Making Order out of Chaos

So I’m sitting at home by myself overthinking life and feeling a bit nervous about tomorrow.  Stress is getting to me and I begin to notice it.  At times like this I know from past experience that it’s best not to worry about things too much so I look for a distraction.  There it is, shyly hiding in the shadows underneath my coffee table.  This mechanical device designed to be the optimal cure for unnecessary pain.   The power within this mysterious object is that of which most do not fully understand.  The Rubik’s Cube, named after the great and mighty Hungarian sculptor and professor, Ernő Rubik, is the answer to all of life’s troubles. 

I learned to solve a Rubik’s cube maybe a year ago and must say that there is more to it that meets the eye.  At first, I viewed it as a puzzle that sat around many homes collecting dust because the act of completing it was too intimidating for most.  The spark was ignited for me in high school when I actually knew a person who could complete it.  When I decided to take it for a spin myself, I realized it was much too difficult to figure out.  The most I could get was one side right.  So I turned to the internet to learn how other people solved the cube.  Turns out that it’s actually not that hard to solve once you memorize the algorithms, which are basically patterns for turning the cube based on what the cube looks like at the time.  There are multiple different ways to solve the cube, which means there are multiple different algorithms you can memorize.  Some methods are more difficult than others to memorize, but allow you to complete the cube faster say if you wanted to time yourself.  Memorizing patterns may not sound that challenging, but it actually takes a while to get down.  At first, it takes some time to solve the cube, but overtime muscle memory allows you to complete it faster without have to think as hard.  And after enough times completing the Rubik’s Cube, those memorized patterns allow you to better understand how the cube works. 

The Rubik’s Cube can be addicting, so keep that in mind before you decide to learn to solve it.  It is a therapeutic route to relaxation.  It is something to do with your hands when you don’t really want to listen to the person who’s talking to you.  The act of turning just one side of the cube will trigger an instant release of dopamine in your hypothalamus.  If the drugs you take just do not do the trick anymore, this is your answer. 

I find that solving the Rubik’s Cube is analogous to something I already enjoy out of life, making order out of chaos!