In reading the variety of books that I am wont to read at a given time I am always struck by an awareness that each and everyone of them represents a patterened perspective of reality or how reality seems to manifest. This is true even with the fantasy and SF books I read. There is always a formula at work, a way of presenting information in a specific pattern that leads to a specific conclusion.
Awareness of patterns can help us understand what they have to offer us, but can also lead to a myopia of sorts, that only sees the pattern and mistakes it for the reality, kind of like mistaking the forest for the trees. A pattern isn't reality, so much as it is a perception of how reality manifests. It structures our awareness of reality, but it also leads to specific conclusions, while excluding other conclusions.
When we understand patterns from this perspective we can critically engage them and challenge whether or not they are actually realistic to the situation we are in. A pattern doesn't have to define reality. We can step away from it or change it, with the recognition that we are creating our own pattern in the process. In fact, I don't think we can really live without patterns, but we can recognize their limitations and account for those limitations in a way that allows us to knowingly make changes. Every pattern is an opportunity to interpret reality, but it is our choice to rely upon that interpretation or to challenge it.