For a homework assignment for a recent class, we were instructed to sit quietly in a "natural" place to observe natural processes, and contemplate how we could use those processes to make a better world (biomimicry). One thing I observed was some leaves decomposing. Realized, after a while, that while the leaves were decomposing, micro organisms were using exactly the same material to "compose". Decomposition and composition are precisely balanced. If you don't see the other side of the process, it is only because you are not looking at a big enough picture.