Last Updated on June 20, 2014
The optical effect of refracted light when it passes through an altering medium is that of a changed phenomenon. One can engage in an activity which we all enjoy: of comparative analysis before and after, or in parallel evaluation; and just as we determine life’s compass of success or failure by looking at other lives, so the refracted light provides a symbolism of comparative satisfaction or dissatisfaction, as the case may be.
Changes of perspectives allow for a sudden and new awareness previously unknown; sometimes, the cocoon of the limited universe we have chosen will be a comfort zone and a security blanket which we are content to remain in; but then a crisis occurs — one which may be disproportionately viewed, given the relative antiseptic life we have created — and the difficulty of dealing with the change is reflected like the optical alteration of refracted light.
For Federal and Postal Workers who suffer from a medical condition which begins to impact one’s ability/inability to perform all of the essential elements of one’s duties as a Federal or Postal Worker, this phenomenon is well-known, familiar, and often challenging.
Medical conditions constitute a crisis of being, precisely because they necessitate a change and potentially a wholesale reconstitution of one’s life: Work, which often involves more than a third of one’s time and life; family, which is impacted by the difference in income; and self, because one’s identity is so intimately tied to one’s work. Who we are; what we represent; where we are going; how we are going to get there: all are impacted.
That is why filing for Federal disability retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management is so important. It allows for a period of respite and interlude in order to reorganize and coordinate. It allows for a time of attending to the medical condition; of securing a base annuity upon which to survive; and creates an atmosphere of positive thinking for the future.
As nature provides guidance of life, so the refracted light hints at a manner of dealing with problems in life. For the Federal and Postal Worker, reflecting upon refraction may be the first important step in recognizing this guiding principle.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire