Have you ever paddled a canoe with another person?
The act of paddling in sync, coordinating arm and paddle movements with another person is harder than it looks, in real life, than when the professionals do it. Sure, we can watch a movie where canoeists tackle white-water or a swiftly-moving river and afterward think to ourselves, "Hey! I can do that! No problem!" The pros do make it appear almost effortless. It is the word almost that is key here.
When two amateurs paddle a canoe together almost is a problematic term.
Consider the following hypothetical conversation that really happened once:
"Dear, I'm so sorry. I almost used the correct paddle." "What do you mean - almost used the correct paddle? Right is right and left is left. How can you mix up the two?" This conversation was being conducted as the two paddlers lifted themselves out of the frigid water and reunited with their now-aimlessly-drifting boat.
Life is rather like canoe paddling. Much of what we do, even day-to-day activities, depend on cooperation and coordination with at least one other person, if not multiple people. Groups often have to rely on cooperation and coordination with other groups. The word almost doesn't pass muster when the goal is seamless and flawless execution of a plan or project. The right hand has to know what the left hand is doing and vice versa. Plus, the right hand has to depend on the left hand to plan, execute, and follow-through AND vice versa. Without this unspoken agreement to paddle the canoe in concert, if you will, plans, projects, and initiatives will fail and fail miserably as well as often, publicly.
Hence, I am reminding myself today that I must always paddle my canoe with the thought of what the other paddler(s) is doing. The key to our success and survival may depend on each of us knowing our right from left. I can only hope that others involved know where the river, canoe, and paddles are in the first place!
Ancora imparo
