Fire and wind share a peculiar relationship: wherever fire ignites, wind will invariably follow. At first, the wind may not be particularly forceful — but as the fire grows, the wind intensifies, fanning the flames into a rapid and fierce blaze. The elders of old therefore counseled that one should extinguish the fire before the wind takes hold.
Therefore, whenever something goes wrong, if one does not hasten to correct it from the very outset, greater complications will follow in its wake — and a habit of carelessness and negligence will be bred along with it.
Whatever the mistake, once it has begun to arise, it must be promptly corrected. If left unaddressed, it will only spread. This is why the ancients firmly admonished: “Extinguish the fire before the wind takes hold.”
November 3rd. 2019
