of the snapping limits.  Reference to the “weekend warrior” was once limited to the military reservist who — during the week, a mere civilian like the rest of us — on weekends would don a uniform and act like a career soldier.

Somehow, the delimited conceptual construct extended to non-military personnel, as in: Anyone who engages in some form of strenuous exercise or activity, then beyond that to: Everyone who does anything of any nature on weekends different from the rest of the week.

Perhaps a decade or so ago, if a person referred to someone else as a “Weekend Warrior”, it was meant and understood that such a person was a military reservist who went away on weekends to fulfill his military commitments.  Then, perhaps more recently, such a reference was presumed by many that, well, X played softball or climbed mountains, or rode a bicycle beyond a leisure activity until, today, it might mean that X considers himself a Weekend Warrior if he gets up off the couch to go down to McDonald’s for a milkshake.

The problem with the malleability of words is that, once they get beyond the origin of their roots, not only does meaning expand, but they also lose much of their meaningfulness.  For, the Weekend Warrior now refers to the Federal or Postal employee who struggles every weekend to just get enough rest in order to make it back to work on Monday.  The sadness of such a state is that such a struggle deflates not the meaning of the word, but of the meaningfulness of work and life itself.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who must become Weekend Warriors by simply resting up in order to maintain one’s health in order to struggle back to work during the week, it may be time to consider filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS.

Consult with an Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and consider what the true meaning is as to what it should mean: Of a Weekend Warrior who can once again use the weekends for its intended purpose: Of a Warrior on Weekends, and not to recuperate from weak ends.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Disability Retirement from OPM: A Lifetime

Isn’t that enough?  Shouldn’t it be?  Or, do we feel obligated to append a dependent clause, as in, “A lifetime of achievements,” “…of having accomplished X, Y and Z”, or even: “A Lifetime devoted to…”.  Must there always be the subsequent appendage, or isn’t living a lifetime enough in and of itself?

Was Aristotle right in depicting human beings (and everything else in the universe) as possessing a purposive reason for existence; or, as the French Existentialist had declared, does existence precede essence, and instead of being fated with a predetermined destiny and an inherent basis for being born, we can simply “make up” the reason for our essence and thrive in whichever direction we choose, in whatever endeavor we decide upon?

Is simply having a “lifetime” not enough?  Must we always have a reason and rationale for our existence?  Or, is it enough to have an ending, like Yasujiro Ozu’s tombstone which simply has the characters of “Mu” — “nothingness”?  Ozu certainly “accomplished” much; as a director, he is recognized for his quiet brilliance and insightful dialogues, as well as depicted scenes of serenity and human conflict.  In the end, it was merely a lifetime, and nothingness followed except in the minds of those whom he left behind.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of his or her job, the “thing” that often compels the Federal or Postal worker into working beyond what the medical condition allows — i.e., of “working one’s self to death” — is a sense that having a lifetime is not quite enough.

There is the “mission” to accomplish, or the work that needs to be completed, etc.  But when it comes to the critical point of choosing between one’s health and such a perspective of accomplishments, there should be no indecision: Life itself is precious, and one’s health is the foundation for a life.

At that point, filing for FERS Disability Retirement makes sense, and consulting with an Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law should be the next step after realizing that a lifetime is, indeed, sufficient.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire