| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Heritage of the Desert by Zane Grey: wall. The solitude and silence were speaking to Hare's heart, easing his
pain, when a soft patter of moccasined feet brought him bolt upright.
A slender form rounded the corner wall. It was Mescal. The white dog
Wolf hung close by her side. Swiftly she reached Hare.
"Mescal!" he exclaimed.
"Hush! Speak softly," she whispered fearfully. Her hands were clinging
to his.
"Jack, do you love me still?"
More than woman's sweetness was in the whisper; the portent of
indefinable motive made Hare tremble like a shaking leaf.
"Good heavens! You are to be married in a few minutes--What do you mean?
 The Heritage of the Desert |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Gobseck by Honore de Balzac: attorney's skilful management, Mme. de Grandlieu's income reached the
sum of some sixty thousand francs, to say nothing of the vast sums
returned to her by the law of indemnity. And Derville, a man of high
character, well informed, modest, and pleasant in company, became the
house-friend of the family.
By his conduct of Mme. de Grandlieu's affairs he had fairly earned the
esteem of the Faubourg Saint-Germain, and numbered the best families
among his clients; but he did not take advantage of his popularity, as
an ambitious man might have done. The Vicomtesse would have had him
sell his practice and enter the magistracy, in which career
advancement would have been swift and certain with such influence at
 Gobseck |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce: cord. A rope closely encircled his neck. It was attached to
a stout cross-timber above his head and the slack feel to the
level of his knees. Some loose boards laid upon the ties
supporting the rails of the railway supplied a footing for
him and his executioners -- two private soldiers of the
Federal army, directed by a sergeant who in civil life may
have been a deputy sheriff. At a short remove upon the same
temporary platform was an officer in the uniform of his rank,
armed. He was a captain. A sentinel at each end of the
bridge stood with his rifle in the position known as
"support," that is to say, vertical in front of the left
 An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge |