Fumem fugiens in ignem incidit.
(Medieval)

The one who is running away from smoke falls into a fire.

(Pron = foo-mehm foo-ghee-ehns ihn ihg-nehm ihn-kee-diht)

Comment: This must be medieval slap-stick comedy at work, weaving the picture,
essentially, of the fool running away from smoke. Perhaps he has his head
turned back looking at the smoke, so he doesn’t see the fire he is
inadvertently running toward before he falls into it. The audience would
laugh, because we know, metaphorically and perhaps literally, how often we have
been that fool.

Running away from danger can be a good thing. Likewise, being very still and
keeping focused attention on the thing that seems to threaten us can be a good
thing. It is however, the split of attention in running away while we look
back over our shoulders that does us in. Ironically, we cannot really run away
from something that we are still looking at! We are bound to fall into
something. Another way of putting it is this. Anything/one that we are
reacting to (complaining about, arguing with, resenting, hating) has our
attention. We cannot really move away from them even though we may think we
are. We can either stand still and pay attention to what they are showing us,
or we can let them go and move on. Inevitably, though, trying to move on while
carrying our reaction to them with us means one thing. We will run into them,
in some form, again, and again, and again. We will keep falling into that
fire—until the fool learns his lesson.