LIFE Is expensive: the cost of things Is astronomical. Or so the harassed housewife will have you believe. Everything has a price, more often then not quite beyond the reaches of your pocket. It's a chore to make both ends meet and Is one of the causes for most mothers and wives to go out to work.

Gone are the days when the ladles could sit at home. Now it's off to work In the mornings lo come home dead beat in the evening. And off again to the endless rounds of dinners and parties. Perhaps its being trapped. In all this hassle that the ordinary mortal slips very easily Into a routine that Is more mechanical than human. And the cost In terms of the

Caught up in the turmoil of day to day struggle of trying to fit In everything within the twenty four hour period nature very unthinkingly granted us

(remember the planet with a 36 hour cycle?) is enough to make most of us throw up our hands tn despair. And the most serious casualty in all this mad. mad rush, is the human touch. How easy it is to forget to smile, to forget to say "thank you", to overlook that birthday or anniversary. The latter costs money, perhaps, if you are going to rush out buying gift* but the former doe* not co»t a penny. How easy It is to cheer up a forlorn face with a cheery smile and a "how are you"? Yet wc nArr seem to find time to do

so.

Our own troubles seem too big for us to surmount.We are so Immersed in our petty selves most of the time, we never have time to think that others may have troubles which are just as serious or maybe even more.

Talking of others' problems and our own thoughtlessness, bring to mind the little story of Tagore* where he gently re-

minds us of the folly of our selfishness; the master s bath had not been drawn and clothes not laid out for the morning. He was fretting and fuming and rehearsing the scathing Unes to chastise the man-servant when he showed up. The man came In, an hour and a half late; the master upbraided him and took him to task for his callousness in being late 1n preparing his bath. The man stood there with head bowed. till the master had run out of breath. Then he looked up and said. "Sir. my little girl died last night". And silently went about his task of preparing the bath water for the lord and master.

In the simplest way possible. Tagorc in his superb, inimicablc manner showed us the tragedy of human frailties. All of It mostly unnecessary. Why can we not find time to be nice to people? Why do wc lack the very basic human quality of saying a

kind word to another human being in passing? It certainly does not cost us anything tn fiscal terms. And the returns in dividends is immeasurable. It cheers up not only the individual who reaches out. but makes the day for whom the smile Is intended. Perhaps wt can start trying it today. And try and teach our children the old fashioned values of manners and a smile. When we step out Into'the cruel world waiting out there to sink its talons tnto us. it the smile which will see us through.

Believe it or not. It may sound impossible to some of us. but once we have managed to rise above ourselves, with perhaps a small gesture, the world will suddenly seem so different.

We all have our weak moments; wc would not be human If wc did not. But perhaps we can try and remember that ultimately. we only take with us _ what we give away.