| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Spirit of the Border by Zane Grey: a windy gloom, but his work, his duty remained. So in his trial he learned the
necessity of resignation. He chaffed no more at the mysterious, seemingly
brutal methods of nature; he questioned no more. He wondered no more at the
apparent indifference of Providence. He had one hope, which was to be true to
his faith, and teach it to the end.
Nell mastered her grief by an astonishing reserve of strength. Undoubtedly it
was that marvelously merciful power which enables a person, for the love of
others, to bear up under a cross, or even to fight death himself. As Young
had his bright-eyed Indian boys and girls, who had learned Christianity from
him, and whose future depended on him, so Nell had her aged and weakening
uncle to care for and cherish.
 The Spirit of the Border |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Heroes by Charles Kingsley: loved him, gave him beauty and tallness and terrible manhood.
And when they came near together and looked into each other's
eyes the heroes were awed before Aietes as he shone in his
chariot, like his father the glorious Sun; for his robes were
of rich gold tissue, and the rays of his diadem flashed fire;
and in his hand he bore a jewelled sceptre, which glittered
like the stars; and sternly he looked at them under his
brows, and sternly he spoke and loud -
'Who are you, and what want you here, that you come to the
shore of Cutaia? Do you take no account of my rule, nor of
my people the Colchians who serve me, who never tired yet in
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy: During one of these moments of awkward silence when Anatole's
prominent eyes were gazing calmly and fixedly at her, Natasha, to
break the silence, asked him how he liked Moscow. She asked the
question and blushed. She felt all the time that by talking to him she
was doing something improper. Anatole smiled as though to encourage
her.
"At first I did not like it much, because what makes a town pleasant
ce sont les jolies femmes,* isn't that so? But now I like it very much
indeed," he said, looking at her significantly. "You'll come to the
costume tournament, Countess? Do come!" and putting out his hand to
her bouquet and dropping his voice, he added, "You will be the
 War and Peace |