Manage your own life properly, and you can manage an entire nation…
Iroh poured Zuko tea, even though he didn't ask for a refill. The Jasmine Dragon had a rule of free refills to men as important as the Fire Lord.
"Uncle, please don't give me a parable now. I really need some help." Zuko asked him for advice, genuinely needing it. "I mean…if you will stay here, all the way in the Earth Kingdom…" Zuko swallowed a big lump in his throat. "…I may never see you again. I need some advice. One last bit of advice. What would you tell someone who is about to run a whole nation?"
"First of all, who says that I will never see you again?" Iroh smiled at his misguided nephew. "Second, I will never stop giving you advice, even if we never see each other again. And third, I meant what I just said."
Iroh sat down and cleared his throat.
"A nation is much like a living person. A creature can only stay alive if all of its body is functioning properly, meaning that it needs balance. You cannot sustain a nation is you focus only on its armies, or on its navy, or on any one thing. All things must be given an equal amount of time, in the same way a person gives time to his friends and his family and his job."
Zuko sipped his tea, memorizing each word his uncle said, at last knowing how important his words were.
"Balance is the key to everything. You can never achieve permanent balance, no matter what you do or how hard you try. Or do not try, for that matter."
Iroh paused again. It had become habitual.
"But the important thing is to never stop trying to achieve that harmony. Just do what you need to do. Perform all actions with patience and wisdom. And do not forget who you are."
"Thank you uncle." Zuko smiled and sat up straighter, as if a weight had been lifted off his back.
"My pleasure, Fire Lord." Iroh bowed. Instead of receive the same a bow as deep, Zuko grabbed him and hugged him tightly.
Iroh never though he'd see the day that Zuko would hug him for a lecture, but Iroh also never thought that he conquer Ba Sing Se again either.