Love.

It is the one thing which has inspired the greatest of poets and playwrights like Shakespeare,
Ralph Waldo Emerson and Oscar Wilde. It is the thing which makes the hues of Picasso and van Gogh all the more brilliant and wonderful. The fact that we still enjoy reading their plays and looking at these paintings today tells us one thing about love it is the one feeling that which all humankind experience in life; it is the universal language that will never lose its significance or beauty. The word love is so often used that sometimes, it almost seems like a clich. But the fact is, though we all know what love is, we never seem to truly understand it or grasp its real meaning. Unlike other emotions like hatred, envy, anger or happiness, love is not like any other feeling. It can never be summarised by an action like a smile or a frown, nor can it be ever expressed in its true depth in words. Love is profound and subjective, and I believe it is our exploration of its definition which makes it all the more amazing. When we take our first breath in this world, love, to us, would be the caress of our parents loving arms. Love would be the way our parents tickle our noses to make us laugh; it would be falling asleep in the warmth of their embrace. And as we grow older, our understanding of love extends further. In our youthful years, love, to us, is the person that takes our breath away by just looking at us; it would be how our heartbeat seems to stop out the very sight of that special someone. Meanwhile, as we age and approach nearer and nearer to the end of our days, love would be having someone next to us to watch the sunset, to reminisce all the experiences life has given us and of course, to show our children and perhaps grandchildren the love we were shown when we were children.

However, that is not all that can be said about love. Love also encompasses the feeling of mutual understanding between a group of people, a society and even an entire nation. When people learn to live in harmony and understanding, it is none other than love which binds them together. Patriotism is a form of love as well. The efforts that we exert for our country to defend its honour and pride, the achievements that we achieve for our nation those are all acts of love.

The importance of love in life is undeniable, be it for a person, for a society or for a nation. As an individual, we must first learn to love ourselves. It is by doing so that we bring out the best in ourselves, that we cultivate a strong, honourable character. On the other hand, loving others ensures that we always have people by our side to lend us a helping hand in times of need. But as it is always said, it is not what you get in return from loving someone that counts; rather, it is the experience of loving itself which is far more important and meaningful.

For a nation, love is absolutely essential if we wish to live in peace and harmony. When we love our own countrymen, that feeling of love will always prompt us to strive to defend one another. If the people of a

contry can nurture a mutual relationship with love as its foundation, then in times of adversity, these ties will not be broken they will be proven. After all, how can one fight or go against another that one loves?

The situation today, alas, is grim. With ongoing war and killing taking place every single day all around the world, we can see how love is slowly being replaced by hatred and anger. In such times, we should all do our parts to restore love amongst us to ensure a constant peaceful coexistence between human beings. There is always hope, after all, as Mahatma Gandhi once said, When I despair, I remember that throughout all history, friendship and love has always won.

I am still young and I have yet to come to a consluion about this familiar feeling. The definition of love, I believe, will always remain elusive and unclear to the human mind. But there is one thing which I am certain of about love it shall always prevail at the end of the day, if we believe hard enough in the capacity of the human heart. I have no doubts about that belief, for deep down inside the hearts of every man and woman, there lies that wondrous, unexplainable feeling, even in the darkest of times and places. That feeling is what we call love. In the words of Shakespeare, Doubt that the sun doth move; doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love.

I shall never have doubts about that.