| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from O Pioneers! by Willa Cather: she had bacon in the cave, glass jars on the
shelves, and sheets in the press. She disap-
proved of all her neighbors because of their
slovenly housekeeping, and the women thought
her very proud. Once when Mrs. Bergson, on
her way to Norway Creek, stopped to see old
Mrs. Lee, the old woman hid in the haymow
"for fear Mis' Bergson would catch her bare-
foot."
O Pioneers! |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens: in the sun, or in the moon, or in the stars, for their reading.
They are like some wise men, who, learning to know each planet by
its Latin name, have quite forgotten such small heavenly
constellations as Charity, Forbearance, Universal Love, and Mercy,
although they shine by night and day so brightly that the blind may
see them; and who, looking upward at the spangled sky, see nothing
there but the reflection of their own great wisdom and book-
learning.
It is curious to imagine these people of the world, busy in
thought, turning their eyes towards the countless spheres that
shine above us, and making them reflect the only images their minds
Barnaby Rudge |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Alexander's Bridge by Willa Cather: Whatever took its place, action, reflection,
the power of concentrated thought, were only
functions of a mechanism useful to society;
things that could be bought in the market.
There was only one thing that had an
absolute value for each individual, and it was
just that original impulse, that internal heat,
that feeling of one's self in one's own breast.
When Alexander walked back to his hotel,
the red and green lights were blinking
along the docks on the farther shore,
Alexander's Bridge |
