I love to smile. I love to laugh. I like to hear jokes. For

Hear the words of Engelbert Humperdinck, a man who carried his voice across the world and yet cherished the simple treasures of the heart: “I love to smile. I love to laugh. I like to hear jokes. For instance, when I’m on the road, every night I watch ‘Seinfeld.’ I find it somewhere. I think it’s so funny, and I watch the repeats over and over again.” Though spoken with lightness, these words carry a truth deep and enduring—that even amidst fame, labor, and the endless journey of the road, it is smiles, laughter, and joy that sustain the human soul.

The meaning of this quote lies in the simplicity of delight. Many seek their strength in wealth, in titles, in applause, but Humperdinck reminds us that true sustenance comes in the form of laughter and small joys. To say “I love to smile” is to declare that joy is not incidental, but essential. It is not weakness to seek out comedy, nor folly to laugh at the familiar joke told a hundred times. Rather, it is wisdom—the recognition that the heart, burdened by life’s weight, must be lifted again and again by the wings of humor.

History, too, has shown us the power of such joy. Consider Winston Churchill in the darkest days of war. Though he bore the crushing responsibility of a nation’s survival, he was known to find strength in wit, in stories, in laughter shared with his companions. His humor did not deny the gravity of his burdens, but gave him the endurance to carry them. In the same way, Humperdinck’s nightly ritual of watching “Seinfeld” is not triviality, but an act of resilience—a reminder that even a wandering soul on foreign roads can find comfort in laughter repeated endlessly.

There is also humility in these words. Though a man of fame, adored on stage, Humperdinck reveals himself not as a distant figure but as a human being longing for smiles. This truth is ancient: kings and warriors alike sought jesters in their courts, not merely for entertainment, but because laughter binds men to their humanity. To laugh is to remember that beneath all crowns, beyond all duties, we are human souls who crave delight and communion.

And there is wisdom, too, in the idea of repetition. “I watch the repeats over and over again,” he says. To the shallow mind, this may seem wasteful, but the wise know otherwise. A song heard many times deepens in its comfort; a story retold carries new shades of meaning. The heart delights in the familiar because it anchors us, especially when the world feels transient and unstable. For Humperdinck, on the road, away from the steadiness of home, laughter repeated becomes a sanctuary.

The lesson for us, O seekers, is this: never despise the small rituals of joy. Do not think it childish to repeat the jokes you love, to revisit the shows or songs that bring you comfort, to smile even when life is heavy. For it is in these small practices that endurance is forged. The world will ask much of you—your labor, your strength, your tears—but you must also grant yourself the grace of joy. A single smile, sincerely given, may carry you further than a hundred victories won in solemnity.

Therefore, let each one practice this art: seek out laughter daily, as you would seek food or water. Share smiles generously, for they multiply when given. And above all, embrace the rituals of joy, no matter how small, for they are the anchors that steady your heart when life casts you adrift. In this way, you too may walk the long road with strength, bearing not only burdens, but also lightness of spirit.

Thus, the teaching is eternal: The soul does not survive on labor and duty alone, but on the nourishment of laughter and joy. To love to smile, to love to laugh, is not folly—it is wisdom, for through them the heart remembers it was made to rejoice.