Here is a story about the weight of those two words and the power of "now." The Jar of "Later"
Clara smiled sadly. "This is a Jar of Laters. My husband filled it for forty years. Every time he wanted to tell me he loved me but was too busy, he’d whisper it into the jar to save for 'mais tarde.' Every time he wanted to see the ocean or learn the piano, he’d put a note in here for 'later.'"
Procrastination is a messenger - Carol Milters Mais tarde
The phrase (Portuguese for "Later") often serves as a trap for our goals, a promise for our future selves, or a reminder that life doesn't wait.
Elias looked at the empty jar. "Ma'am, this is just glass. It’s worth nothing." Here is a story about the weight of
He didn't wait to build a house; he fixed the broken porch step. He didn't wait to write a book; he wrote a letter to an old friend. He realized that "mais tarde" is a place where dreams go to grow old and tired, but "agora" (now) is where they live.
Elias was a man of many notebooks. One for the house he’d build "mais tarde," one for the stories he’d write "mais tarde," and one for the trips he’d take when the time was right. To Elias, "later" wasn't a delay; it was a vast, shimmering horizon where all his best versions lived. Every time he wanted to tell me he
He worked at a clock repair shop, ironically spending his days fixing the very thing he ignored. One rainy Tuesday, an elderly woman named Clara walked in. She didn’t have a watch to fix. Instead, she handed him a small, empty glass jar. "I’d like to sell this," she said.