"Taxes tax me!"

“Taxes tax me!” I’m quoting my beloved. We are each working through a whole year of our little slips of paper to fill out our accountant’s form so that we can be accountable to both federal and state governments.

I have to agree. Taxes are . . . well . . . taxing. At the same time, though, attitude, my dear one, is everything. Can you make doing your taxes—dare I say it—fun?

It is said that on the way out of our bodies, we experience a “life review.” We are guided through our recent life and we get to look at our choices and their consequences. It’s a sort of Kaplan Review, like the ones they teach for the M-CATs or the SATs.

Could doing taxes be construed as a sort of mini life review?

Taxes are a time to let go. A couple of months into a new year, we get to look at where and how we’ve spent our time and our money. This also means we get to make new choices if we’re less than happy with the old ones.

Let tax time be a reminder of the good times of the previous year, and the mistakes of the previous year. Getting conscious about money isn’t always fun, but it’s always worth it.

There’s a ceremony done in many Unity Churches to celebrate New Year’s Eve. It’s called Burning Bowl. Ever since I first saw the ceremony, some twenty years ago, I do a Burning Bowl ceremony on New Year’s Eve no matter where I am. Part of the process is a letting go of all the outmoded things of the previous year. You get to make your list of letting go, and as the title of the ceremony says, burn it!

Add up those mochas and see if you want to spend your money that way this year. If so, excellent. If not, make a new choice.

Look at that spring vacation to warmer climes. That’s prime travel time—at the highest cost. What say you travel to a warmer clime during their off season? Maybe you could go skiing as well with the money you save?

Or maybe you have your mocha on M, W, F and save your T, Th mocha money for that ski holiday? The point is you get to choose.

Using the IRS as an opportunity to wake up about money is a good thing. Being conscious of how I’m spending what I have means I make more conscious, and more responsible, choices this year.

Travel between last year’s calendar—your memories of times past—and last year’s receipts. I bet you a quarter (my top bet) that the best times of your year cost little or nothing.

Enjoy those memories, dream of how to create new ones, and get those taxes done faster—and with more fun—by blessing the IRS!