The Best Of All Worlds

Last week I watched a live stream of a performance from Nashville. Happens that the fella performing, Aaron English, after a brief email exchange a few years ago, travelled all the way to Kintyre to play at Homesongs here in Campbeltown. He talked about his journey and his experiences in Kintyre during his live online set, and it was great to listen to his incredible music and to reconnect (though we’ve never actually disconnected!)

Here’s Aaron performing in another wonderful cross-continental connection with Ali Gul Pir from Pakistan on a wake-up call collaboration, Sound The Alarm.

These connections are the odd happenings which have become kind of normal now for many people, but which only 30 years ago would have seemed like science fiction (or, as with Live Aid, something that happened only in the lives of “superstars”).

And these are the little images of how local, personal, and intimate experiences can interact with the global, digital, and online world, in a positive way. For all of us.

I’m very much a “have your cake and eat it” kind of person. Even now, though things look dark at times, we can still strive to achieve The Best Of All Worlds. Let’s work, as far as we can, to make that happen. Let’s support each other in doing it.

Because it only takes small steps on our part to help move things in a good direction, even in this crazy, mad world. Just that email. Or that decision. Or that invitation. Or that commitment.

We have choices.

And, no, we can’t do it all. But we can take this one step.

We can do this next bit.

Good luck!