This morning as I saw the grass being cut and the brown earth revealed itself, my first thought was that a beautiful lawn had been temporarily destroyed. And I instinctively knew the thought was not right and I had missed something. I realised that the old grass had given way for the creation of the next wave of lush green grass. And the thought that came was, this is Creative Destruction.
Sometimes to build, we have to break. Not all destruction is bad. A seed is destroyed to make way for a tree. A flower is destroyed to make way for a fruit. A rock is shattered to make way for a tunnel.
Breaking away from old ways of doing business allows us to create new cultures and systems. Death of a technology is birth of innovation.
We’ve often viewed destruction as a negative. But if we understand it as a necessary pre-condition to creating something better, instead of fearing, we embrace destruction and develop the courage and willingness to change.
And adopting this principle can help transform our lives. We need to break unhealthy lifestyle and working habits to build good health and happy families. We must destroy our prejudices to create new friendships and relationships. Breaking attachments creates inner freedom. Letting go of our ego opens the channel of our love and joy.
When life causes destruction in our life, it need not break our spirit. Life is not only testing our resilience, it is also asking us to look for the Creative potential in the Destruction.
Vivek, you know I live in an area of massive forests. Our land has renewed itself for centuries with the destruction of forests by lightning strikes. The renewal of the land comes from the destruction of what has grown out of the land. Only when people encroach on nature’s territory do we see that something is out of balance. Even the pandemic has shown us that nature can renew itself once humanity gets out of the way.
Excellent Heading, Creative Destruction.
The word Destruction is always related to breaking, incorrect and negative correlation. You have explained so well, that destruction is good for creation, which is good for future and necessary..