66. Clearing The Ground

It can feel like a mistake to destroy what we have already spent so much effort creating. We have something real and tangible right now, but if we destroy it, then we will have nothing.

It feels like we would not only be discarding what was built, but also its meanings. When we build something we expend time and effort — real parts of our own lives we cannot get back. This meaningful expenditure becomes part of the meaning of the created object. In addition, the longer the object is part of our world, the greater the role it seems to play in the meaning of that world. These acquired meanings feel valuable in themselves and we do not want to lose them.

Our aversion to destruction extends not just to physical objects but also to our creations in the virtual world of norms and language. To negate these things can feel just as troubling. But an aversion to negation operates like any other aversion. If we become attached to it then we limit our possibilities, narrow the scope of our lives, and trap ourselves in the cycle of suffering.

By clearing the ground, we enable the possibility of building anew. We gift ourselves a fresh opportunity to think clearly about what we most need and to put our time and effort towards building something even better than what we already have.

But such destruction can be valuable even when we do not build anything new. It can help liberate us from the past, a past we easily become attached to and nostalgic for. This doesn’t mean forgetting our history, but simply allowing ourselves freedom from artifacts that have become stagnant and limiting.

While our constructions benefit us, they also restrict our movements. To move more freely is the promise that newly cleared ground offers. When we open ourselves to negation, we enable a wider range of creative possibilities that can surpass anything we have previously imagined. And when our creativity is unbounded, we are better able to apply our energy and resources to solve problems of need and live more joyfully.