So I got really depressing news Sunday afternoon about what I owe in both state and federal taxes this year—that despite already paying a substantial amount in federal taxes by withholding and quarterly payments. Ouch, that was news I hadn't expected. My tax preparer was so surprised that she ran the numbers again a couple times, too.
So what was I to do? Wail and gnash my teeth! Throw a bit of a Pity Party, for starters. I let my fiance pamper me, and I complained about it all to my sons.
But once the Pity Party was over, I set about learning what my options were. Once I learned my options, reviewed them in depth and selected the least onerous one, I engaged in some reflection time. And, of course, that's when it was time to switch back into gratitude mode. That reflection time was really time well spent!
I still have my health. I didn't receive a devastating diagnosis and am not dealing with a life-threatening illness. I have people whom I love and who love me. I have a home, food and clothes. And I have so much more. In a few months, the pain of this will be behind me. Really, it isn't even the worst thing that's ever happened to me.
It is, however, just another reminder to me of what I said in yesterday's blog: to live in gratitude, we must acknowledge and grieve losses (this felt like a huge loss to me) and also celebrate successes. I couldn't get back to living in gratitude until I'd really felt the sting of "losing" that money to taxes! Truly, life does bite sometimes.
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