Who Moved My Cheese? (Part 9)

Haw decided to go back and see if Hem was ready to join him.

As he retraced his steps, he stopped and wrote on the wall:

After a while Haw made his way back to Cheese Station C and found Hem.

He offered Hem bits of New Cheese, but was turned down.

Hem appreciated his friend's gesture but said, "I don't think I would like New Cheese. It's not what I'm used to. I want my own Cheese back and I'm not going to change until I get what I want."

Haw just shook his head in disappointment and reluctantly went back out on his own. As he returned to the farthest point he had reached in the Maze, he missed his friend, but realized he liked what he was discovering. Even before he found what he hoped would be a great supply of New Cheese, if ever, he knew that what made him happy wasn't just having Cheese.

He was happy when he wasn't being run by his fear. He liked what he was doing now. Knowing this. Haw didn't feel as weak as he did when he stayed in Cheese Station C with no Cheese. Just realizing he was not letting his fear stop him, and knowing that he had taken a new direction, nourished him and gave him strength.

Now he felt that it was just a question of time before he found what he needed. In fact, he sensed he had already found what he was looking for. He smiled as he realized:

Haw realized again, as he had once before, that what you are afraid of is never as bad as what you imagine. The fear you let build up in your mind is worse than the situation that actually exists.

He'd been so afraid of never finding New Cheese that he didn't even want to start looking.

But since starting his journey, he had found enough Cheese in the corridors to keep him going. Now he looked forward to finding more. Just looking ahead was becoming exciting.

His old thinking had been clouded by his worries and fears. He used to think about not having enough Cheese, or not having it last as long as he wanted.

He used to think more about what could go wrong than what could go right.

But that had changed in the days since he had left Cheese Station C.

He used to believe that Cheese should never be moved and that change wasn't right.

Now he realized it was natural for change to continually occur, whether you expect it or not.