CHOOSING THE BEST IN LIFE’S BARGAINS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18008, 19 November 1926, Page 12

CHOOSING THE BEST IN LIFE’S BARGAINS.

Many women have cultivated to a I fine art the ability to discover a rare ; bargain almost at a glance. Experi- j ence has taught them that price is not : invariably a guarantee of quality. | They are not too snobbish to delve 1 into the “ bargain basement ” of their favourite shop; nor are they too tired to undertake a journey if at the end of it they find the frock or hat they desire.

If a little of this real were diverted into another channel—into the “ bargain basement ” of life on a higher plane—what wealthy women we should be! Wealthy in the best and most enduring sense, acquiring bargains that would never fade or wear out. but which would be enriched in quality with the passing of the year. If wc made up our minds to see good plays whenever possible; to linger amongst the masterpieces of literature, to attend a fine concert, occasionally—we should soon know the joy of bargaining Jn a sense as yet undreamed of. We can only get out of life what we put into it. And if we put into it nothing but crepe de chine and chocolates, we shall soon grow surfeited, and our spirits will sicken for lack of real nourishment . Thousands of women are suffering from that kind of sickness! They don’t know just what the trouble is. They only know that life is very disappointing, and that nothing seems wortn while. But once let the mind be lifted out of that limited sphere of cloying feminities—once let bargain-hunting be extended to spheres other than material, and life will soon take on new colour and charm. The bargain-hunter in the bookshop, at the theatre, in the world of friendship, will continue to put more and more into life, and so will continue to get more and more out of life. She may begin her new bargain-hunting as a duty, but she may be assured that it will be carried on as a pleasure. And with every new bargain she makes, her capacity for discriminating between the false and the true will increase. Crradually she will educate herself to choose the best in literature, in drama, in intimate companionship, so that her bargains will never disappoint her. They will stand the test of time and repay every moment she has spent, not only in acquiring them, but in caring for them. Because the finest acquisitions must, of course, be well cared for if they are to endure. The book must be truly read: not just placed proudly on the bookshelf. The drama must be made deliberately the vehicle of individual thought. The friend must be cherished in sorrow as in joy, if the full flavour of friendship is to be tasted.

Only by really living with vour lifebargains can you ensure that they contribute to the joy of life.