The Art of Creative Destruction

Despite the many scars on the land made by industry and war we are still surrounded by the beauty of the natural world.  If we were the pure and innocent beings, that some children tend to be, our innocence would be a blessing to the world and we would be in complete harmony with nature.  In awe of its majesty, appreciating but not worshipping its beauty, discovering by sight, touch and smell its stunning diversity and all the while delighting in the simple fortune of being alive. 

Unfortunately our innocence seems long gone and we are more likely to be moving across the land and throughout the world as seekers, explorers and analysers driven to find the reasons ‘why’ nature does what it does, often desperate to control its energies and careless in our treatment of its other kingdoms.  We spend infinite amounts of time and money trying to find out how the world works the way it does.  In our explorations one of the first things we discover is the incessant process of creativity within every mountain and molecule, in every blade of grass and in the depths of all the oceans.  Continuous creative renewal is at the heart of nature’s ways.

We would also notice however, that intrinsic and intertwined with natures creativity there is an equally constant strand of ‘destructivity’.  Decay and destruction is integral to recreation and renewal. In this one insight (perhaps we should say outsight) we can find one of the primary clues as to why we, as human beings, can easily stagnate and frequently find ourselves without inspiration or motivation. 

While we appear to live in the most amazingly creative time in all human history, where ideas and their implementation are the perceived currency of progress, what we often fail to attend to is our own inner spiritual recreation and renewal.  And even if we do ‘take up’ and integrate some spiritual or meditative renewing practice, unlike nature we don’t easily recognise our need to destroy that within ourselves which is old, outdated, distorted, twisted, unhealthy and negative. 

This is nothing to do with body or brain but all to do with mind and spirit.  We seldom challenge our own beliefs even when we notice how they work against us.  We seldom make the effort to question our perceptions even when we know they are distorting our interpretations of reality.  We seldom give the time and energy to kill old habits even when we know they are counter productive.  Seeing within our self what is old, outdated and obviously keeping us stuck is one thing, destroying or even just releasing it is something else.  This is of course the age old challenge of self-transformation.

Perhaps it’s difficult because our comfort zone is threatened if we do.  Perhaps it seems hard because when we do decide to end or let go of old ways we may walk against the tide or tendencies of our peer group or even society. This requires a secondary courage to release our neediness for the approval of others.  Perhaps it’s challenging because we are still not quite sure what we are to replace the old with, we have not yet been ‘creative’ enough and are therefore not ready, willing and able to destroy what no longer works within our own consciousness. 

The power to destroy is always in partnership with the power to create.  Not the destruction of the natural world, that’s not our job, nor the destruction or ending of anything within society, that’s  not our job either, but the ability to see and end what no longer works within us towards the sustained renewal and wellness of our being.  If the destructive capacity within us is not exercised in parallel to our innate creative impulse then it’s likely destruction will be enforced upon us by surprise, usually triggered by people and circumstances.  Some form of suffering will likely be the visitor to mind and body to remind us we have not thrown out or burnt the garbage of accumulated illusions, wrong beliefs and/or habits that obviously go against the grain of our true nature as peaceful and loving beings.  It’s not so easy to fully recognise and live a creative life until we realise that to be truly creative we must learn to what nature does so well and that is ‘destroy’.

Why exactly is destruction necessary for creation?

Reflect on this:  What was the last thing that you released and/or destroyed within your self that allowed you to renew or at bring new life to some area of your life?

 Take an actio during the course of the coming week to identify and release one outdated belief, one misperception and one old habit that you know is counter creative.

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Ross Galán, NLP Spiritual Life Coach
Spiritual Life Coaching School