| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Commission in Lunacy by Honore de Balzac: will tell you without subterfuge that my position in the world, and
the efforts I have to make to keep up my connection, are not in the
least to my taste. I began my life by a long period of solitude; but
my children's interest appealed to me; I felt that I must fill their
father's place. By receiving my friends, by keeping up all this
connection, by contracting these debts, I have secured their future
welfare; I have prepared for them a brilliant career where they will
find help and favor; and to have what has thus been acquired, many a
man of business, lawyer or banker, would gladly pay all it has cost
me."
"I appreciate your devoted conduct, madame," replied Popinot. "It does
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from A Second Home by Honore de Balzac: always seen that kind creature with a tender smile on his lips, a
smile that seemed to mirror her own.
As she called up these vivid pictures, her eyes filled with tears; she
thought she could not love him enough, and was tempted to regard her
ambiguous position as a sort of tax levied by Fate on her love.
Finally, invincible curiosity led her to wonder for the thousandth
time what events they could be that led so tender a heart as Roger's
to find his pleasure in clandestine and illicit happiness. She
invented a thousand romances on purpose really to avoid recognizing
the true reason, which she had long suspected but tried not to believe
in. She rose, and carrying the baby in her arms, went into the dining-
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Crisis in Russia by Arthur Ransome: In the morning Radek, the two conductors who had charge
of the wagons and I sat down together to breakfast and had
a very merry meal, they providing cheese and bread and I a
tin of corned beef providently sent out from home by the
Manchester Guardian. We cooked up some coffee on a
little spirit stove, which, in a neat basket together with plates,
knives, forks, etc. (now almost unobtainable in Russia) had been
a parting present from the German Spartacists to Radek when
he was released from prison in Berlin and allowed to leave Germany.
The morning was bright and clear, and we had an excellent
view of Jaroslavl when we drove from the station to the
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