Love. When we were very young, we loved others beings unconditionally. If the other person did not return our love, we did not react with anger or hatred. Love was never associated with fear. It was spontaneous and arose from a pure heart. Love was not discriminatory. We loved the baby-sitter, the gardener, and our brothers and sisters simply as human beings. Again, somewhere along the way we lost that purity as a result of external influences. Then we began to love with discrimination.

In Sri Lanka, we often compare human life to a river. When river water falls down the hills, it creates a beautiful waterfall. When it crashes on rocks, white foam is created, expressing its incredible hidden beauty. When the river silently flows through the valleys, it becomes mysterious and magical. These different things that happen to the river water along its path are all manifestations of its beauty. So, too, if we are to make meaning out of our odyssey as human beings on this planet, we have to accept that whatever happens on our way adds to life's beauty.