Then, Haw stuck his head out and peered anxiously into the Maze. He thought about how he'd gotten himself into this cheeseless situation.
He had believed that there may not be any Cheese in the Maze, or he may not find it. Such fearful beliefs were immobilizing and killing him.
Haw smiled. He knew Hem was wondering,
"Who moved my cheese?" but Haw was wondering, "Why didn't I get up and move with the Cheese, sooner?"
As he started out into the Maze, Haw looked back to where he had come from and felt its comfort. He could feel himself being drawn back into familiar territory—even though he hadn't found Cheese here for some time.
Haw became more anxious and wondered if he really wanted to go out into the Maze. He wrote a saying on the wall ahead of him and stared at it for
some time:
He thought about it.
He knew sometimes some fear can be good.
When you are afraid things are going to get worse if you don't do something, it can prompt you into action. But it is not good when you are so afraid that it keeps you from doing anything.
He looked to his right, to the part of the Maze where he had never been, and felt the fear.
Then, he took a deep breath, turned right into the Maze, and jogged slowly, into the unknown.
As he tried to find his way. Haw worried, at first, that he might have waited too long in Cheese Station C. He hadn't had any Cheese for so long that he was now weak. It took him longer and it was more painful than usual to get through the Maze.
He decided that if he ever got the chance again, he would get out of his comfort zone and adapt to change sooner. It would make things easier.
Then, Haw smiled a weak smile as he thought, "Better late than never." During the next several days, Haw found a little Cheese here and there, but nothing that lasted very long. He had hoped to find enough Cheese to take some back to Hem and encourage him to come out into the Maze.
But Haw didn't feel confident enough yet. He had to admit he found it confusing in the Maze.
Things seemed to have changed since the last time he was out here.
Just when he thought he was getting ahead, he would get lost in the corridors.
It seemed his progress was two steps forward and one step backward. It was a challenge, but he had to admit that being back in the Maze, hunting for Cheese, wasn't nearly as bad as he feared it might be.
As time went on he began to wonder if it was realistic for him to expect to find New Cheese. He wondered if he had bitten off more than he could chew.
Then he laughed, realizing that he had nothing to chew on at that moment.
Whenever he started to get discouraged, he reminded himself that what he was doing, as uncomfortable as it was at the moment, was in reality much better than staying in the Cheeseless situation. He was taking control, rather than simply letting things happen to him.
Then he reminded himself, if Sniff and Scurry could move on, so could he!
Later, as Haw looked back on things, he realized that the Cheese at Cheese Station C had not just disappeared overnight, as he had once believed.
The amount of Cheese that had been there toward the end had been getting smaller, and what was left had grown old. It didn't taste as good.
Mold may even have begun to grow on the Old Cheese, although he hadn't noticed it. He had to admit however, that if he had wanted to, he probably could have seen what was coming. But he didn't. Haw now realized that the change probably would not have taken him by surprise if he had been watching what was happening all along and if he had anticipated change. Maybe that's what Sniff and Scurry had been doing.
He decided he would stay more alert from now on. He would expect change to happen and look for it. He would trust his basic instincts to sense when change was going to occur and be ready to adapt to it.
(to be continued...)
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