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.



He stopped for a rest and wrote on the wall of the Maze:



Sometime later, after not finding Cheese for what seemed like a long time,



Haw finally came across a huge Cheese Station, which looked promising.



When he went inside, however, he was most disappointed to discover that the



Cheese Station was empty.



"This empty feeling has happened to me too often," he thought. He felt like



giving up. Haw was losing his physical strength. He knew he was lost and was



afraid he would not survive.



He thought about turning around and heading back to Cheese Station C. At



least, if he made it back, and Hem was still there, Haw wouldn't be alone.



Then he asked himself the same question again, "What would I do if I weren't



afraid?"



Haw thought he was past his fear, but he was afraid more ofren than he liked



to admit, even to himself. He wasn't always sure what he was afraid of, but, in



his weakened condition, he knew now he was simply fearful of going on



alone. Haw didn't know it, but he was running behind because he was still



weighed down by fearful beliefs.



Haw wondered if Hem had moved on, or if he was still paralyzed by his own



fears. Then, Haw remembered the times when he had felt his best in the



Maze. It was when he was moving along.



He wrote on the wall, knowing it was as much a reminder to himself as it was



a marking for his friend Hem, hopefully, to follow:



Haw looked down the dark passageway and was aware of his fear. What lay



ahead? Was it empty?



Or worse, were there dangers lurking? He began to imagine all kinds of



frightening things that could happen to him. He was scaring himself to death.



Then he laughed at himself. He realized his fears were making things worse.



So he did what he would do if he weren't afraid. He moved in a new direction.



As he started running down the dark corridor he began to smile. Haw didn't



realize it yet, but he was discovering what nourished his soul. He was letting



go and trusting what lay ahead for him, even though he did not know exactly



what it was.



To his surprise, Haw started to enjoy himself more and more. "Why do I feel



so good?" he wondered. "I don't have any Cheese and I don't know where I



am going."



Before long, he knew why he felt good.



He stopped to write again on the wall:



Haw realized he had been held captive by his own fear. Moving in a new



direction had freed him. Now he felt the cool breeze that was blowing in



this part of the Maze and it was refreshing. He took in some deep breaths



and felt invigorated by the movement. Once he had gotten past his fear, it



turned out to be more enjoyable than he once believed it could be.



Haw hadn't felt this way for a long time. He had almost forgotten how much



fun it was to go for it.



To make things even better. Haw started to paint a picture in his mind again.



He saw himself in great realistic detail, sitting in the middle of a pile of all his



favorite cheeses-from Cheddar to Brie!



He saw himself eating the many cheeses he liked, and he enjoyed what he



saw. Then he imagined how much he would enjoy all their great tastes.



The more clearly he saw the image of himself enjoying New Cheese, the



more real and believable it became. He could sense that he was going to



find it.



He wrote:



Haw kept thinking about what he could gain instead of what he was losing.



He wondered why he had always thought that a change would lead to



something worse. Now he realized that change could lead to something



better.



"Why didn't I see this before?" he asked himself.



Then he raced through the Maze with greater strength and agility. Before



long he spotted a Cheese Station and became excited as he noticed little



pieces of New Cheese near the entrance.



They were types of Cheese he had never seen before, but they looked great.



He tried them and found that they were delicious. He ate most of the New



Cheese bits that were available and put a few in his pocket to have later and



perhaps share with Hem. He began to regain his strength.



He entered the Cheese Station with great excitement. But, to his dismay, he



found it was empty. Someone had already been there and had left only the



few bits of New Cheese.



He realized that if he had moved sooner, he would very likely have found a



good deal of New Cheese here.



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.



Change could surprise you only if you didn't expect it and weren't looking for



it.



When he realized he had changed his beliefs, he paused to write on the wall:



Haw hadn't found any Cheese yet, but as he ran through the Maze, he



thought about what he had already learned.



Haw now realized that his new beliefs were encouraging new behaviors. He



was behaving differently than when he kept returning to the same cheeseless



station.



He knew that when you change what you believe, you change what you do.



You can believe that a change will harm you and resist it. Or you can believe



that finding New Cheese will help you and embrace the change.



It all depends on what you choose to believe.



He wrote on the wall:



Haw knew he would be in better shape now if he had dealt with the change



much sooner and left Cheese Station C earlier. He would feel stronger in



body and spirit and he could have coped better with the challenge of finding



New Cheese. In fact, he probably would have found it by now if he had



expected change, rather than wasting time denying that the change had



already taken place.



He used his imagination again and saw himself finding and savoring New



Cheese. He decided to proceed into the more unknown parts of the Maze,



and found little bits of Cheese here and there. Haw began to regain his



strength and confidence.



As he thought back on where he had come from. Haw was glad he had



written on the wall in many places. He trusted that it would serve as a



marked trail for Hem to follow through the Maze, if he ever chose to leave



Cheese Station C.



Haw just hoped he was heading in the right direction. He thought about the



possibility that Hem would read The Handwriting On The Wall and find his



way.



He wrote on the wall what he had been thinking about for some time:



By now, Haw had let go of the past and was adapting to the present.



He continued on through the Maze with greater strength and speed. And



before long, it happened. When it seemed like he had been in the Maze



forever, his journey-or at least this part of his journey-ended quickly and



happily.



Haw proceeded along a corridor that was new to him, rounded a corner, and



found New Cheese at Cheese Station N!



When he went inside, he was startled by what he saw. Piled high everywhere



was the greatest supply of Cheese he had ever seen. He didn't recognize all



that he saw, as some kinds of Cheese were new to him.



Then he wondered for a moment whether it was real or just his imagination,



until he saw his old friends Sniff and Scurry.



Sniff welcomed Haw with a nod of his head, and Scurry waved his paw. Their



fat little bellies showed that they had been here for some time.



Haw quickly said his hellos and soon took bites of every one of his favorite



Cheeses. He pulled off his shoes, tied the laces together, and hung them



around his neck in case he needed them again.



Sniff and Scurry laughed. They nodded their heads in admiration. Then Haw



jumped into the New Cheese. When he had eaten his fill, he lifted a piece of



fresh Cheese and made a toast. "Hooray for Change!"



As Haw enjoyed the New Cheese, he reflected on what he had learned.



He realized that when he had been afraid to change he had been holding on



to the illusion of Old Cheese that was no longer there.



So what was it that made him change? Was it the fear of starving to death?



Haw smiled as he thought it certainly helped.



Then he laughed and realized that he had started to change as soon as he



had learned to laugh at himself and at what he had been doing wrong. He



realized the fastest way to change is to laugh at your own folly-then you can



let go and quickly move on.



He knew he had learned something useful about moving on from his mice



friends, Sniff and Scurry.



They kept life simple. They didn't overanalyze or overcomplicate things. When



the situation changed and the Cheese had been moved, they changed and



moved with the Cheese. He would remember that.



Haw had also used his wonderful brain to do what Little people do better than



mice.



He envisioned himself-in realistic detail-finding something better-much



better.



He reflected on the mistakes he had made in the past and used them to plan



for his future. He knew that you could learn to deal with change.



You could be more aware of the need to keep things simple, be flexible, and



move quickly.



You did not need to overcomplicate matters or confuse yourself with fearful



beliefs.



You could notice when the little changes began so that you would be better



prepared for the big change that might be coming.



He knew he needed to adapt faster, for if you do not adapt in time, you might



as well not adapt at all.



He had to admit that the biggest inhibitor to change lies within yourself, and



that nothing gets better until you. change.



Perhaps most importantly, he realized that there is always New Cheese out



there whether you recognize it at the time, or not. And that you are rewarded



with it when you go past your fear and enjoy the adventure.



He knew some fear should be respected, as it can keep you out of real



danger. But he realized most of his fears were irrational and had kept him



from changing when he needed to.



He didn't like it at the time, but he knew that the change had turned out to be a



blessing in disguise as it led him to find better Cheese.



He had even found a better part of himself.



As Haw recalled what he had learned, he thought about his friend Hem. He



wondered if Hem had read any of the sayings Haw had written on the wall at



Cheese Station C and throughout the Maze.



Had Hem ever decided to let go and move on?



Had he ever entered the Maze and discovered what could make his life



better?



Or was Hem still hemmed in because he would not change?



Haw thought about going back again to Cheese Station C to see if he could



find Hem-assuming that Haw could find his way back there. If he found Hem,



he thought he might be able to show him how to get out of his predicament.



But Haw realized that he had already tried to get his friend to change.



Hem had to find his own way, beyond his comforts and past his fears. No one



else could do it for him, or talk him into it. He somehow had to see the



advantage of changing himself.



Haw knew he had left a trail for Hem and that he could find his way, if he



could just read The Handwriting On The Wall.



He went over and wrote down a summary of what he had learned on the



largest wall of Cheese Station N. He drew a large piece of cheese around



all the insights he had become aware of, and smiled as he looked at what he



had learned:



Haw realized how far he had come since he had been with Hem in Cheese



Station C, but knew it would be easy for him to slip back if he got too



comfortable. So, each day he inspected Cheese Station N to see what the



condition of his Cheese was. He was going to do whatever he could to avoid



being surprised by unexpected change.



While Haw still had a great supply of Cheese, he often went out into the Maze



and explored new areas to stay in touch with what was happening around



him. He knew it was safer to be aware of his real choices than to isolate



himself in his comfort zone.



Then, Haw heard what he thought was the sound of movement out in the



Maze. As the noise grew louder, he realized that someone was coming.



Could it be that Hem was arriving? Was he about to turn the corner?



Haw said a little prayer and hoped-as he had many times before-that



maybe, at last, his friend was finally able to ...

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