The Value of Our Time Together

When someone proposes sharing an experience with me, there is something I would like them to understand from the very beginning: the time we spend together is only one part of what I bring to the experience. My involvement begins long before we meet and doesn’t simply end the moment we say goodbye.

Every encounter requires time, preparation, attention, and something very personal from me.

Before we meet, I like to discover a little about the person I’m going to spend my time with. What brought them to me, what they imagine, what they would like to share, and what they hope to find in our time together.

I also enjoy preparing for the occasion. Choosing what to wear, taking care of my appearance, thinking about where we might go, or simply giving myself enough time to arrive at our encounter feeling relaxed, present, and curious to discover what might unfold between us.

But perhaps the part I value most begins when we’re finally face to face.

When I choose to share my time with someone, I want to be truly present. To me, an experience isn’t simply about spending a certain number of hours together. It’s about paying attention to the person I’m with, discovering how they communicate, understanding their boundaries, noticing what makes them feel comfortable, and allowing the connection between us to find its own natural rhythm.

We might share dinner, a conversation, a journey, a show, a moment of intimacy, or several of those things throughout our time together. Whatever we choose to do, I want us to feel comfortable simply being ourselves.

It matters to me that the person I’m with feels able to express themselves without fear of being judged for who they are, what attracts them, or what they might be curious to explore.

That doesn’t mean everything has to align between us, or that every desire necessarily has to become part of our experience. It means something much simpler: we can talk about those things openly and respectfully and, from there, discover what we both feel comfortable sharing.

Over the years, I’ve learned that an important part of what I can offer comes from my ability to adapt to the person in front of me without ever losing who I am.

Every person awakens something different.

A conversation might introduce me to a way of thinking I’ve never encountered before. A personality might spark my curiosity. A single glance can completely change the energy of a moment.

That’s why I have no interest in imagining two encounters exactly alike. I prefer to leave enough space for each experience to develop a personality of its own.

I think that’s part of what makes it beautiful. We can imagine so much before we meet, but there will always be something we can only discover once we’re finally face to face.

And perhaps that’s precisely why I value my time so deeply.

There is much more behind every encounter than the hours we ultimately spend together. There is preparation, organisation, personal care, communication, and, above all, the conscious choice to set aside a part of my life to be with another person.

If an experience involves more than one person, that same attention also needs to extend to everyone involved. That’s why these proposals need to be considered differently, and why I prefer to know about them well in advance, so I can decide whether I feel comfortable and how we might shape the experience together.

I don’t need everyone to agree with the value I place on my time.

But I do need anyone who wishes to share it with me to respect it.

Because I believe the best experiences begin precisely there: when two people meet with the understanding that their time, their boundaries, and their desires are equally valuable.

And then we can stop talking about conditions.

And simply begin discovering each other.