Gasoline prices have skyrocketed. The cost of groceries has shot up as well. Almost everything in the world today has just gotten more and more expensive. So, it got us to thinking … what hasn’t gone up in price?

Kindness: It costs the same today as it did last year to show someone a little kindness. To hold open a door for someone walking behind you into a store. To cut a neighbor’s lawn when you’re out cutting your own (come to think of it, that does cost a little more with the increased price of gas; but not too much). To pick up a piece of trash you find along the side of the road. To volunteer some of your time and expertise to help out a charity in need. Or a neighbor in need. Or a friend. While it doesn’t cost much, or anything, a little kindness often pays big dividends.

Understanding: Patience, understanding and compassion are undervalued, yet extremely valuable, commodities. Even in the best of times, people are dealing with a lot of inner turmoil; problems that you don’t often see on the surface. And, coming off what (we hope) is the end of a two-plus year pandemic, war raging in Europe and the rising cost of just about everything, the times are far from being the best for many.
So, if you’re driving down the road and someone cuts you off, take a second before reacting. Maybe it was something accidental we can forgive. They may be having a bad day, after all. If you feel like you’ve been slighted by a friend, take time to consider what he or she may be going through, and try to be the friend you had hoped they would be.

Experiences: We tend to place a dollar figure on our experiences, but while we may look back fondly on the fancy steak dinner we just had or the movie we saw, what we really remember, for the most part, are the people we were with. Spending an afternoon with a friend doesn’t have to cost a lot. A cup of coffee may have gone up some in price, but it’s still a pretty cheap time. And last we checked, taking a nice, long walk on a beautiful day is still free.

Take stock of what is most valuable in your life, and we hope you’ll find that the price of that hasn’t increased. For those things that have gone up in price, we’ll just have to muddle through and hope for better days.

Hope, after all, is another one of those things that hasn’t gone up in price.