A greeting card sits on my desk. It is a picture of three zebras, all of whom appear to be laughing heartily - or, at least, that is what the greeting-card-message writer decided to think and capitalize on for the Hallmark Corporation. For all I - or anyone else for that matter - know, the image was Photo-Shopped and isn't "real" at all.
Zebras are a curious branch of the four-legged mammal family. You might say they are the convicted cousins of the equine clan. The stripes on each zebra is akin to a human's DNA. No zebra is striped exactly like any other zebra.
No zebra is striped exactly like any other zebra.
This statement rather reminds me of how differently each person "sees" things, experiences, events, etc. Each individual's "real" time is unique and if one hundred people attended a concert, for example, how each person would describe what he or she experienced would be like a verbal DNA. No two descriptions would be the same.
No zebra is striped exactly like any other zebra.
Taking this a step further, I would propose (I was going to use the word "argue" but it seemed a bit too provocative.) that making a "real-time" event as smooth as a professionally produced video is a good goal for anyone involved in live events or performances. When we sit through a live concert, for instance, it may as well be a produced video to those in the audience because our memories will scroll through the images - both aural and visual - for days, perhaps years.
We who are involved in live events, or those who may become involved in live events, would do well to remember that every movement, every word uttered, every sound produced, every sensory image displayed morphs together to produced an impression - a live impression that can never be erased or Photo-Shopped. Every attendee's memory will be personally imprinted slightly differently, just like those stripes on a zebra.
I'd prefer to have my zebra look like it was wearing a striped tuxedo rather than looking like a mammal convicted of the crime of inattentiveness to detail.
Ancora imparo
