What is love?

“Love is a four letter word, just like hope. Love is a translation of human feelings. Love is a positive phenomenon. Love is an art and artists are the great lovers of humanity. We see their love in paintings, we hear it in their music, feel it in their poetry.

When we love life, we try to maintain it. When we love our country, we try to develop it. When we love humanity, we try to serve it. When we love ourselves more than humanity, we destroy it. Love is a forward-looking process to care, build, develop, invent and leave a legacy for generations to come.

How can we smile without love? Love is a key component of every smile. The feeling is only the trigger and the heart is its engine. Smiling is a highly complicated process of chemical, physiological and psychic interaction and action. Smile is the image the eyes can see. It is one of the most difficult to things to draw; even artists fail to get it right every time.”

This was supposed to be my speech at the first anniversary of the flood in Pakistan. I decided to step down and let the children deliver a more powerful and dynamic speech that I cannot write or deliver. The children’s speeches and their heartfelt drawings reflected their feelings and love for their country.

Sometimes, children turn out to be the best speech writers and orators, sharing their smiles and love for humanity.