Un-canon-y Connections

I haven't written in a long time, over a month.
Excuses: haven'thadtimebeentoobusyotherthingstakepriority, slowinternetconnectionatthespringer,
haven'twantedtowriteunlessitwastherightthing... you know.

But here I go. Consider the editor in my brain sufficiently silenced. Moving on.

At the Springer, part of the daily ritual of Academy is a movement exercise set to music called "Salutations." Academy people assign all kinds of meanings to the exercise, and at the sound of Pachelbel's Canon in D, these meanings and memories flood those of us who have been around for at least part of the last 13 years here.

It wasn't until the end of the first week of Academy that I made the connection between the movement exercise Salutations and the title of my blog, Sallyutations. Originally, I took the name from the Charlotte's Web dialogue, where Charlotte uses the word "Salutations" to describe her "fancy way of saying hello." I want my blog to be just that-- my slightly more formalized, sometimes more thought out way of saying hello. But now I wish I could figure out how to set my writing- your reading- to this meaningful piece of music. I could just imagine it now...

As you open your bookmarked pages (because I KNOW I'm bookmarked on your browser) and you come to Sallyutations, gentle music begins to play. You admire my chic yet classic blog design and wonder how I came to inhabit this balance of style and substance. You discover that I've written another post. "Yes! Wahoo! Hallelujah!" you exclaim to yourself, and you scroll down to enjoy the witty wise words. Just as you finish my last post with tears in your eyes, the music swells and you are struck with a deeper understanding of the world and your place in it. As the Canon ends, you return to your world, changed ever so slightly.

Ok, ok. Just entertain me. Smile and nod.

But the point of all of this is (and yes, I know you've been searching for it-- here it is!) that Ron describes Salutations as a way to acknowlege the present, honor the past, and salute the future. We go through the movement twice-- once to say goodbye to the day and the work that we have done, and once to say thank you to those that have come before us. That if we do our work here well, other people will come after us to embody the spirit of this place.
I don't think my blog is so different than that. It's a way of greeting the world, of drawing nearer to those I love who may be far away, and to saying "If I do this whole life thing well, then maybe people who come after me will appreciate what I've done to help pave their way."

So, sorry. No Pachelbel's Canon for you. You're welcome to imagine the music if you'd like.

Now go bookmark me.