Why Destruction is a Vital Part of Creation

Creating something new—whether a relationship, a room of your own, or a collage—feels great! Creation is touted all the time: “Create the life of your dreams;” “Create abundance;” “Create your ideal relationship.” Creation is a valuable, fulfilling, and necessary part of life. What we too often forget, is that destruction is also necessary and valuable.

In a CDM Spiritual Center class, we were instructed to create an object from the clay in front of us. I fashioned a lovely, multi-petal rose. The person next to me had created a banana. I took pride in showing my rose to the class. I was surprised and deeply satisfied with what I’d created in just a few minutes. The next step was to destroy our creation. I didn’t want to! I wanted to keep it as a memento. But of course, they would need the clay for another time, another lesson. I crushed my rose back into a formless lump of clay.

Why destruction is necessary…

The point of this lesson was that destruction is just as necessary as creation. We can’t keep creating and creating and creating without destruction. The world would run out of room. We would run out of room. Both processes are necessary and equally valuable.

Creating your future…

Relationships come and go as our lives change. The décor we loved two years ago feels outdated today. We discard the curtains and repaint. The collage we loved in July feels outdated in December. We get rid of it to make room for something new. Destruction and creation are equally important.  Hanging on to what no longer exists or serves us, whether it was wonderful or horrific, prevents us from creating a new life. If your spouse died twenty years ago and you continue to cling to that event and the life you had, you remain stuck in the past. If having the lead ten years ago in your community theater’s musical was the highlight of your life that you continue to tell people about, it’s time to create new adventures!