Patterns and Predictability

Our lives are full of patterns and predictability. As much as we may complain about them - on the basis of their consequent monotony - its a fact that we seek them out, we crave for them, we create them when there are none... Human beings seek patterns and predicatability. In studying perception (as a part of psychology) one understands the importance of closure in a perceived figure vis-a-vis the background, even in learning and memory, it is by creating associations, mnemonics, conditioning and patterns that we learn and memorise - even completely unrelated concepts (for instance, food and the bell in Pavlov's dog!!) Coming to think of it, memories of our life's incidents are always in patterns, in relations and associations. A song playing at the roadside tea stall, or a particular smell can transport us to a romantic dinner date, or our high school farewell, or a friend's birthday party where we all got completely wasted!! Its however, the same pattern...and it brings about the same predictability... Its actually amazing how much we seek these patterns. People can listen to the same song repeatedly only to revisit those fond memories over and over again, or they wear the same perfume for years. I even know of people who wear the same colour (in different shades, of course!). These patterns then cease being merely associations for memories. They start defining our identity. Our habits, our jobs, our everyday routine are all examples of this. They define who we are. The comfort that one gets by knowing what to expect (predicatbility) in our lives is almost immeasurable. You know what to do every morning, you go to the same place to work everyday and meet the same people, you know your family/friends will be there when you need them...The importance of this predictability can only be realised when the pattern is broken. The trauma that one goes through following a broken relationship, a death, losing a job, an illness - are extreme cases when one mourns the absence of this stability and predictability in one's life...Some people can handle this instability better than others, but people generally go through the same sequence (or rather pattern) of emotions and feelings. Of course, the intensity of the instability, the dependency that was there on that pattern, and the length of time that predictability existed are all determinants of how much the change affects the person. The adage - "time heals" - supports this. The "healing properties" of time are nothing but due to the predictability that it creates after a certain duration. Its not that one forgets, or that the pain becomes less - its just that one gets used to it, one expects it to be there, one can predict it...and therefore, a new way of life gets created with new patterns and new predictabilities!