By Lilian Wanjala
Dr. Spencer Johnson’s ‘Who Moved My Cheese’ revolves around four characters; two mice, “Sniff” and “Scurry,” and two Little-people, “Hem” and “Haw.” (The names of the Little-people are taken from the phrase “hem and haw,” a term for indecisiveness.) They live in a maze, a representation of one’s environment, and look for cheese, representative of happiness and success. Initially without cheese, each group, the mice and humans, paired off and traveled the lengthy corridors searching for cheese. One day both groups happen upon a cheese-filled corridor at “Cheese Station C.” Content with their find, the humans establish routines around their daily intake of cheese, slowly becoming arrogant in the process. One day Sniff and Scurry arrive at “Cheese Station C” to find no cheese left, but they are not surprised. Noticing the cheese supply dwindling, they have mentally prepared beforehand for the arduous but inevitable task of finding more cheese. Leaving “Cheese Station C” behind, they begin their hunt for new cheese together. Later that day, Hem and Haw arrive at Cheese Station C only to find the same thing, no cheese. Angered and annoyed, Hem demands, “Who moved my cheese?”
After several days, Haw loses hope and realizes that the old cheese would never return, and decides to head into the maze to search for new cheese. Haw tries convincing Hem, but Hem is stiff and wants his old cheese back. During Haw’s journey in the maze, he writes whatever lesson he learns on the wall believing that one day Hem might move on and start finding new cheese. In the end, Haw finds a huge place filled with cheese and discovers that Sniff and Scurry had already been there.
No matter who or where you are, regardless of your personality, ethnicity, profession and disposition; time and change will affect you. Life is continually handing us personal, family, community, and national changes (we are soon headed to the polls). You may feel more trepidation than trust regarding the inevitability of change. Yet you can learn to embrace change with a positive attitude and use it to benefit your life, as well as others peoples’ lives. Or, perhaps you anticipate change in the future and are excited about it. You can come to view times of transition with an expanded perspective, discovering tremendous opportunities for personal, professional, and corporate growth.
Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a change in our lifestyles; the pandemic spread with alarming speed, infecting millions and bringing economic activity to a near-standstill; our lifestyles changed; many people lost their lives, some people lost their jobs, while some lost their loved ones.
This pandemic indirectly taught us that changes always happen no matter how small or big the impact is. So what lessons to we learn from change?
- Change Always anticipate change in your life – whether it is in relations you’re your family and friends, colleagues, work environment, health, spiritual life, etc.
- Monitor Change. Be very vigilant about the signs of variations around
- Adapt To Change Quickly: ‘The Quicker You Let Go Of Old Cheese, the Sooner You Can Enjoy New Cheese’. Remember the famous phrase
‘”If we continue to behave normally, this disease will treat us abnormally” by Mutahi Kagwe?
- Be ready to change quickly and enjoy it again
- Be cautious from past experience, to prevent any complacency from setting in.
Parting shot: always develop the faith and courage to embrace the next season of your life.
