I once had a boyfriend who said to me, very earnestly: “When I’m rich, I’ll buy you a whole building.”

I didn’t laugh. I wasn’t touched either. I simply folded that sentence away in my heart, like a check with no date.

Life slowly taught me something afterward: the more generously someone speaks about the future, the less likely they are to live the present well.

That’s not to say he would never succeed. People change. Circumstances turn.

But anyone who can make such grand promises in the moment usually hasn’t measured their own strength.

They’re good at making vows, but not very used to acting. Great at describing outcomes, less willing to deal with process.

Buying property. Success. A comeback. Freedom. These words are light on their tongues because no payment is due upfront.

Over time, I noticed something else: people with real agency rarely promise extravagantly. They don’t say, “One day I’ll give you this.” They quietly do what needs to be done now.

Not because they lack romance, but because they understand every outcome comes with a clearly marked price. So now, when I hear statements like that, my mind automatically translates them as: “I don’t have it right now, but I hope I will.”

Hope isn’t wrong. But if we mistake hope for power, if we treat imagination as ability, that’s when it becomes dangerous.

Power is not what we promise to become, but what we can sustain right now.



—— XC Scribbles · 肆拾柒 XLVII 🏗️