Sunday, March 25, 2012

Don't Stop Smiling

I was refreshed today by a sweet, simple reality.

There is hope in this world.

It had nothing to do with politics, it had nothing to do with much of anything.

Two friends got a grant, a camera, some beautiful music, and traveled.

Matt can dance. Matt has one dance - a simple set of choreographed movements from which he does not stray unless physical restraint demands deviation. Matt has been labeled a "bad dancer," though Matt executes his short set of choreographed movements with delight and alacrity. In 2008, "Where The Hell Is Matt?" was introduced to the world (and yes, you can still find it).

Matt's "bad" dancing, which I would describe as "endearing," is punctuated by the names of each place where he is, in that moment, dancing. Look! Matt dances in Dublin. And now, Matt dances on Lemur Island. How did Matt get that guard to let them shoot when he danced at the Demilitarized Zone? Why, oh why, is Matt in Papua New Guinea, and who are those charming people dancing with him?

An entire video of people. Yes, a song's length of images, from so many places across this world, filled with Matt and Other People who have no agenda other than to dance. For a moment, even in places like the West Bank, Kuwait City, so many places where violence has reigned, Matt and complete strangers dance.

There were 3 things I noticed in every single clip that comprised the video.

1.) The only obvious message I got was the information across the bottom of the screen, telling me where Matt and his impromptu entourage were dancing.

2.) I was asked for nothing.

3.) This one is my favorite, and keeps me smiling even hours after seeing the video: In every single, solitary, without-exception frame that I saw (where he wasn't accidentally bumped), Matt did not stop smiling.

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