Who Moved My Cheese

                                            

One common trait amongst most of us is our reluctance to change. We prefer to follow a dull routine rather than accept change and lead a different life altogether. It’s our refusal to view life from an alternate perspective that makes us mere slaves of destiny. For instance, I find myself glued to my PC watching movies and TV series even on weekends, for I am reluctant n lazy enough to take pain in exploring the outdoors. I thought of another analogy of my denial to change. Being a “Counter-Strike” enthusiast, I found myself stuck n indulged in certain  ‘maps’ over n over again, only  when I dared to switch to others which turned out to be a lot more fascinating n captivating.  The point is when we overcome our fears and learn to laugh at ourselves, there is always a way forward.

In the slender & crisp book “Who Moved My Cheese” (just 90+ pages), the author "Dr Spencer Johnson" points out to this feeble human trait, where he compares ‘Cheese’ with anything that a person can desire in life. The book portrays 4 characters- 2 mice “Sniff & Scurry” and 2 Little-people “Hem & Haw” who run around a maze in search of cheese. These four characterize both the simple and complex nature of our selves. The 4 can be described as:

Sniff - who smells new cheese (change) early

Scurry- who takes quick action to get cheese

Hem-  who constantly resists change and remains confined

Haw-  who learns to adapt to  change when he visualizes his better future

The story comes to a point where they find that the cheese is moved away from its location. The mice take this change as a simple phenomenon and go out looking for new cheese and succeed as they start early. But, Hem & Haw both stay put waiting for the cheese to be moved back to the same place which doesn’t happen. At the end,  ‘Haw’ overcomes his fear and realizes that change provides for better opportunities. It is only then that he finds the huge pile of cheese, a variety of which he had never ever seen before.

Change happens and we ought to anticipate it & monitor even the slightest variation. Ask yourself, what  would you do if you weren't afraid? Consequently, we should learn to adapt to and enjoy change. We should be ready to change quickly and enjoy it again n again...

WISE & OTHERWISE

Sudha Murty w/o N.R. Narayana Murty, is a trustee of the Infosys Foundation serving the country's poor and needy since 1996. She is an M.Tech in Computer Science and also teaches as visiting faculty to post graduate students in Bangalore University. ‘Wise & Otherwise’ is a collage of her experiences (51 short stories), right through her life from childhood till the present times. She has put forward various instances which show that even ‘shirtless people’ (the poor masses) can teach us a way to lead life, positively and with indelible enthusiasm.  In the words of a poor fisher boy – “panch rupay se bhi bahut kuch hota hai”.

Over the years, she’s been dedicated to philanthropic work all over the country. In the course of this hectic task, separating the needy and deserving from the greedy and opportunists is tiresome. There are some politicians who take the credit of work done by NGOs and unsung donors. She has also shown clear contrasts among different people behaving differently under the same circumstances, where being just to others is the need of the hour. The decisions made can be either constructive or destructive, depending on whether the choices are made rationally or bluntly. It reflects her keen observance of people.

Murty mentions the insensitivity index of emotionally immune people. She also throws light on the plight of Indian women as opposed to the socio-economic and political liberty of their counterparts in small European nations like Denmark, Sweden & Norway. Once in Stockholm, she was charged late night taxi charge as half the actual fare which could have been double in India. She points out that different generations of mankind differ in ideas and beliefs which is evident with the current student-teacher relationship and that in the’ Gurukul’ times. But she also suggests that age, caste, or economic or social stature is no bar for wisdom and humility even today.

In a way, Alfred Nobel was the first Philanthropist who made his will to award (the Nobel Prize) the special contributors to mankind, worldwide. For some see the Dynamite as a weapon of mass destruction, and some others as a way to cut through the mountains to make way for railways and tunnels. Don’t curse the dark, light as many candles as you can. Myriads of innovations are at your disposal. To make or to break - it’s your choice boss..!!