One of the most common patterns I experience is thinking I know just about everything, only to discover another portal of information that opens me up to how much more I don’t know. In my nineteenth year, I came to the conclusion that life is just the same pattern masquerading around as different experiences. Each experience, at its fundamental core, was just the same as the last, meaning that at 19, I already had all the experiences I would ever need.

And you know what?

Nineteen-year-old me was right! Well, he was definitely wrong. Nineteen years of life definitely isn’t enough experience for a fulfilling life.

But he was still right!

Justus 19: Life is just a series of the same pattern, so after 19 years of living, life would have provided all of the necessary experiences to pull from.

The Pattern

Everything Is Energy.

Energy is the core ingredient of everything; how the energy is assembled determines what that “thing” is.

If we look at subatomic particles, we see energy structured in incredibly small patterns that become the Quarks, Bosons, and Leptons of an Atom. An Atom can then combine with other Atoms in infinite patterns to make up any and everything in our observable universe. This is THE PATTERN; A bunch of small (representations of energy) things combining to create something more complex and repeating.

This system allows minuscule parts to be combined into larger parts, creating more complex networks as the growth continues.

A less complex representation of this pattern can be seen in language and music.

The English Alphabet contains 26 letters that can combine to create words that are then strung together to form sentences, paragraphs, thoughts, and so on.

Minuscule parts combining to create complex parts.

Imagine getting a new job in a completely unknown field. You would first learn the new terms (letters), then concepts surrounding those terms (words), and then practice combining those concepts (sentences) to actually get your work done.

If everything works off of the same pattern, doesn’t that mean everything is related to the next, at least in its most basic form?

Been There. Done That.

The through line is the pattern that all things share, which is the key because if we can deeply understand one thing, then what stops us from recognizing the same patterns in anything else? I’m not saying by understanding how to play a song on the piano, you will automatically understand rocket science, but it’s safe to assume rocket science has its basic ideas and fundamentals that then combine to introduce more complex concepts and so on. Your advantage of learning to play that song is when you decide to become a rocket scientist; your internal library is full of patterns to recognize. As a human, you have the superpower of inference, the ability to draw conclusions and make predictions based on available information. Every year of your life, you learn and store patterns without any idea of how you will apply them. As you consciously understand the construction pattern of everything, you can consciously use your inference skills to see the patterns you already know.

How do you build a house?

The same way you make a Sandwich.

Select your ingredients/parts, build your foundation, and use each part to support and enhance the next one until it’s done.

Obviously, these aren’t one-to-one comparisons, but the fundamentals of the pattern are the same.

Using The Construction Pattern

Identify the building blocks.

Any time you encounter something new, you must break it down into its simplest parts. The pattern requires knowing the letters or building blocks of the complex structure you wish to master.

In a language, these are the sounds, pronunciations, and alphabet.

For a mechanic, it would be the car’s parts and their uses.

Everything complex starts with simplicity. Learn the small structures and why they exist before you can work your way up.

Search for the through-line | Identify The Patterns

Once you understand the smaller parts of the “thing,” you can start to hear what it is saying to you.

Yeah, Listen.

Instead of trying to piece it all together immediately, learn to listen to what those smaller blocks are trying to say. Everything is communicating something.

What is that block’s purpose in the overall structure?

Does it pass along information, Modify information, add upon, or eliminate something?

Each building block has a role to play, and that role is just an archetype that can be applied elsewhere in past experiences.

The wind carries pollen for something else to do something with it

Circuits that carry information for something else to do something with it

Notes in a song carry emotion for someone else to do something with it

How does this building block communicate? What is its purpose to the overall structure? And how is it like other blocks you already know?

Refine.

Once you know the through line between the new “thing” in front of you and the “thing” you already know, it’s just a matter of refinement. You can use all of your past experiences to help you discover new approaches or ideas within this new “thing.” When you can see the thought line between life’s experiences, you can use an unrelated obstacle you’ve already solved to help you solve the current one. This isn’t a shortcut to learning; you will still have to put in time and effort to learn, but your skills will be enhanced by your ability to pull from outside sources. The more you refine, the more art begins to be born. You will develop an understanding so deep within your field that you will appear as an artist before others because that is what you will be. Once you know the language of your “thing,” you can communicate masterfully, choosing when to use certain blocks and when not to. You will develop ways to do more with less, developing poetry in your field.

A Master Scientist, Chef, Athlete, Politician, Teacher, and Asshole, are all poets in their respective fields. Weaving together life experiences and a deep understanding of their language to do what they do artfully. Each one of these people could explain a completely unrelated aspect of their life through the expansive knowledge of their field because;

Everything is Everything.

This is what our Uncle Iroh was trying to teach us in the sand. When you can peel back the veil on the universe to see that there are patterns that connect everything, you can borrow from unrelated areas of life to assist another because they are not so unrelated.

You write a song the same way you paint a picture or decorate a home. You start with the idea, develop a theme or structure, and then fill in the details.

1. Identify the building blocks. (What are the letters, words, and sentences)

2. Search for the through line (how does this relate to something you already know)

3. Refine ( develop the skill, along with your previous knowledge, until you no longer think and just know)

Start with letters, Look for the through line, and refine.

Until it’s poetry.