| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Little Rivers by Henry van Dyke: notice of an attack. He respects the decencies of life, and does
not strike below the belt, or creep down the back of your neck.
But the black fly is at the bottom of the moral scale. He is an
unmitigated ruffian, the plug-ugly of the woods. He looks like a
tiny, immature house-fly, with white legs as if he must be
innocent. But, in fact, he crawls like a serpent and bites like a
dog. No portion of the human frame is sacred from his greed. He
takes his pound of flesh anywhere, and does not scruple to take the
blood with it. As a rule you can defend yourself, to some degree,
against him, by wearing a head-net, tying your sleeves around your
wrists and your trousers around your ankles, and anointing yourself
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton: "Under such conditions?" she stammered. "Yes--I still believe
that--but how can we judge for others? What can we know of the
circumstances--?"
He interrupted her. "I thought it was a fundamental article of
our creed that the special circumstances produced by marriage
were not to interfere with the full assertion of individual
liberty." He paused a moment. "I thought that was your reason
for leaving Arment."
She flushed to the forehead. It was not like him to give a
personal turn to the argument.
"It was my reason," she said simply.
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Madame Firmiani by Honore de Balzac: would be ready to excuse her. If, for your happiness, you have met
with such a woman, you know Madame Firmiani.
After Monsieur de Bourbonne had talked with her for ten minutes,
sitting beside her, his nephew was forgiven. He perceived that
whatever the actual truth might be, the relation between Madame
Firmiani and Octave covered some mystery. Returning to the illusions
that gild the days of youth, and judging Madame Firmiani by her
beauty, the old gentleman became convinced that a woman so innately
conscious of her dignity as she appeared to be was incapable of a bad
action. Her dark eyes told of inward peace; the lines of her face were
so noble, the profile so pure, and the passion he had come to
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