| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Rivers to the Sea by Sara Teasdale: They gave me life; the gift was bountiful,
I lived with the swift singing strength of fire,
Seeking for beauty as a flame for fuel--
Beauty in all things and in every hour.
The gods have given life--I gave them song;
The debt is paid and now I turn to go.
* * * * * *
The breath of dawn blows the stars out like lamps,
There is a rim of silver on the sea,
As one grown tired who hopes to sleep, I go.
II
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia by Samuel Johnson: "My dear Imlac," said the Prince, "I will open to thee my whole
heart. I have long meditated an escape from the Happy Valley. I
have examined the mountain on every side, but find myself
insuperably barred - teach me the way to break my prison; thou
shalt be the companion of my flight, the guide of my rambles, the
partner of my fortune, and my sole director in the CHOICE OF LIFE.
"Sir," answered the poet, "your escape will be difficult, and
perhaps you may soon repent your curiosity. The world, which you
figure to yourself smooth and quiet as the lake in the valley, you
will find a sea foaming with tempests and boiling with whirlpools;
you will be sometimes overwhelmed by the waves of violence, and
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, etc. by Oscar Wilde: was that she was a widow with a beautiful house in Park Lane, and
as some scientific bore began a dissertation on widows, as
exemplifying the survival of the matrimonially fittest, I left and
went home.
'The next day I arrived at Park Lane punctual to the moment, but
was told by the butler that Lady Alroy had just gone out. I went
down to the club quite unhappy and very much puzzled, and after
long consideration wrote her a letter, asking if I might be allowed
to try my chance some other afternoon. I had no answer for several
days, but at last I got a little note saying she would be at home
on Sunday at four and with this extraordinary postscript: "Please
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