Patterns

When I was about 31 years old I wrote two essays to myself.  This was before the days of blogs obviously so I had nobody to share it with,  nor did I care to at the time because they were clarifying messages for my life's purpose.  One of those essays was my version of the "Law of the Harvest".  The other was not really titled but more of a long journal entry that I simply called the P's of life.  Preparation which includes planning, purpose,perspective, patterns, pursuit.

I was engaged in my regular occupation and also associating with people pursuing personal development in the typical fashion of listening to speakers with an ambitious plan.  They wanted to sell a dream or sell us on our own dreams or get us to dream.   While dreams are good they are as they say only wishes until you write them down, or maybe a goal is only a wish until you make a plan to accomplish it.

I somehow came to the conclusion that I could make out of life what I wanted by thinking about these 5 things and making sure that I understood them.  How do we understand patterns?

Patterns

Patterns find expression in several definitions.  My wife is a quilter, a long arm quilter.  You will have to to look that up if you don't know what it is.   While some of the material she uses are plain, the quilt will always have a pattern to both the design and as to the quilting stitches that holds it all together.  Everywhere you look, at a design in a building or almost any thing that an individual makes to attract the eye and please the mind you will find a pattern of some kind.

Patterns also develop when we live life or perform a task.  Repetition results in patterns.  Patterns in life are largely the outcome of habits of thought that we develop and goals we set.  Patterns also help us achieve our goals as we set out to act on our plans.

As patterns develop we gain certain advantages of momentum, yet at the same time patterns can be interrupted.   We may have a patterns that lead to good health like exercising and eating a healthy diet or we may not.  We may gain it and then loose it or resolve through recognition that we need to change and establish such patterns.  These are our choices in life.    Life patterns will develop based on certain knowledge that we may have acquired through pursuit of knowledge or even accidental introduction.  We may have an understanding of consequences or we may be ignoranct of any or all consequences that occur because of our patterns of living.

A pattern of happy living can be established in poverty or in wealth and the same is true of unhappy living.  What is the key?   It is partly a decision but it is also aligning decisions with principles of happiness.  These have to do with integrity and congruity in how we treat ourselves and others.  It also has to do with who we are as eternal beings.  Our health can affect it.   It then comes down to how all things affect our relationships.  It is a matter of knowing and doing right to others.  A person may in ignorance discover that acting a certain way helps them and others.  If they do discover this then they are no longer ignorant.  Most often though, thoughts of change begin by hearing someone talk about them or by seeing an example of others that we want to follow.

Successive patterns of simple pleasure will not bring a person happiness.  Indulgence of any kind can ultimately lead to addictions and consequences of poor health, broken relationships and therefore unhappiness.

Patterns of study, pondering, resting, helping others, exercising and eating right all come from understanding our purpose and create in our brain the environment of electro chemical balance that allows us to feel good.

When a building designer goes about creating a blue print they may search for certain creative angles and design but they don't go against the advice of the engineer or the laws of physics on which the engineer bases their analysis of a design and construction.  Foundations are important, materials are important and construction processes are important.   None can be ignored without a consequence.   These steps become patterns that necessary for success in a construction endeavor.  The designer must understand them all and they must be supported by the engineer unless they can be definitively shown to be capable supporting the structure.

Until or unless you are aware of the patterns in your life, your efforts will be living in ignorance of essential principles for maximizing performance in the areas you choose or life in general. Mediocrity is the usual result when people fail to understand the patterns that affect daily living.