The Japanese Cube Test

I was on FB recently and a simple video caught my attention (click here). It claimed it could tell a lot about me from my answers to a few simple questions. So, before we got to the analysis, I stopped the video. I figured it was a most excellent writing prompt. Video text will be in quote style with my answers normal text.

Imagine you are walking through a desert…

Nope, wouldn’t happen. Although I love dry heat, a desert is over-doing it a bit. However, for argument’s sake, I have mounds of sand dunes, not a side winder in sight. There is no water and plants are absent. The sun is a blazing orb of yellowish, hellish torture. The clouds are hiding because they don’t want to fight the sun.

And you see a cube.

Okay, it’s there in the distance, buried in the sand.

How big is the cube?

It’s small. If I picked it up and brushed it off, it would fit in my hand.

What material is it made out of?

I haven’t picked it up. I’m still walking up to it. It looks like it might be ivory… or plastic. It’s whitish… not sure if it’s dirty or if it’s off-white.

How far is it from the ground?

It’s buried in the sand. I still haven’t picked it up.

Somewhere near the cube, imagine a ladder. Where is it in relationship to the cube?

I’m struggling with the ladder. It’s not proportional to the cube — I would expect it to be bigger. It’s lying to the right of the cube, but it is on top of the sand. It’s not buried.

What is the ladder made out of it?

Although I only have seen metal ladders for the last 20 years, it looks like a good, solid wooden one my maternal grandfather used to have.

Picture a horse next to the cube and ladder.

Oh, my… she’s a beauty. A pure white Arabian thoroughbred standing with the gentle warm desert wind blowing her mane. Her tail isn’t moving. She’s regal and majestic. The ladder is still smaller than you would expect, even with her in the picture.

Is the horse moving? If so, in which direction?

She’s just standing regally, like she’s waiting for something. The mane still ripples in the desert wind.

Is the horse wearing anything (reins, saddle, bare)?

She has nothing on her body at this time.

Now imagine some flowers somewhere in the scene.

The bare horse now has a daisy crown.

How many are there?

I don’t know. It’s in a crown on a regal Arabian mare. I have no horse training. I’m not going to approach at this time.

How far are they away from the cube?

I don’t exactly have a ruler in this scene yet. They’re on the mare’s head. She’s probably 6–9 feet from the cube.

There is a storm starting. How close is it to the cube, the ladder, and the horse?

This isn’t a rain storm. It’s a sand storm. The sand is whipping in tornadic spirals in the distance.

Are you scared of it?

No, I’m just watching it with curiosity and wonder. Besides, it’s only in my head.

Do you remember all of your answers?

No, that’s why I’m using this as a writing prompt and putting it on my blog.

The size of the cube is the size of your ego.

That’s good — it’s small, so it shouldn’t take long in life for me to turn over to God.

The transparency of the cube shows how open you are with other people.

Ouch. It is right. I have to trust a person for a very long time before I even try to let them in beyond the pleasantries of daily conversation.

The closer it is to the ground, the more grounded you are in life.

Okay, I feel better. It was buried. Guess that means I have a solid head on my shoulders, right?

The distance between the ladder and the cube shows how close you are to your friends.

Ouch, again. Letting people in is one of the hardest things in life. Arm’s distance is a safe distance. I don’t hurt them; they don’t hurt me. Yeah, one more issue for my therapist…

If the ladder is leaning against the cube, it means your friends can rely on you for support.

I call bull shit!

The horse being tied up shows you like more control in a relationship.

Not sure I buy that either…

If the horse is moving away from the cube, you are distant from your current partner… or you are struggling to attain your ideal partner.

I’ve got a good lover (and we have a covenant marriage), so that mare is still standing in the desert breeze…

The more flowers you pictured, the more kids you desire.

Okay, this just isn’t good. The flowers were tied up in a ring and already disconnected from the root system. I’ve had a hysterectomy so I don’t think desiring kids can really be indicated by the number of daisies.

The closer the flowers are to the cube, the more you are thinking about kids…

* snorts* Guess I’m not thinking about them at all… or, since the daisies are in a crown on the mare’s head, I’m happy and content with my kids and my lover and they’re tied together in my heart and soul?

The storm is your stress. The closer and more threatening it is, the more stressed you are.

* snorts again* Or maybe, since I have no fear of it, I’m so numb from too much change that my stress can’t be measured?

If the storm is affecting other things in the desert, you are stressed about those aspects of your life.

Again, it is distant and away. Maybe I’m just not able to register it yet? Or have I accepted it and planned adjustments for it and therefore don’t feel any stress?