Action
Setting off forces
November 3rd 2016
Why it is important to think carefully before acting? Because action releases forces, and once they are in motion, they keep going all the way. You are in the mountains and above you is an enormous rock ready to come rolling down. It is up to you whether you leave it alone or you cause it to fall. If you push it, there is no stopping it – it will crush you and many others with you. And if you open the lock gates on a canal, try stopping the water then!
You are always in control of whether you act or not, but once you have decided to act, the forces that have been set free are out of your hands. When agitators start up a riot, they soon lose control. Hence the saying, ‘Sow the wind and reap the whirlwind’; and that storm can sweep away the very person who caused it. Before you say a word, cast a glance, write a letter, or give the signal to start a war, you have every power, but afterwards, it’s too late and you become a mere onlooker, and often even the victim.