| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Captain Stormfield by Mark Twain: There's plenty of suffering here, but it don't last. You see,
happiness ain't a THING IN ITSELF - it's only a CONTRAST with
something that ain't pleasant. That's all it is. There ain't a
thing you can mention that is happiness in its own self - it's only
so by contrast with the other thing. And so, as soon as the
novelty is over and the force of the contrast dulled, it ain't
happiness any longer, and you have to get something fresh. Well,
there's plenty of pain and suffering in heaven - consequently
there's plenty of contrasts, and just no end of happiness."
Says I, "It's the sensiblest heaven I've heard of yet, Sam, though
it's about as different from the one I was brought up on as a live
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Mucker by Edgar Rice Burroughs: "Well!" exclaimed a voice behind her. "You played us a
pretty trick, Miss Barbara."
The girl turned to see Grayson approaching. To her
surprise he seemed to hold no resentment whatsoever. She
greeted him courteously.
"I couldn't let you turn an American over to General
Villa," she said, "no matter what he had done."
"I liked your spirit," said the man. "You're the kind o' girl
I ben lookin' fer all my life--one with nerve an' grit, an' you
got 'em both. You liked thet bookkeepin' critter, an' he wasn't
half a man. I like you an' I am a man, ef I do say so myself."
The Mucker |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Cruise of the Jasper B. by Don Marquis: that he owed something to himself.
"If you was to ask me," he said, turning to Cleggett, "whether
what I'd got to say to you would do later, or whether it wouldn't
do later, I'd answer you it would, or it wouldn't, all accordin'
to whether you wanted to hear it now, or whether you wanted to
hear it later. And as far as SAILIN' her is concerned, Mr.
Cleggett, I'll SAIL her, whether you turn her into a battleship
or into one of these here yachts. I come of a seafarin' fambly."
And then he said to the lady, indicating the tie and bobbing his
head forward with a prim little bow: "Thank ye, ma'am."
"Isn't he a duck!" said the lady, following him with her eyes, as
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