--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whenever they rebuild an old building…" description: "\"Whenever they rebuild an old building, they must first of all destroy the old one.\" — Rumi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72a/rumi-56_building_whenever-they-rebuild-an-old-building-th_903738.jpg" --- # Whenever they rebuild an old building, they must first of… ![“Whenever they rebuild an old building, they must first of all destroy the old one.” quote by Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72a/rumi-56_building_whenever-they-rebuild-an-old-building-th_903738.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72a/rumi-56_building_whenever-they-rebuild-an-old-building-th_903738.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72a/rumi-56_building_whenever-they-rebuild-an-old-building-th_903738.jpg) > “Whenever they rebuild an old building, they must first of all destroy the old one.” [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. To rebuild, one must first destroy the old structure. **In simple terms:** Destruction precedes creation. Key Takeaway Embrace necessary endings. Themes renewal transformation destruction Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - urban redevelopment - personal growth - career change Key Concepts Socratic paradox creative cycles Questions to Reflect On - What must you let go of? - How can loss become a catalyst? A Different Perspective Destruction can be painful and loss‑laden. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Engineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineering/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Old buildings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-buildings/) ## Related quotes > [“All old building become crypts the moment they're finished, A shrine to a time that's already dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krystal-sutherland/all-old-building-become-crypts-the-moment-they-re-finished-a-shrine/) [Krystal Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krystal-sutherland/) > [It was a very aged, ghostly place; the church had been built many hundreds of years ago, and had once had a convent or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/it-was-a-very-aged-ghostly-place-the-church-had-been-built-many/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I was writing for a publishing company in this old building right next to the RCA Victor Studio in Nashville. We were on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-fritts/i-was-writing-for-a-publishing-company-in-this-old-building-right/) [Donnie Fritts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-fritts/) > [That is simply the most beautiful publishing office in the world, with that cranky old building in that wonderful park.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harrison/that-is-simply-the-most-beautiful-publishing-office-in-the-world-with/) [Jim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harrison/) > [People have grown fond of me, like some old building.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/people-have-grown-fond-of-me-like-some-old-building/) [Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/) > [My favourite piece of architecture is the Royal Conservatory of Music on Bloor (273 Bloor Street West). When they cleaned up the old building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-barrie/my-favourite-piece-of-architecture-is-the-royal-conservatory-of-music/) [Andy Barrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-barrie/) > [Time can tear down a building or destroy a woman's face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-rolling-stones/time-can-tear-down-a-building-or-destroy-a-woman-s-face/) [The Rolling Stones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-rolling-stones/) > [What you spend years building, someone might destroy overnight. Build it anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-you-spend-years-building-someone-might-destroy-overnight-build/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You must lance an ulcer to heal it. You must tear down parts of an old building to restore it, and so it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/you-must-lance-an-ulcer-to-heal-it-you-must-tear-down-parts-of-an-old/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“In order to create a new world, we must first destroy the old one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-cormier/in-order-to-create-a-new-world-we-must-first-destroy-the-old-one/) [Andrew Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-cormier/) > [New arts destroy the old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/new-arts-destroy-the-old/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I want to destroy the old concept that a company is a place where one sacrifices time for the sake of money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusaku-maezawa/i-want-to-destroy-the-old-concept-that-a-company-is-a-place-where-one/) [Yusaku Maezawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusaku-maezawa/) > [When men destroy their old gods they will find new ones to take their place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/when-men-destroy-their-old-gods-they-will-find-new-ones-to-take-their/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [Destroy the old files, but make copies first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-goldwyn/destroy-the-old-files-but-make-copies-first/) [Samuel Goldwyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-goldwyn/) > [There was an old abbot in one temple and he said something of which I think often and it was this, that when men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/there-was-an-old-abbot-in-one-temple-and-he-said-something-of-which-i/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) ## More by Rumi > [The love religion is all that is written here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/the-love-religion-is-all-that-is-written-here/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [And so it is, that both the Devil and the angelic Spirit present us with objects of desire to awaken our power of choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/and-so-it-is-that-both-the-devil-and-the-angelic-spirit-present-us/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [We began as mineral. We emerged into plant life, and into the animal state, and then into being human, and always we have forgotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/we-began-as-mineral-we-emerged-into-plant-life-and-into-the-animal/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [There is a morning inside you waiting to burst open into light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/there-is-a-morning-inside-you-waiting-to-burst-open-into-light/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Sometimes you hear a voice through the door calling you... This turning toward what you deeply love saves you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/sometimes-you-hear-a-voice-through-the-door-calling-you-this-turning/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“You’ve so distracted me, your absence fans my love. Don’t ask how. Then you come near. “Do not…” I say, and “Do not…,” you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/you-ve-so-distracted-me-your-absence-fans-my-love-don-t-ask-how-then/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [There is something to be said for anyone who sits alone with dignity and silently begs for God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/there-is-something-to-be-said-for-anyone-who-sits-alone-with-dignity/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Tis easy to break an idol, very easy: to regard the self as easy to subdue is folly, folly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/tis-easy-to-break-an-idol-very-easy-to-regard-the-self-as-easy-to/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Today, let us swim wildly, joyously in gratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/today-let-us-swim-wildly-joyously-in-gratitude/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [I have no name for what circles so perfectly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-have-no-name-for-what-circles-so-perfectly/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [What draws friends together does not conform to the laws of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/what-draws-friends-together-does-not-conform-to-the-laws-of-nature/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [We are born of love. Love is our mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/we-are-born-of-love-love-is-our-mother/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Water, stories, the body, all the things we do, are mediums that hid and show what's hidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/water-stories-the-body-all-the-things-we-do-are-mediums-that-hid-and/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [If your heart isn't yet illumined Be awake always, be a seeker of the heart, Be at war continually with your carnal soul. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/if-your-heart-isn-t-yet-illumined-be-awake-always-be-a-seeker-of-the/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“I came back to You because I could not find the kind and decent things I found in You anywhere else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-came-back-to-you-because-i-could-not-find-the-kind-and-decent/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) [Explore all 1,818 Rumi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) ## More Building quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/one-of-the-things-the-united-states-does-well-is-building-coalitions/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/) [Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [Absolutely, you can improve and become better at toughness. It's a talent, but it can be acquired, too. I think of it like building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harbaugh/absolutely-you-can-improve-and-become-better-at-toughness-it-s-a/) [Jim Harbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harbaugh/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I'd like to play Ian Paisley, actually. I'd need building up, though he's very frail now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-neeson/i-d-like-to-play-ian-paisley-actually-i-d-need-building-up-though-he/) [Liam Neeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-neeson/) > [Death is but an aspect of life, and the destruction of one material form is but a prelude to building up of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-but-an-aspect-of-life-and-the-destruction-of-one-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some architects have a preconceived notion of what a building should be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-w-fentress/some-architects-have-a-preconceived-notion-of-what-a-building-should/) [Curtis W. Fentress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-w-fentress/) > [As for the forces, electromagnetism and gravity we experience in everyday life. But the weak and strong forces are beyond our ordinary experience. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/as-for-the-forces-electromagnetism-and-gravity-we-experience-in/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [I'm 30. I'm about to hit my prime now. I need to act and keep building.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dillian-whyte/i-m-30-i-m-about-to-hit-my-prime-now-i-need-to-act-and-keep-building/) [Dillian Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dillian-whyte/) > [The essential functions of the mind consist in understanding and in inventing, in other words, in building up structures by structuring reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/the-essential-functions-of-the-mind-consist-in-understanding-and-in/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [Practically every time I speak up at a school conference, a political event, or my apartment building association's annual meeting, I'm met with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/practically-every-time-i-speak-up-at-a-school-conference-a-political/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) Browse all 5,974 Building quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Whenever they rebuild an old building, they must first of all destroy the old one.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rumi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/whenever-they-rebuild-an-old-building-they-must-first-of-all-destroy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Building" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/whenever-they-rebuild-an-old-building-they-must-first-of-all-destroy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72a/rumi-56_building_whenever-they-rebuild-an-old-building-th_903738.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72a/rumi-56_building_whenever-they-rebuild-an-old-building-th_903738.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72a/rumi-56_building_whenever-they-rebuild-an-old-building-th_903738.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Whenever they rebuild an old building, they must first of all destroy the old one.” — Rumi", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Rumi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Whenever they rebuild an old building,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/whenever-they-rebuild-an-old-building-they-must-first-of-all-destroy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/whenever-they-rebuild-an-old-building-they-must-first-of-all-destroy/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```