Who Moved My Cheese? deals with very serious concerns has the potential to address the gravest and most urgent issues of the instability of global economy, depletion of global resources, and the changes in the over-all global environment.
The important metaphorical elements in the story are:
The Maze – this is where one looks to find what one want: the organization or company where one works in, or the family or society one lives in.
'Cheese' – this is a metaphor for what one wants out of life: whether it's a dream job, a loving relationship, money or financial stability, personal possession, good health, spirituality or peace of mind
The Four Characters – these are 2 mice and 2 little people (as big as the mice), Sniff and Scurry (the mice), and Hem and Haw (the little people). They are said to represent the simple and the complex parts of people, regardless of age, gender, nationality or race
The Writings on the Wall - written by Haw, one of the little people, for his companion, Hem, of what he thought about, what he thought was true, and things he thought of the cheer himself up and encourage himself so he can have the motivation to go through the Maze.
Happiness
Having Cheese Makes You Happy
This is the only known writing on the wall during the four characters’ time of plenty. During this time, because of their simplicity and the limited scope of their instincts, Sniff and Scurry, the two mice, did not find reason to suppose that the Cheese is permanent. They hung their running shoes somewhere near the vicinity and came to the station in the same sprightliness and time everyday to nibble away and enjoy their Cheese. The little people, Hem and Haw, saw that the Cheese was plentiful, and they began to lax. They took their running shoes and put it away as if they will not use them anymore. They take their time everyday walking to the station and sometimes come in late. They built their life around their Cheese, show it off to their friends, and felt that life was good – hence the writing on the wall. Both Hem and Haw, like the two mice worked hard searching around the Maze to find this Cheese, and they are enjoying the the fruit of their labor.
This writing is a truth of its own. Many people are not happy today because they have never found their Cheese. Or, they have not recognized it within their “Station”, and still look somewhere else to find it. The saddest thing is people believing there is no Cheese. Young people go through a stage of figuring out what their Cheese look like. Having one’s Cheese, and knowing it, and enjoying it, is a blessing and a truth of its own.
Change
This whole story is about Change, its reality, its inevitability, how people at times try so hard to prevent it, and most importantly, how to deal with it.
“The More Important Your Cheese Is to You The More You Want To Hold On To It.” Haw wrote this on the wall during the devastating initial period of enduring the loss of their Cheese. Up to this point both felt to have been robbed of something that they think was rightfully theirs, especially Hem. Haw was telling of how hard it was to let go of the used up Cheese because they have built their life around it, planned their future based on it, and perhaps, tied their self-worth with it.
Curiously, the two mice, Sniff and Scurry’s basic instincts told them the Cheese was getting smaller and when it was gone they immediately hopped on their running shoes and scurry away through the Maze in search of a New Cheese. Plainly, the author is suggesting that, with regards to our happiness, what we should do does not necessarily have to be complicated, dramatic and hard. He may be even suggesting that, if we trust and follow our very basic instincts, and forget the complications of our emotions, to just look for what makes us truly happy, things will be all right.
When Haw realized, “If You Do Not Change, You Can Become Extinct,” this was a turning point when he saw that he needed to change the way he looked at things, or he will be in serious trouble. Many people who are looking at the world situation will probably want to put this on every billboard in the world to tell all of humanity that we need to change a lot about ourselves and how we do things. From the global perspective, resources are not being distributed equally and there are numerous people dying of hunger while others have more than enough for their fill. The worldwide natural environment is threatening to come to a state that will devastate a lot of lives all over the world if we do not do something about it now. The Cheese we are enjoying in this world is not permanent. And the message must get across the globe if we are to do something about it.
Fear
Haw dealt with fear when he was dealing with change, and probably sent a bulky message undergoing the same thing about getting laid off a job, changing careers, going through divorce, even losing a huge investment, or perhaps, simply finishing school and going into the world.
Hem dealt with fear but he hid it in anger, to look tough and together. But the story told he got the worse end of the deal. He stubbornly refuse to change and was left Cheeseless for a long time.
Fear is a serious business that comes to all humankind in times of struggle with change. Historically, during the Great Depression of the 1930s, corporate powers began shooting themselves in the head in dealing with the loss of their wealth, power, and glory. Their lives' work suddenly vanished in thin air and they are suddenly penniless. Dealing with fear and change is a very distinct struggle that is endured by all walks of life. This is not a simple story about Cheese, yet its plain narrative may be dealing with the important message needed in this era of constant change.
Haw did well when he wrote on the wall: What Would You Do If You Weren't Afraid? He recognized fear has its uses, but it is not good when it immobilizes. Taking time to deal away with his fear helped him move away from his Cheeseless Station in search of a new one, one step at a time. He eventually made a happy discovery that conquering fear feels really good, and changes you to a stronger person. He found out that "It Is Safer To Search In The Maze, Than Remain In A Cheeseless Situation" and he wrote so on the wall.
Belief
The story again, simply yet profoundly, illustrated the importance of belief and its relation to action. Belief is what affects your actions. Therefore, to change your actions, and hence your situation, a lot of people need to change their beliefs, and it is not the easiest thing to do in the world. People's beliefs about themselves, about others, and about the world, is tied together with who the are and become. People kill, die, and sacrifice things they love because of belief. But it can change, as this simple story showed. And it is key to changing the course of one's life, and situation. It is possible and can save all people a lot of grief.
It was what Haw discovered as he dealt with the loss of his Cheese. He believed that the Cheese was permanent and that he deserved it. When it was gone, he felt devastated believed to have been treated unfairly. When he changed his belief, not very easily, into accepting that the Cheese is not permanent and that he had to look for another one, it was what made him leave the Cheeseless Station to search for a New Cheese. In contrast, Hem, still sulking and proud, stood firm in his belief that the Cheese was unfairly moved, remained Cheesless and stuck at the Cheeseless station at his own will.
Awareness
This is one of the important things Haw reflected upon as he went on to find his New Cheese, and, perhaps, a call to everyone who, like him, are getting relaxed into thinking that everything they will need will be within the grasp of their fingers. Haw was contemplating that if he had know that the Cheese was getting old and small, its disappearance would not have surprised him that much, and he could have realized early on that he needed to look for a New Cheese. And so he promised to "Smell the Cheese Often So You Know It Is Getting Old" as he wrote so on the wall. This is a decision to be more aware and even involved with their surroundings and state of matters even at a time of plenty. As Haw later on concluded, "Noticing Small Changes Early Helps You Adapt To The Bigger Changes That Are To Come."
Work Cited
Johnson, Spencer. Who Moved My Cheese? An amazing way to deal with change in your work and in your life. New York: Putnam, 2002. Print.
