We are all acutely aware of the passage of time. It is evident in the aging of our bodies, the growth of our children, and the changes that we see in the world around us i.e., climate change. But while time is a universal experience, how we each perceive and experience it is highly subjective. Some people see time as a cruel thief, stealing away their youth, their vitality, and their future. Others see it as a gift, offering them opportunities for growth, self-discovery, and meaningful connection.
“Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.”
Each one of us possesses the greatest tool ever known to man in equal amounts. Time is not meant to be spent alone; time should also be invested. Managing your time portfolio should take the same energy required in managing your investment and career portfolio.
In the last five decades, it may seem like a lot has changed, but these changes won’t have been possible without the time invested by people who envisioned the current world as it is! They were visionaries and invested time in the possibility of the future and were not only satisfied with the situations they inhabited 50 years ago.
Making a case for why time investment is required for us to actualize the future we want.
In 1990 when I was born, my parents did not choose my identity or sexual orientation as a gay man. If allowed to do so, my parents might have to opt not to continue with the child because I was gay. It may seem like a dark image of the past, but this was the reality of the times and even now in most parts of the world.
In today's reality ask my parents to rewrite their experience. I do not believe they would opt to terminate my pregnancy, because I have grown up to be a model child. In my lifetime, I have seen the times change from LGBTQ people being rejected, and unwanted to welcoming and loved by their families.
What changed? Time happens to us all.
If allowed to relive our past or include our past to improve our future, I believe many of us will choose the latter rather than the former. Making a case for proper investment of time now for the future we seek rather than being paralyzed in the present by the chaos and unchartered narrative of the past we lived.
As an activist, I consider myself a futurist, I imagined a future that was possible for me, and many others like me. Creating a society that is welcoming to people who do not fit into the narrative that society has created for them. I am a black, gay man from West Africa who wouldn’t have been considered a member of the society I currently live (the United States.), and in many parts of the world.
People ask me; do you believe your home country Nigeria will change their perception towards LGBTQ people? I do not know the answer, but I believe there will be a change that is why I continually advocate for a change because I believe it’s possible.
In my short-lived experience, I have seen my mother move from loving me for who I am to accepting who I am and now advocating for people to respect who I profess to be.
My mother and I might be considered a single story particularly because of the bravery required to share my experience with my mother not shaken by the possibility of her turning on me forever.
I shared a picture of my mum and me, in Accra last summer. I could make a case of what is possible, and hope it helps people living in hiding and fear see this as a possibility for themselves. The unspoken narrative beneath this beautiful picture of love and acceptance is the work I put into making it work.
For time happens to all, I will choose to do the hard work now for the possibility of an unimaginable future than stick with an unpleasant present. I wouldn’t live life as a motion, let it happen to me, and there is nothing I can do about it. I wouldn’t choose to fall off the earth because I believe the weight of the future is upon me, and nothing can be done.
The question I asked myself is what is worth investing my time in to achieve the reward of a time well spent. Maybe this might help you find out how to invest your time as well.