| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Walking by Henry David Thoreau: grass like a horse and leaves all his harness behind in the
stable. I would say to the Society for the Diffusion of Useful
Knowledge, sometimes,--Go to grass. You have eaten hay long
enough. The spring has come with its green crop. The very cows
are driven to their country pastures before the end of May;
though I have heard of one unnatural farmer who kept his cow in
the barn and fed her on hay all the year round. So, frequently,
the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge treats its
cattle.
A man's ignorance sometimes is not only useful, but
beautiful--while his knowledge, so called, is oftentimes worse
Walking |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Flower Fables by Louisa May Alcott: "And you too," said she, "shall spin for me, and I will give you
better food than helpless insects. You shall live in peace,
and spin your delicate threads into a mantle for the stern King;
and I will weave golden threads amid the gray, that when folded over
his cold heart gentle thoughts may enter in and make it their home.
And while she gayly sung, the little weavers spun their silken
threads, the flies on glittering wings flew lovingly above her head,
and over all the golden light shone softly down.
When the Frost-Spirits told their King, he greatly wondered and
often stole to look at the sunny little room where friends and enemies
worked peacefully together. Still the light grew brighter, and
Flower Fables |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Ten Years Later by Alexandre Dumas: surprised to find the streets strewed with leaves and
flowers. Against the old walls of Vannes hung the oldest and
the strangest tapestries of France. From over balconies fell
long white sheets stuck all over with bouquets. The streets
were deserted; it was plain the entire population was
assembled on one point. The blinds were closed, and the
breeze penetrated into the houses under the hangings, which
cast long, black shades between their places of issue and
the walls. Suddenly, at the turning of a street, chants
struck the ears of the newly arrived travelers. A crowd in
holiday garb appeared through the vapors of incense which
Ten Years Later |
