By Dr Spencer Johnston.
A number of friends from school had gathered for a reunion. They
were discussing how things have changed and how they dealt with
it. Michael offered to share this story that helped him with
change. In the story Cheese represents what we want in life and
the maze represents where we try to find it.
THE STORY
Once, a long, long time ago there were two mice named Sniff and
Scurry and two little people named Hem and Haw. Everyday they
would go into the maze in which they lived to look for Cheese.
They would go up and down passages, sometimes into dark alleys and
dead ends. One day they came across a big 'Cheese Station' filled
with Cheese.
After that Sniff and Scurry would wake early each morning and rush
down to the Cheese Station to check out their Cheese. At first Hem
and Haw would do the same but after a while they grew lazy and
complacent and just wander down when it suited them.
Then one day Sniff and Scurry arrived to find no Cheese. Being
mice they didn't think about it much. They just used their
instinct and rushed back into the maze to find some more Cheese.
They weren't surprised about the lack of Cheese for each day they
had noticed there was less and less.
When later in the day Hem and Haw arrived they were outraged.
"Who moved my Cheese?" Hem yelled. They didn't know what
to do. It was so unjust. They deserved better. The next day the
situation was no better. "Why did this happen to me."
Hem yelled. "Somebody must pay for this.'
Meanwhile Sniff and Scurry went further and further into the maze,
and eventually found a new Cheese Station with more Cheese then
they ever had imagined. Hem and Haw kept returning to the old
Cheese Station to see if the Cheese would somehow return. After a
while they grew very thin and weak. Finally Haw realised he would
need to go back out into the maze to try and find some Cheese. Hem
would not go with him. "It was dangerous in the maze,"
he said, "better to stay at home safe and secure."
Haw felt very anxious about being back in the maze. He tried to
think about what he would do if he wasn't afraid and this helped
keep him going. Over the next couple of days he found a bit of
Cheese here and there, and he ventured further into the maze than
he had ever gone. He came across quite a few Cheese Stations on
his way - but all were empty. "Maybe Hem was right, there is
no new Cheese out there," he thought. At times he was very
afraid and felt very alone.
However, Haw realised that he felt so much better and more
confident when he was trying to find new Cheese rather than just
sitting around hoping it would reappear. When he imagined the
Cheese it gave him the courage to race on ahead through the maze
to find more. He wondered why he didn't set out to find new Cheese
sooner
Haw went deeper and deeper into the Maze. Finally he came across a
Cheese station that was full of Cheese. More than he had ever
seen. And there was Sniff and Scurry sitting there with fat little
bellies. Haw wondered if should go back and get Hem, but realised
that Hem would have to make the journey on his own.
Haw realised that if he had of paid careful attention the first
time he would have noticed that the cheese supplies were getting
low and wouldn't have been so surprised when there was no Cheese.
He vowed to always be alert and know the status of his Cheese at
all times.
A
Discussion Later That Day
Michael finished the story and everyone thought it was great. They
discussed which character they thought they took after in the
story and how the Cheese was moved in their own lives. One
ex-class member, Jessica, talked about how his encyclopaedia
company turned down an offer to put the encyclopaedias onto CD and
is now facing stiff competition from other companies who moved
with the times. Nathan whose family owned a chain of small stores
had similar problems when a mega-store moved into the area.
"We didn't think it would happen to us' he said. Someone else
told of a work colleague who refused to see that the company he
worked for was closing down his department even though many people
in that department had already been retrenched.
It was then noted that the story works for relationships and
family life as well. Angela said that her current relationship is
so much old Cheese that it has mould on it.
Change is going to happen whether you want it to or not. It's
best to be ready for it and not afraid to go after new Cheese.
