| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Scarecrow of Oz by L. Frank Baum: The King was so delighted with this suggestion that he
hugged old Googly-Goo in his joy
"Of course!" he cried. "The very thing. Why did I not
think of it myself?"
So he summoned his soldiers and retainers and bade them
prepare a great bonfire in an open space in the castle
park. Also he sent word to all his people to assemble and
witness the destruction of the Scarecrow who had dared to
defy his power. Before long a vast throng gathered in the
park and the servants had heaped up enough fuel to make a
fire that might be seen for miles away -- even in the
The Scarecrow of Oz |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Voice of the City by O. Henry: a home in one of those brown-stone, iron-railed
streets on the west side that look like a recently ex-
cavated bowling alley of Pompeii.
To this home of his Mr. Dougherty repaired each
night when the hour was so late as to promise no
further diversion in the arch domains of sport. By
that time the occupant of the monogamistic harem
would be in dreamland, the bulbul silenced and the
hour propitious for slumber.
"Big Jim" always arose at twelve, meridian, for
breakfast, and soon afterward he would return to
The Voice of the City |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Barlaam and Ioasaph by St. John of Damascus: her again. `Come hither,' said he, `into my house: I will make
thee right welcome, and send thee forth with honour.' But the
nightingale said unto him, `Now I know thee to be a mighty fool.
Though thou didst receive my words readily and gladly, thou hast
gained no profit thereby. I bade thee never regret the thing
past and gone; and behold thou art distraught with grief because
I have escaped out of thy hands there thou regrettest a thing
past and gone. I charged thee not to try to attain to the
unattainable, and thou triest to catch me, though thou canst not
attain to my path. Besides which, I bade thee never believe a
word past belief, and behold thou hast believed that I had inside
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