With the Times
The reason we shouldn’t hold on to what we think is right
Who else has noticed that I only drop articles once in two weeks now? Like I’m some kind of celebrity. Story about that; I had a coach who made me write daily and that’s how I got on medium anyway. Now my program with the coach is over so here I am only writing once in a while — well I promise to make it awesome.
The world is changing. I remember my late dad (born in 1936) arguing with my elder brother (born in 1981) about women wearing trousers. I think a lot of the traumatic behavior I portray today stemmed from those heated arguments — it was terrible but that’s only an intro to what I want to talk about.
Times have changed people — and I guess that’s what my brother was trying to tell my Dad. In today’s age, the joke “you throw like a girl” is considered sexist and chauvinistic and even though I still see the humor in it, I can’t make that joke because of the world I live in — it’s sad that people have gotten so sensitive but it's also exciting because these are different times.
In Nigeria where I used to live ( I currently live there but the law of attraction and the Bible say we should speak what we want as though it has already happened), homosexuality is devilish ( you see why I need to leave?) and gay jokes are disgusting. If you are gay reading this, please know that I don’t share that sentiment and if you can get me outta here, send me a message… Okay moving on! Nigeria has refused to understand that the times have changed and we need to be more open to the different people we meet in life.
As I am (31 years old), I run a Digital Marketing agency and when a client tells me they want to get on TikTok, I excuse myself and call an intern because I don’t get TikTok — it showed up in an era where I just can’t deal with it. Does that mean I will let my ‘not-getting-TikTok’ stand in the way of my doing business? No. I find a way around it — enter the intern.
Cannabis was once grown as medication but that was in pre-historic times. One day someone woke up and said it should be illegal — that’s the history we all came to know. So growing up, I was told cannabis is from hell. In Ibibio (my ethnic tongue), cannabis literally translates to ‘The Devil’s herb’. In today’s age, this devil’s herb is legal again in some parts of the world and there are people who have refused to see that the times are changing.
There was a time when Sunday was for church. What I mean is that from 5 am we were up and we would finally get to church at 7 am for Sunday school (boring). Then we would spend hours in the main service and by 3 pm we would be home to prepare for ‘home church’ by 5 pm. I hated it but children aren’t allowed to have opinions in Nigeria (especially when it has to do with the things of God). Now church happens online and it’s not a matter of whether it’s right or wrong, it’s just the times and how things change. There’s no need to form an opinion or moving around with placards protesting online church. That’s just how it is.
Things will always change and when they do, it is default to see all the negative aspects of the change. Once we see those negative aspects, we subconsciously create defenses as to why things should stay the same. This is a basic survival instinct. On the other hand, if we can evolve to experience things as they come, we can live a fuller earthly life. And that’s kinda like the whole point.
