Perhaps the most wonderful ministry created in the Arab world so far is the Ministry of Happiness in the UAE. While all other ministries aim to serve citizens and their welfare, the Ministry of Happiness and its indicators, assess the extent of the success of the government’s various systems and institutions in achieving people’s happiness.
I discussed the idea of happiness with some of my friends and saw that they confused happiness, which is a permanent inner feeling of contentment, with the fleeting feelings associated with pleasure or ecstasy, the kind that is associated with the enjoyment of a song, certain foods, clothing, or a trip. Happiness does not mean money, prestige, palaces, luxury cars, and other objects. Of course, these are some of the components of that overall feeling, but they don’t represent the whole of happiness.
My mother used to tell me, “Power comes from within.” And I think happiness also comes from within us human beings. I almost say that happiness remains a decision. I know many friends, who face shortage of money, are childless, and are unmarried, still, I see in them indescribable happiness because money is only a part of their lives, and they do not ask for much, but instead they contribute a lot.
Most philosophers have said that the happiness of the individual comes from the happiness of society. This explains to us the reason for our misery and the misery of Arabs as a whole. We seek our happiness in a mirage, in the sky, and in fortune-telling. We do not want to get out of our comfort zones to build our happiness. Enter the word “interpretation” on Google and you will find that Google proposes to you directly the word “dreams.” Therefore, let’s go back to sleep!
We desperately need thinkers like Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Auguste Conte, whose ideas shaped modern Europe’s renaissance. We require someone who can offer us a vision that frees us from delusions and misery, and ushers us to a path that allows us as nations, communities, and individuals, to establish a meaningful and valuable life.
I am not a pessimist, but I am sad. I love to interact with life, I love comedy and laughter, I like the words of the poet Elijah Abu Madi, “Be beautiful on the inside, you will observe the universe a beautiful place”. I have goals and activities to do; I create work for myself if I don’t have any. I love life. I love happiness. And I want to be happy and spread happiness around me, but I acknowledge that I cannot see a sad scene without being affected and sometimes cry.
In this gloomy scene, I see a silver lining; the Arab Gulf states. It makes me proud to be an Arab, proud of my language, my heritage, my family, and my grandparents. I see how these countries have managed to quietly build their renaissance, away from extremism and violent movements and the Gulf leaders have interacted lovingly and rationally with their people. Happiness prevailed and everyone enjoyed it.
From my office window in Muharraq Governorate, I can see the “Saada-Happiness” project. I see that it will indeed promote happiness in the region and Bahrain. It is a model for development projects that serve citizens and residents, to add to the government’s efforts in the field of health, education, housing, and others, all of which are in the interest of people’s well-being and happiness.
My article started by talking about the UAE and the Ministry of Happiness in it. Now I conclude the article by talking about the “probe of hope” not because it is the first Emirati Arab project to explore Mars, but because it represents the ‘light’ at the end of a dark tunnel. We must work together to create more sources of ‘light’, in science, research and development, to build not only a less miserable, but a happier future for our children and us.
akram@fp7.com