“I could have” and “maybe a day”. All life disappeared. Probable unused. Dreams were delayed until they were resolved. Daily tragedies are not made of fire and noise, but we delay the goals of the slow erosion, we are silent, and we bury truths, fear and fatigue.
We rarely notice when it starts. For the first time we say: “I will do it later,” we believe it. Feels a promise later. But it is a trick mirror. Later, it becomes the next month, which becomes next year, which is calmly dying in the cemetery of intentions.
One day quiet temptation
“One day I will write that book.”
“One day I will leave this job.”
“One day I will tell him how I really feel.”
One day is a velvety coffin, comfortable, unimpaired and wrinkled just with enough hope to sleep. But one day is not the date. It is not listed in your calendar. It requires no obligation, no risk and any concerns. That’s why it’s so attractive. It allows us to feel that we are still in the game without ever getting our hands.
My friend. Let’s call his clerks. One day he dreamed of leaving Utah and lived a lifestyle of a metro. He would talk about it every time we met, his voice was enlightened when he described the small apartment overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the visit of the daily coffee house, he was going to learn. He began spending a language lesson at Taylorwill Community College. He was celebrating Airbnbs. He even chose the name of the black cat he accepted.
It was thirty years ago.
He still lives in the same city in the same district. He did not visit the California beach in many years. His Spanish. Rusted from abuse. Claire’s dream didn’t die with a heartbeat, it just faded. This is how dreams go. With no bite. A gentle, inconspicuous sigh.
The other side. Regret repression retribution
“Cana, come, you need.”
This is an idiot mantra. Regret’s lullaby. And it shows when “one day” becomes “too late.”
Talk about their seventies or eighties, really talk to them and listen. Not their achievements, not parties, they told experiments. Listen to the silences. Half sentences. The sudden change in the subject.
“I was going to …”
“I had this opportunity once.”
“Here is this girl I knew …”
These are the reactions of the destroyed life. By doors that were open once and never again. We treat unlimited balance in time, and then we realize that we overcame it, it is not money that we have been able to become.
Lying later
The world is not interested in our best intentions. There are no units for good ideas left untreated or feelings that have never been expressed. There is no reward for business plan still sitting in a notebook or forgiveness, but he never sent it.
And yet we say we’ll get back to it. Later. When things are settled. When children grow up. When the mortgage is paid. When we lose ten pounds. When we are finally “ready.”
But willingness is a myth. Life will not send an invitation. No one is trusting, waiting for the stars to align. You are moving first and clarity follows.
History with teeth
A man I knew well and hung in the 1990s, Joe (it was his true name) was a fierce intelligent, thoughtful spirit. He wanted to start his art studio, but it’s safe, if he drives, twenty years. Every time I saw him, I would ask how the dream is going, and he will leave his neck, saying,
In 59, he finally went out. He was tired of waiting, he was tired of hearing his excuses. I helped him find a new home in rural Arizon, where he started his studio, and his dream was finally alive.
Never wanting to have a reputation or luck, he continues to enjoy the simple pleasure of art work today.
Delay language:
Cana? I had the opportunity.
I wanted.
Is it? I knew better.
All past tense. All decay.
A day. A day.
All future tension. All the deviation.
We live our lives in these durations and miss the present where changes can actually happen. If risks, failure, beauty, joy and reineness live.
Rewrite
There is a language that is more dangerous than hate. More tempting than love. It is the delay language, dressed for a good reason. It doesn’t ask you anything except after the delay. It allows you to maintain your pride while looting you.
But there is another language. It doesn’t sound like a motivational poster. Calm down the stubborn. Honest. It speaks to actions, no confirmations.
Sounds. “Today.”
Sounds “now”.
It sounds. “Enough”.
You don’t have to say it out loud. You just have to be to live it.
Ultimate mind
At the end there are only two types of pain. The pain of discipline or pain pain. One is difficult. The other is chasing.
So ask yourself. Which side of the coin are you spinning you really want? It’s not accidental. It’s a choice.
And it’s more important when you stop flying and betting on yourself.
Because you don’t get forever. You just get now.
And now all you need.
© 2025 Linda Allen