| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell: snowy head rag, and Jack, stupid with sleep, as far away from
Mammy's pinching fingers as possible. Their dark eyes gleamed
expectantly, for praying with their white folks was one of the
events of the day. The old and colorful phrases of the litany
with its Oriental imagery meant little to them but it satisfied
something in their hearts, and they always swayed when they
chanted the responses: "Lord, have mercy on us," "Christ, have
mercy on us."
Ellen closed her eyes and began praying, her voice rising and
falling, lulling and soothing. Heads bowed in the circle of
yellow light as Ellen thanked God for the health and happiness of
Gone With the Wind |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Little Rivers by Henry van Dyke: bow of the canoe. "Arret', arret', doucement!" A swift stroke of
the paddle checked the canoe, quivering and prancing like a horse
suddenly reined in. The wave ahead, as if surprised, sank and
flattened for a second. The canoe leaped through the edge of it,
swerved to one side, and ran gayly down along the fringe of the
line of billows, into quieter water.
Every one feels the exhilaration of such a descent. I know a lady
who almost cried with fright when she went down her first rapid,
but before the voyage was ended she was saying:--
"Count that day lost whose low, descending sun
Sees no fall leaped, no foaming rapid run."
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from A Book of Remarkable Criminals by H. B. Irving: attitude was one of humble and appropriate penitence. In a weak
and nervous voice he told the story of his hardships since his
release from his Victorian prison; he would only urge that the
shooting of Mr. Munday was accidental, caused by Munday picking
up a stone and attacking him. When about to be sentenced to
death he expressed great sorrow and contrition for his crime, for
the poor wife and children of his unfortunate victim. His life,
he said, was a poor thing, but he would gladly give it fifty
times over.
The sentence of death was confirmed by the Executive on June 30.
To a Freethought advocate who visited him shortly before his
A Book of Remarkable Criminals |
