by Robert Reardon, Columnist
("Eye to the Future" is a column published in each issue of The Humanitarian, the newsletter for Humanitarian Society members.)

One visit to the office of the Humanitarian Society and something becomes very apparent. Dr. Wayne, Lou, Janet, and whomever else might be hanging around are happy people. There are plenty of smiles, jokes, and pleasant comments being bantered about. This is, of course, contagious. No matter how you felt coming in you are likely to feel much better when you leave.

In fact, I would say as a general comment that whenever I have been to any Humanitarian Society affair or to one of Dr. Wayne's parties, everybody seems to be a happy person. Plenty of smiles is an understatement.

I mention this because so often we equate helping people with giving them something tangible, such as money, a car, a tool, or whatever. And, yes, this is very important. But, how often do we forget that the gift of a smile could brighten up the day for every one who comes in contact with us. Being happy ourselves spills over to those we work with, play with, and interact with. I find it very hard to be sad when I am around someone who is happy. Conversely, I struggle very hard not to let myself get dragged down when I am around someone being miserable. In a previous column I talked about giving the gift of a passion. Let the challenge go out now for all of us to give the gift of a smile. In this case, being contagious is a good thing !