Patterns. They are all around us. They are a big part of our everyday lives. We use them as as organizing principles, to provide structure. Patterns help us know where we are in our journey and show us where we fit in. Patterns place us in the now of the framework of our lives and the lives of those around us.
But this is a paradox, because when we are inside the pattern, we cannot really see where we are. Then patterns become puzzles we have to figure out, which is why walking through a maze for the first time can be so destabilizing and disorienting. Little wonder, then, that books and movies use mazes to symbolize terrifying journeys into the unknown! I think "maze" and see Jack Nicholson in The Shining chasing Shelley Duvall and Danny Lloyd. Or I anticipate the tragedy awaiting Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter inside the Triwizard Tournament Maze in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.Every time we get up to speak, we find ourselves in that very place--experiencing the journey, telling our story, choosing where to turn so we can follow the path to its logical conclusion. BUT we also need to be standing on the bridge above the maze, seeing the pattern, so we won't get lost by taking a wrong turn, going down a rhetorical dead end, or ending up somewhere other than where we planned to be. <Br>
Of course when we practice before we speak, we become familiar with the best way to navigate the maze, to solve that puzzle. And we become comfortable ignoring those little nagging voices that urge us to "step off the trail, go this way, it will be a shortcut, what can it hurt?" But even before the practice session begins, we need to be mindful of the pattern we are creating. We need to use its structure when developing our thesis and main supporting points. We may be tempted to go into great detail to tease out an intriguing but non-essential sub point. Or tell an entertaining but digressive story. But that sort of detour from the speech's overall plan does nothing to further our argument, and can be quite confusing to our audience. So we need to stay on the path in order to reach our goal Patterns are comforting. And mazes can be mastered--with practice and a clear head!
