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"Find that fire inside you." The popular modern term to incite motivation and enthusiasm in an individual. To find one's fire is to seek one's goals with determination and straightforwardness that cowers to no obstacle. A mighty forest born of ages long past cannot withstand a spark that ignites a fire, how could one's obstacles or enemies possibly contend? Ah, but however strong and everlasting the fire inside may burn, the inevitable reality comes to pass. Fire may only exist as long as there is fuel to sustain it. The "fire inside" one's motivation, the drive factor, is impossible to attain without fuel. The fuel for one's fire can be described in many ways, and thought of in different forms. Let us begin to forgo the illusions and be more straightforward. Fire is fueled by the ego. Fueled by the self. Whatever myriad form it may take is irrelevant, because determination, hate, sorrow, humiliation, shame, anger, and other forms of ego motivated emotions will always supply a finite amount of fuel for one's fire. An individual feels a response, then a burst of flame. But a raging fire will always settle into kindling. For those who seek motivation, fuel, who often delve with fire, I offer my favorite chapter of the Tao Te Ching: Chapter 15 The ancient masters were subtle, mysterious, profound, responsive. The depth of their knowledge is unfathomable. Because it is unfathomable, All we can do is describe their appearance. Watchful, like men crossing a winter stream. Alert, like men aware of danger. Courteous, like visiting guests. Yielding, like ice about to melt. Simple, like uncarved blocks of wood. Hollow, like caves. Opaque, like muddy pools. Who can wait quietly while the mud settles? Who can remain still until the moment of action? Observers of the Tao do not seek fulfilment. Not seeking fulfillment, they are not swayed by desire for change. This may not be my preferred translation, however it does help convey a truth. The fire inside is but an illusion. The ego is not the way, and one's inner self knows this reality. But let us ask, what can stop the water from falling? Is there a possibility for one man to cease a waterfall? Can a river's rapid course be diverted by the rocks that reside in its bed? Water has no emotion, as it yields to all things. A Taoist favorite among imagery, nevertheless, it is for a reason. If you are an individual in need of motivation, then observe water. Yield and go with the flow of events. When the times comes for you to crash like the massive waves of the ocean in a storm, then you will do so effortlessly. When morning comes and the water is calm and undisturbed, you will return as nature intended. There is no emotion, only the Tao.