“If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it:”
William Arthur Ward
The middle years of my generation are clouded with a lot of chaos, which cast a shadow and reflects on the mirrors of society. It was impossible in those days to find a group of youths who clamoured for attention towards providing sustainable development in their community. The pictures reflected in our minds’ mirrors became an illusion, filled with nuisance, which had blocked our vision and dreams. Very few have an accurate elevation of how the 21st-century revolution is working and navigating their ways towards becoming productive.
We were a generation brought up on adventures, filled with what I called the generation of feeble minds. Many of us went looking for that adventure that we think is the sweetness of life. A life filled with uncreative output, where we were made not to think for ourselves, but our future been determined for us. This has clouded our vision, and only those willing to invest in themselves for development can escape.
In the world of creativity, you must sacrifice your comfort for tomorrow. To build a world where people will get to live peacefully in harmony, under an atmosphere, where those great ideas can hatch. Sometimes, when you look at the world of humanity, it seems the century has carried us away with a lot of distraction while leaving our future to be shaped and created by modern technologies. This has changed a lot of the population’s mindset, where we forget to determine for ourselves what we want and create a better future.
It had seemed simple, but the development journey is an eternal business. The brain keeps working round the clock to create and innovate something that will affect people’s lives and create a better future—a journey filled with compassion and humility.
Last week Saturday, I attended a symposium of a youth who turned 35, who had achieved greatness in his life over a decade. Even though he said he is no longer a youth again, he has crossed the years he needed to be called a youth. We gathered that day to celebrate this man, not because of the years only, but also what he had achieved over the years. This is due to the investment he had made for himself over the years. This is one among others who had done great things and changed the narratives to make their society a better place conducive to humanity.
In the 21st century, our imaginations have been caged, and we fail to be creative. Creative in the sense that we can think, create and innovate ideas that can change our lives and the society towards greatness. This has brought a lot of barriers to the race of excellence. And it seems we have a long way to dive into the endless ocean of creativity, which we can’t see its depth.
Sometimes, I felt satisfied, looking at how some youth had taken charge of their imagination. Who had sat down and thought for themselves and were able to identify the kind of future they wanted to achieve and their dreams, in an atmosphere of innovation, where only the creative survive. I want to witness a day where a group of youth will come together after identifying like minds and bringing things to the table which will benefit them and their society. This will only be achieved when the youths channel their imagination towards something that will be productive. The future is ready for those willing to invest in themselves, mould and shape their minds to know how to think and be creative. This will open many opportunities because they only come knocking at your door when you are fully prepared.
These have been some of the problems that need to be solved. I was haunted by some actions we see some youth doing while others are making history—a compelling history, where everyone gets to enjoy the solutions they provided. We need to be the architecture of our future, where we will be in control of ourselves and not to be controlled. It is a disadvantage to have much youth who don’t know how to navigate their left or right but must be located and channelled towards something that can destroy their lives.
But from what we are witnessing, there is a thunderstorm in the desert, where dust will be your companion in the journey. Only those who can think and close their eyes will survive to witness tomorrow, as tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today. We need to regain back our senses and find the key to unlocking ourselves from the prison of our imagination so that we can be creative and productive.