If we were to reflect on some of the reactions that accompany every joyful event, whether sporting, artistic, or cultural, we would find recurring hostile attempts, written in poisonous ink in the notebooks of theorists within currents of disruption, from the very caves of provocation. All of them are broadcast through hostile platforms with ideological roots opposed to the concept of the state and its development programs.
For example, when the Gulf Cup tournament was first announced, some voices grew louder, questioning whether the public would turn out because of the criminal and unjust aggression carried out by the outlawed Houthi terrorist militias.
But the effective political, security, governmental, and organizational capabilities and forces proved that the state was capable of staging an event of the greatest scale in safety and tranquility. Some matches drew crowds of more than 40,000 spectators.
Now we are on the threshold of exceptional annual programs of creative joy, crowned by Riyadh Season, which will begin on October 21 of this year. It is a festival that caters to people's tastes through comprehensive programs that offer something for every segment of society, young and old alike, with elegance, excellence, and ease. The festival is an authentic expression of developmental strength and the determination to fill cities with life, urban development, and well-being.
Society is eagerly awaiting the festival because it reflects a climate of development. Every advance in any area of life necessarily means that ideas centered on life are prevailing over a culture of hatred and hostility, and over everything that contradicts what is permissible and beautiful. The truth is that we must abandon rhetoric hostile to life and refuse to listen to it.
Yes, we must allow ourselves to be joyful. That is what the wise tell us.
For example, the French thinker and writer Frédéric Lenoir drew on his experience in a booklet rich in insight titled The Power of Joy, which was published in Arabic in a translation by Ayman Abdel Hadi. The author devoted an entire chapter to the meaning of "breathing joy." As he explains on the first page of his introduction, reaching states of joy rests on three foundations: attention, presence, and trust and openness of the heart.
Lenoir asks: "Is it not truly possible, through a particular state of mind, to encourage genuine joys to emerge?! In fact, I have observed that there is a state of mind, a number of attitudes, and a way of being that allow us to prepare fertile ground for receiving joy."
What keeps us from joy is a lack of attention.
He writes: "It is attention that connects us to our senses. Most of the time, thousands of worries occupy us, and in this way our minds become suffocated and we are no longer attentive to our lives in any meaningful way. We work while thinking about something else, about dinner that evening or the coming weekend holiday. We prepare food, but our thoughts wander to the files piled up on our desks... Joy often begins with a sensory experience. If we looked at the same natural landscape while paying attention to the harmony of its shapes, its perspective, its colors, its light, its scents, its sounds, or its silence, we might, since nothing is guaranteed, feel joy invade us, because the beauty of nature affects us deeply. The greatest joys I have felt in my life were born in this way... My senses awaken when I go for a walk. I follow a ray of light between intertwined trees, the movement of a wave on the ocean, a vista that suddenly opens onto a group climbing a mountain. I often find myself listening to music while I work, or when something is weighing on my mind."
The conclusion is that joy is an authentic part of worldly life, a partner in creativity and achievement, and beneficial to every segment of society, whatever the society may be. When a person enjoys recreation, they feel their vitality within the public sphere, and this has a positive effect on learning and work. When an individual sees the meaning of having what is permissible made available in their daily life, they feel a sense of contentment.
We must listen to our authentic inner selves, which have grown and flourished on the legacy of ancestors who long lived with songs, joy, and celebration, and spread the arts. As for the alarmists in the city and the troublemakers, they are a voice without value. Let our societies rejoice in their wholesome and creative programs, and let them recognize that these blessings are a fundamental sign of peace, stability, well-being, and the consolidation of prosperity.
For the second article, should I keep this literary op-ed voice or use straight professional news style?
