This week's monday morning musing is on releasing all obligations, in other words, doing everything with grace, even paying taxes. Here is a part of a post I wrote a year ago on taxes, my view. It has been one of my most popular posts and I have found I have shared this link with students and coaching clients more than any other. I thought it might be poignant again.
I am grateful for paying taxes. I may not have had a lot of money to pay in taxes over the years to experience that side of the angst people feel when they have much more to pay, but there have been times when the taxes I paid made meeting rent/mortgage difficult for me. And even in those months I was grateful to pay taxes. I am self-employed so I pay more taxes than those employed by others. I am also often paid in cash and I always report every penny. I am so incredibly grateful to live in this country. I know this may sound silly, but it is absolutely true. I am grateful to be free, to live where my children can roam the streets without being shot at, where education is free, women have rights, we have religious freedom, we have roads that are taken care of, good medical care, to not have to serve in the armed forces, and to have people who are willing to serve for me to protect my said rights. My list goes on. I have always been willing to pay for my part to be here. I like to think that that gratitude will continue when I am able to pay more and I will be grateful I can pay more so that others who will struggle to pay their taxes and meet their mortgage won’t have to pay as much.
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3 comments:
Beautiful, Laura!
It's funny: I have also always paid what I should, but it is only now, in Australia, where I can see how my tax dollars are spent, that I, too, feel grateful to pay taxes. In South Africa I resented every cent that I suspected was funding the lifestyle of a corrupt politician.
This is a wonderful approach to viewing tax time. I hope others will find your words to inspire them towards a more peaceful tax season.
In the traditional Ashtanga system, the teacher "feeds" each pose, one by one, to the student, based on the teacher's judgement of the student's .... of the student's what? Proficiency? Sure, it is supposed to be like that. But really now, isn't there much more to it than that? Teachers will withhold "the next" pose from students based on...based on what? Why will one student be allowed to move past Kapotasana, for exampleyoga teacher training course when she (me) can barely touch her toes with help, when another student will be required to grab her own ankles before moving onto the next pose? Why is a solo Karandavasana required of some, but not all, students?
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