| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from A Simple Soul by Gustave Flaubert: hawsers. Presently the ground sloped abruptly, lights flitted to and
fro, and she thought all at once that she had gone mad when she saw
some horses in the sky.
Others, on the edge of the dock, neighed at the sight of the ocean. A
derrick pulled them up in the air, and dumped them into a boat, where
passengers were bustling about among barrels of cider, baskets of
cheese and bags of meal; chickens cackled, the captain swore and a
cabin-boy rested on the railing, apparently indifferent to his
surroundings. Felicite, who did not recognise him, kept shouting:
"Victor!" He suddenly raised his eyes, but while she was preparing to
rush up to him, they withdrew the gangplank.
A Simple Soul |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Scarecrow of Oz by L. Frank Baum: Cap'n Bill gathered a lot of leaves and, assisted by
Trot, prepared two nice beds in opposite corners of the
shed. Pessim slept in a hammock which he swung between
two trees.
They required no dishes, as all their food consisted of
fruits and nuts picked from the trees; they made no fire,
for the weather was warm and there was nothing to cook;
the shed had no furniture other than the rude stool which
the little man was accustomed to sit upon. He called it
his "throne" and they let him keep it.
So they lived upon the island for three days, and
The Scarecrow of Oz |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Plutarch's Lives by A. H. Clough: For this man, Pericles entertained an extraordinary esteem and
admiration, and, filling himself with this lofty, and, as they call it,
up-in-the-air sort of thought, derived hence not merely, as was natural,
elevation of purpose and dignity of language, raised far above the base
and dishonest buffooneries of mob-eloquence, but, besides this, a
composure of countenance, and a serenity and calmness in all his
movements, which no occurrence whilst he was speaking could disturb, a
sustained and even tone of voice, and various other advantages of a
similar kind, which produced the greatest effect on his hearers. Once,
after being reviled and ill-spoken of all day long in his own hearing by
some vile and abandoned fellow in the open marketplace, where he was
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