29 - The Root and the Tree

TO THE READER

A root that stops drawing water does not simply rest. It begins to kill the tree it was meant to feed.

We tend to think of loyalty to a tradition as a matter of guarding it, walling it off, keeping it pure. Mitose taught almost the reverse. The surest way to destroy something you love is to close it.

There is a difference between the root of a thing and the fruit of it, and confusing the two has ended more traditions than any enemy ever did.

As you read, ask yourself what you have been protecting that was actually meant to grow.