Archive | May 2010

When I retire!

May10

When I retire, I’d like a plane
I’d like to travel and go insane!
Eat breakfast in Paris, dinner in Spain!
Fly like a bird, touch the clouds, release the pain!
Roam the sky, reach for the sun, be the plane!
Float like a kite, forget my fright, play a game!

Walk the planets, touch the moon, save the day!
Play with star dust, reach for trust, will you play?
Shop in Pluto, dance on the moon, is that sane?
Run all day, fly all night, come my way!
Talk all day, listen all night, will you stay?
I’d like to run, run, run, fly so high, every day!

p.s. Actually, I can’t wait till I retire, I’d like to do all this now! 🙂

Lida Berghuis
October 13th, 2002

Living out loud!

May9

If you ask me what I came to do
In this world
I, an artist, will answer you
I am here to live out loud!
These are the words of
Emile Zola

I like the idea of
Living out loud
I think I do that
When I write

As a writer,
One exposes oneÂ’s soul
One has to give generously
Which brings blessings too

In Haida culture
What one gives away
Determines oneÂ’s worth
That seems to me
The right measure of worth

We donÂ’t see things
As they are
We see things
As we are!
This is the wisdom
Of Anais Nin

When I live out loud
When I write
You can see who I am
And what is in my heart

Lida Berghuis
July 16th, 2004

Indescribable!

May9

The joy that writing
Brings me
Is indescribable
Once my thoughts and feelings
Take the shape of words
On paper
My spirit rejoices
My heart smiles
The clouds disappear
The sun shines

What is this magic
I ask myself
But there is no answer
To this question
Always curious
I want to know
But the answer to some questions
I will never know

Once again I try to let go
Of the questions
That I pose
Instead IÂ’ll be thankful
For this gift
Instead IÂ’ll be grateful
For this joy!

Lida Berghuis
April 15th, 2004

Buts and ands Â…

May8

Buts and andsÂ….

Sometimes I wonder when to persevere
And when to let go
When am I supposed to hang in there?
When am I supposed to go?

When everything seems to go wrong
When all the doors close in my face
When I try and try and the answer is no
I have to finally let go!

Reading the signs the universe sends us
Is not easy at times
We have all the buts and the ands lined up
To see things the way we want!

But eventually we run out of buts
And eventually we know we were wrong
To push and to persevere in a certain case
We got to let go sometimes
Before all is lost!

And yet there are other times
When the door remains open
But not very wide
Then we have to be patient and
Wait and not give up

If the door opens wide
We walk through
If the door closes shut
We turn around

Reading these signals and signs
Is not easy most times
But who said life was easy?
Not I!!

Lida Berghuis
July 28th, 2007

Let me be impractical!

May7

What should I do when I grow up?
Be a doctor, a dentist?
A writer, an artist?

Be a doctor darling
They make good dough

Be a dentist my dear
They make even more!

But I’m really a writer
What should I do?
What about passion?
What about soul?

A writer?
That’s so impractical!
An artist?
That’s even worse!!
Who will pay the bills?
Who will work?

But I’d really like to write
I feel it in my bones
I’d like to write a book
ThatÂ’’s my goal!

You are so young
And you have not lived!
You need life experience
You need to live

That may be
But what about joy?
When I write I feel happy
It brings me joy!

Here she goes again…
She wants to WRITE
But really dear
You SHOULD NOT write
Maybe as a hobby
Or in your journals
But please my dear
That should be all!

Money does not grow on trees
Does not come out of the wall*
You need to earn a living!
So be practical!

Lida Berghuis
Jan. 28th, 2003

*Natasha (then six years old) and I were somewhere once and she needed some money to buy something. I said I didn’t have enough money with me. She said, “but mommy we can get it out of the wall!” She was referring to the bank machines. It does look like the money is coming out of the wall, doesn’t it? white flower

Feeling dial!

May6

Why do I always feel so much?
Why canÂ’t I be numb once in a while?
Why canÂ’t I shut down my heart?
To the pain and sorrow thatÂ’s around?

Not feeling is not the answer
Feeling numb does not make sense!
But feeling less may be OK
I think I need a feelings dial!

But a machine I am not
A dial I donÂ’t have on me now!
I am who I am, and
I have to accept it, like it or not!

I must accept who I am
Accept the strengths and the flaws
This world is not made
For perfect people
But for those who will strive

Strive to be better
Strive to serve
Strive to learn
And not give up
In the face of calamity
In the throws of pain
When the going gets tough
When the walls come up!

So IÂ’ll bear the burden
Of this earthly life
With its tears of sorrow
ItÂ’s laughter and fun
IÂ’ll feel what IÂ’ll feel
IÂ’ll accept it all
DonÂ’t have much choice
So said a friend of mine!

Lida Berghuis
August 23rd, 2007

The rose

May5

She is a rose
A red rose!
She is fragrant
And fragile
She is sophisticated
She is fine!

Seeing her cheers me up!
Her smile, her warmth, her generous heart!
She is a beautiful red rose
Delicate, yet bold and sublime!

But be careful
She has thorns
To protect herself
From danger and harm
You need to hold her just so
You need to be gentle and kind

And if you do
She brightens your world
My friend, Lupita, the red rose!

Lida Berghuis
May 4th, 2010

Beauty

May4

Wondrous beauty
Glorious perfection
“The soul of man
Is the sun by which his body
Is illumined!”*

Beauty is not skin deep
After all
Beauty is the reflection of the soul
In our eyes!

When I look at a beautiful collage
A beautiful face
Or a beautiful design
What I see is the soul of the artist
The sunshine of her thoughts

When I admire a work of art
A delicious meal
A fancy design
What I enjoy is the beauty
That is manifested
In the work of art

Beauty uplifts
Beauty inspires
Beauty brings joy and delight

Beauty the reflection of the soul
In the work of art

Lida Berghuis
2006

*BahaÂ’uÂ’llah, Gleanings from
the Writings of Baha’u’llah p. 153-155

Connection!

May4

Have you had this experience
Where you meet someone
And you feel comfortable with them at once?

ItÂ’s like two pieces of the puzzle that fit
Or the hand that fits in the glove

ItÂ’s hard to put your finger on
What makes the connection feel so right

But itÂ’s there and there is no doubt
You feel it again the second time

You feel you can talk for hours
And you feel this is someone you can trust

ItÂ’s as if they understand you
And you can tell them whatÂ’s on your mind

And when you have talked for a while
You feel happy and light

Now, this does not happen that often
We meet people all the time

But once in a little while
Such a person we come across

Lida Berghuis
November 24th, 2005

Wings of dreams

May3

IMG_4311

On the wings of dreams
I fly away
In the silence of the night
I listen with my heart

The voice of my grandfather beckons me
He is giving gifts to all
When it’’s my turn, he comes to me
And places a few gold coins in my palm
I was expecting only one
But with gold coins
My hands are filled up

Another evening my dad I see
In this magical world of dreams
I have heard he has passed away
And I have just arrived at the scene
Sorry to have missed his last moments
Wishing I had been there with him

But suddenly he opens his eyes
And smiles a radiant smile
He then holds my hands in his
Like he had done so many times
So happy to see him one last time
So happy to be by his side
I know he won’Â’t be with me for long
From his cage he’’s ready to fly

I ask him to help me
When things get hard
He assures me heÂ’’ll be there for me

On him I can surely count

My dreams, a solace in my life
My dreams, like a second life

Without them my life incomplete
Without them I am half of me!

Lida Berghuis
December 16th, 2009