| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Stories From the Old Attic by Robert Harris: "It was great!" said the second youth. "I think it's the best thing
that ever happened to me. What a fun time. I'm so glad I was there."
* The events we experience are less important than the meaning we
give to them, for life is about meaning, not experience.
In Defeat There Is Victory
Once upon a time, among the infinite events which pass daily in this
world, a man took his son and daughter to the racetrack to watch the
horses run. After several races, the man announced that he would
place a bet. "We want to play, too!" his children cried excitedly.
"Very well," answered the man. "Here are the names of the horses in
the coming race: 1. Dotty's Trotter; 2. Sure Win; 3. Also Ran; 4.
|
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Tales of Unrest by Joseph Conrad: That touch of grace, whose help once in life is the privilege of the
most undeserving, flung open for him the portals of beyond, and in
contemplating there the certitude immaterial and precious he forgot
all the meaningless accidents of existence: the bliss of getting, the
delight of enjoying; all the protean and enticing forms of the
cupidity that rules a material world of foolish joys, of contemptible
sorrows. Faith!--Love!--the undoubting, clear faith in the truth of a
soul--the great tenderness, deep as the ocean, serene and eternal,
like the infinite peace of space above the short tempests of the
earth. It was what he had wanted all his life--but he understood it
only then for the first time. It was through the pain of losing her
Tales of Unrest |
