A Little Bit of Something Good

Lately, I've found myself wanting to retreat from social media. Not that I was ever a huge user, but I did love playing with microfiction and creativity. 

Now, more and more, it feels like Twitter has shrunk from a galaxy full of inspirational wildernesses and stars and oceans... to a tired, concrete playground, ravaged by rust, garbage and graffiti, and populated by rival, frothing-at-the-mouth mobs roaming around just to shout insults at each other. Unaware, oblivious or delighting if their venomous words make a mark.

And I should add: the issues that get frequently amplified are important. But. But. But there are lots of piles of utter rubbish that get deliberately flapped into ugly fires too. And the ugliness spills and stains and leaches. How do people hang around that energy all the time and not let it soil their souls? How? Can it be done? I really don't know, but right now, I don't think so.

I saw this tweet tonight from @SarahBrentyn

I wish I had an answer for Sarah. I hope others do. But it helps to know I'm not the only one feeling like I need more of the good energy in my life (and in my social media).

So here's a little bit of something good--of something that I like. For no other reason than I liked it.

It's a Sega song from Mauritius. 

Preface: For those of you who may not know, I grew up in the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius and even wrote a very long thesis about the place. I have faded, ad hoc and important-to-me connections to the island. I haven't lived there for decades and can't call it home anymore, but I lived there for an important part of my childhood, I have rellies there, I still speak the local Kreol language (however rustily), and I have memories that will always have roots/routes to the place. In many ways, it's still "my" island--yes, with the inverted commas. Be/Longings and all that.

More preface: Sega is considered the national local dance and it's the cultural property of the Creole community (the descendants of African slaves). Some more useful info here. (Interestingly, Hubs the musician, once explained to me that one of the characteristics of Sega is how it plays with the beat. It has offbeats which stagger around, lagging on purpose, playing and delaying but always returning to start on the beat. As someone who is very bad at keeping, never mind analysing, rhythms, I take his word for it. Maybe you can hear it too.) 

This isn't the official version of the song. Normally, I'd avoid non-official versions, preferring any incremental viewing royalties to go to the creator. But this is the version YouTube first suggested to me. And I'm using it because of the video, which just a static collection of photos of Mauritius. Not all pretty, not all polished, some boring, and some badly taken. It's like scrolling through someone's random collection of photos of Mauritius. The photos have a very 'everyday' vibe. So the video makes me smile, shrug and sag my shoulders, sway, and then taste the bittersweet and the sweet. All at the same time. 

It's called 'Li Tourner', by Alain Ramanisum. It translates to 'She spins' (I think), or maybe just 'She Turns'. I find the music and beat infectious and joyful. I've not listened closely to the words, but they've also felt a little bit bittersweet to me.

And that's all. A song with a catchy tune, with some pics of its faraway home, from someone on whose heartstrings it kinda tugged a bit. I hope it makes you smile. And maybe even dance a little.

Du fond du coeur,
ReeD x