2011 was one of the most depressing years we have known as a planet.  I don’t need to rattle off the items on this list for you.  Why twist the proverbial blade?

But here, here is a glimmer of true inspiration.  Well, more than a glimmer, really:  a FLASH.  Flash mob, that is. One that you can be a part of and that is, I promise, a true (albeit temporary) antidote to the 2011 blues.

So in order to recharge your batteries for the new year ahead, you’ll need to:

1. Alone or with friends, a group of strangers, or a flash mob of your own making, click on the video below;
2. Select the “full screen” icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen to make the video just as big as it can be;
3. Turn up the volume to be equally huge;
4. Watch;
5. Rewatch;
6. And DANCE!!!!!!
7. Then notice how you feel the … hope?… joy?… coursing through your limbs — all thanks to this mediated moment of global and purposeful connectedness.
8. And PASS IT ON.

For me, I had the brief (if fleeting) feeling that maybe — just maybe — together we could make 2012 the year that we stop all this nonsense and start making the world a more just and sustainable place for all.

My New Year’s resolution for 2012:  More “dance breaks”!

Cross-posted on 21st-Century Literacies.