| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Europeans by Henry James: If there had been any one to say it to she would have declared that
she was positively in love with her host; but she could hardly make
this declaration--even in the strictest confidence--to Acton himself.
It gave her, nevertheless, a pleasure that had some of the charm of
unwontedness to feel, with that admirable keenness with which she was
capable of feeling things, that he had a disposition without any edges;
that even his humorous irony always expanded toward the point.
One's impression of his honesty was almost like carrying a bunch
of flowers; the perfume was most agreeable, but they were occasionally
an inconvenience. One could trust him, at any rate, round all
the corners of the world; and, withal, he was not absolutely simple,
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Underground City by Jules Verne: CHAPTER XIX THE LEGEND OF OLD SILFAX
Six months after these events, the marriage, so strangely interrupted,
was finally celebrated in St. Giles's chapel, and the young couple,
who still wore mourning garments, returned to the cottage.
James Starr and Simon Ford, henceforth free from the anxieties which
had so long distressed them, joyously presided over the entertainment
which followed the ceremony, and prolonged it to the following day.
On this memorable occasion, Jack Ryan, in his favorite character of piper,
and in all the glory of full dress, blew up his chanter, and astonished
the company by the unheard of achievement of playing, singing, and dancing
all at once.
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table by Oliver Wendell Holmes: of luxurious and sanctimonious compassion - to see the rate at
which the string reels off, while he lies there bobbing up and
down, poor fellow! and we are dashing along with the white foam and
bright sparkle at our bows; - the ruffled bosom of prosperity and
progress, with a sprig of diamonds stuck in it! But this is only
the sentimental side of the matter; for grow we must, if we outgrow
all that we love.
Don't misunderstand that metaphor of heaving the log, I beg you.
It is merely a smart way of saying that we cannot avoid measuring
our rate of movement by those with whom we have long been in the
habit of comparing ourselves; and when they once become stationary,
The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table |
