Theme and variations. In music, there was a type of classical music that would often revolve around a theme, and then that theme would be repeated, but with variations of style. In life, sometimes there is a theme, and different variations on that theme. Maybe you recognize the theme right away, maybe it takes a while before the pattern becomes clear to you. How can you benefit from recognizing a theme? How can you benefit from learning to be creative with different variations on a theme?