| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Walden by Henry David Thoreau: appeared to know his course as surely under water as on the surface,
and swam much faster there. Once or twice I saw a ripple where he
approached the surface, just put his head out to reconnoitre, and
instantly dived again. I found that it was as well for me to rest
on my oars and wait his reappearing as to endeavor to calculate
where he would rise; for again and again, when I was straining my
eyes over the surface one way, I would suddenly be startled by his
unearthly laugh behind me. But why, after displaying so much
cunning, did he invariably betray himself the moment he came up by
that loud laugh? Did not his white breast enough betray him? He
was indeed a silly loon, I thought. I could commonly hear the
Walden |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from 'Twixt Land & Sea by Joseph Conrad: I acknowledged the gracious invitation by saying deliberately:
"I can listen to all you may have to say without sitting down."
Emitting a loud and vehement "Pshaw!" he glared for a moment, very
round-eyed and fierce. It was like a gigantic tomcat spitting at
one suddenly. "Look at him! . . . What do you fancy yourself to
be? What did you come here for? If you won't sit down and talk
business you had better go to the devil."
"I don't know him personally," I said. "But after this I wouldn't
mind calling on him. It would be refreshing to meet a gentleman."
He followed me, growling behind my back:
"The impudence! I've a good mind to write to your owners what I
'Twixt Land & Sea |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Tales of the Klondyke by Jack London: concerning Uri's God, but he believed in Chance, and Chance had
been coming his way ever since the night he ran down the beach and
across the snow. "But there is only one gun," he objected.
"We will fire turn about," Uri replied, at the same time throwing
out the cylinder of the other man's Colt and examining it.
"And the cards to decide! One hand of seven up!"
Fortune's blood was warming to the game, and he drew the deck from
his pocket as Uri nodded. Surely Chance would not desert him now!
He thought of the returning sun as he cut for deal, and he
thrilled when he found the deal was his. He shuffled and dealt,
and Uri cut him the Jack of Spades. They laid down their hands.
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