“Paying the Tax”

by Dr. Larry Morris

A businessman once put in his will that he wanted his body cremated and the ashes sent to the I.R.S. with a note saying, "There, now you have it all." Sometimes we find ourselves resenting paying taxes. Someone once said that there were only two certainties in life: death and taxes, and someone else said, "Yes, but you only die once." Perhaps as we deal with taxes this season, we can place the issue within a larger framework. We all live on this earth together—we all share the same air, water and food sources. It makes sense that we also need to share in some manner in the upkeep of the planet, to keep things going in an orderly way. The best means for a continuity of order we, as human beings, have been able to come up with so far is governments. And our taxes go to support this form of maintaining some sense of order. It may be helpful and less stressful to see that our paying taxes is a part of our commitment to share in the responsibility for keeping things in order with all the inhabitants of this universe.