Writing about taxes has made me feel stronger.
If my curiosity can be piqued or even subtly provoked by matters of RRSPs, investments, capital gains, tax deductions, the Canada Revenue Agency and the electronic filing of tax returns, it’s possible that I could be curious about an astoundingly wide range of subjects: perhaps denture adhesives, nail polish removal tactics, residential rodent removal and practical uses for dryer lint.
If I can turn a day of research into an informative article on how to claim your dependents on your tax return, I may have to search deeper inside myself for other hidden talents, such as latent aptitudes for soft tissue massage or lathe operation.
If I can elevate my mind and spirit into a singular force that can teach you about completing your tax return – once you summon the patience to absorb the information – I might be able to lead an unruly group of underachieving teenagers to excel on their EQAO exams. Forget that I never even fleetingly considered going into teaching. This revelation has opened up new fields of consideration.
I’m the imaginative sort, given to creating words and phrases where the ones provided by hundreds of years of English vocabulary masters just won’t do. The ride side of my brain has a fondness for drifting deeply in that sort of inventive direction.
The left side of my brain has to be tethered and tugged into a narrow path of obedience. Once there, it can seamlessly function as an analytical stalwart, up to the point where it is able to dissect tax information and make decent sense of it.
In this recent 18-week span, I’ve found my left hemisphere is entirely capable of organizing itself into a systematic headmaster. But, the headmaster desperately longed to leave the classroom for more imaginative pastures.
Yet, I stuck with it. And by staying the course and focusing hard, I learned that can I can listen for many hours and days on end about how taxes can be wildly interesting and unabashedly amusing, and nod robustly in agreement with all of it. If I can do all this despite ample reservations about relating to or understanding any of it, I can do just about anything.
Well, maybe not brain surgery. But hypnotherapy … hmm.