Sunday, March 21, 2010

Carrot and Stick

I saved today's t'ai chi chih practice until late afternoon to reward myself. Like a carrot (the promise of peace and relaxation through TCC) and stick (IRS penalties, etc.), it lured me forward into unfinished tax preparations. I welcomed the anticpated pause in an afternoon filled with sorting, recording, and searching for receipts and records.

After early morning 20 degree temps, I sat in 60 degree sunshine untangling questions and recording utility expenses. As we all know, tax preparation requires patience and fortitude. TCC was a welcome respite.

A few diminishing ridges of snow still line the edges of plowed paths along our drive and into our yard. During my practice on the second floor I look out at a circular ring of crusty white that traces the final curve approaching our house. While my fingers circle Around the Platter and Platter Variation I realize that if my arms and hands could extend through the windows and across a small patch of woods, my fingertips could slide and glide along that tiny path of snow smoothing its faded white trail deep into the reddish clay surface.

With the pure white snowfall almost gone I'm inundated with variations of brown: brown leaves, brown trunks, brown stumps, and brown branches touched by the golden glimmer of fading light. Like a deer camouflaged by my surroundings I'm searching for the bright green sprigs of green that rest just beneath the forest's leafy surface....

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