| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Foolish Virgin by Thomas Dixon: the turn into Fifth Avenue at a snail's pace.
"Can't let her out yet," he whispered
apologetically. "Had to make these turns. There's no
room for her inside of town."
Mary had no time to answer. He touched the wheel,
and the car shot up the deserted Avenue. She gasped
for breath and braced her feet, her whole being
tingling with the first exhilarating consciousness that
she too was possessed of the devil of speed madness.
It was glorious! For the first time in her life, space
and distance lost their meaning. She was free as the
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from In the South Seas by Robert Louis Stevenson: Take the chiefs. There has been a great coming and going of signs
and omens in our group. One river ran down blood; red eels were
captured in another; an unknown fish was thrown upon the coast, an
ominous word found written on its scales. So far we might be
reading in a monkish chronicle; now we come on a fresh note, at
once modern and Polynesian. The gods of Upolu and Savaii, our two
chief islands, contended recently at cricket. Since then they are
at war. Sounds of battle are heard to roll along the coast. A
woman saw a man swim from the high seas and plunge direct into the
bush; he was no man of that neighbourhood; and it was known he was
one of the gods, speeding to a council. Most perspicuous of all, a
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Polity of Athenians and Lacedaemonians by Xenophon: a hostile force appears in front in battle order, the word is passed
down to the commander of each section, "Deploy (into line) to the
left." And so throughout the whole length of the column, until the
line is formed facing the enemy. Or supposing while in this position
an enemy appears in the rear. Each file performs a counter-march[17]
with the effect of bringing the best men face to face with the enemy
all along the line.[18] As to the point that the leader previously on
the right finds himself now on the left,[19] they do not consider that
they are necessarily losers thereby, but, as it may turn out, even
gainers. If, for instance, the enemy attempted to turn their flank, he
would find himself wrapping round, not their exposed, but their
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