patterns and rhythms as a lens to understand the world

Life often feels random and chaotic. But the rhythms and patterns offer a lens through which to appreciate the natural cycle of things.

Most obviously in nature: The moon is not randomly full, it waxes from a new moon through crescent moons and gibbous moons. It's unsurprising that a full moon follows. Buds and blossom don't appear randomly, they emerge as winter gives way to the warmer soil and sunshine of spring. We understand these things, they are part of our expectation and anticipation, even though we often complain about the weather as if it is a shock!

But we are less literate when it comes to social patterns. People behave in ways that reflect well worn developmental pathways, from the obvious age related rhythms (eg teenage behaviours) to more circumstantial (eg grieving cycles).

Civilisations also cycle through well worn phases, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that we are currently experiencing an unravelling of many of the institutions that we assumed would 'go on forever' (eg insurance industry).

The point of this post is simply to note that in addition to the many applications of pattern wisdom, (eg food patterns), pattern intelligence offers us an overarching lens through which to understand life. Of course, life can feel unpredictable in many ways, and I am not suggesting everything can be understood via a pattern. But a lot can be mapped onto an understood cycle or rhythm, and if we understands those patterns, life can feel much less random and uncertain.

One of the implications for me, is the ability to know what to resist and what to appreciate as the natural flow of things. When we appreciate the natural flow of energy and the cycles and rhythms that are patterns of that energy flow, we can be intentional about what we resist, and what we choose to accept and 'go with'.