Archive | February 2013

To be an immigrant!

Feb28

To let go of where one is
In anticipation of going somewhere new!
To have the courage to
Face the unknown!

To be curious
To seek what’s on the other side
Not content with the status quo
Willing to accept the discomfort of change
And starting over
And tolerating feeling lost at times
And homesick too

To see the potential
To want to have new experiences
Realizing that there is so much
That is unknown

To be naive
Not anticipating all the challenges
Or just being so drawn to something novel
That one is willing to accept
The challenge and discomfort

To be an immigrant
A blend of courage and naiveté!
Building on the past
Somewhere new!

Lida Berghuis
February 26th, 2013

Slow

Feb26

If you run too fast
You can’t tell what’s real
You pass by what’s real
Because you are in too much of a hurry
To go somewhere

If you run too fast
The rose will blur
The scent will not reach you
In your hurry to go somewhere

If you run too fast
You can’t contemplate
To contemplate
You need to meander
Take in what’s around you
Meditate!

If you run too fast
You may miss the entrance
To a secret garden!

If you run too fast
You won’t know
What’s real!

Lida Berghuis
February 15th, 2013

Not logical at all!

Feb25

Love is not logical
Love is not practical
Love is not easy
Love is not convenient at all!

It arrives when it wants
It remains despite our protests
And doubts!

And it will be clear
Without a shadow of a doubt
That something extraordinary
Has happened
It can’t be ignored
Or put off!

Love is a journey
Not a destination to be reached!
The journey fraught with challenges
And road blocks
With joy and exaltation
With tears and laughter
With confusion and doubt!

But the one who stays on the road
Is not scared off
Does not give up
Reaps the rewards

And what are the rewards of love?
Joy and wonder!
Growth and the flowering of the soul!
A new lease on life!
And seeing the world
Through the rose coloured glasses of love!

Like the sun
Love is blinding
Powerful
And it can burn!

Like the sun
Love gives warmth
Sustenance
Brilliance
And life!

Like the sun
Love is essential
Has always been!

Love is not logical
It’s not practical
It arrives without notice
And refuses to leave!

Lida Berghuis
February 14th, 2013

"There is so much abundance wherever we are!"*

Feb22

I feel in life
I’ve been often led
Sometimes even pulled and drawn
Against my will!

What I said never to
Has come to be
What I thought would break me
Has built me up

Somehow I thought I knew best
Somehow I thought I should decide
The unexpected arrived
And inconvenienced me
I complained
I did not know why!

Why were my plans
Turned upside down?
When I expected to go left
Why did I end up going right?

My unhappiness came from the fact
That I did not consider
That I didn’t have the answers all
That I was in fact wrong at times!

Maybe I didn’t have the humility
To accept a different path
A better path
In the long run!

Maybe I looked at the short term challenges
And did not look far enough
Maybe I did not realize that experiencing
Discomfort was part of growing up!

Lida Berghuis
February 21st, 2013

*Mark Nepo

Everything is unknown till we live it*

Feb21

In the journey of life
I used to seek instructions!
Maps!
Guides!
Sign posts!
Even letters from God!
To show me the way
Map the route out for me
Take uncertainty away
and change gray to black or white

I was afraid to take a
step forward
Lest I stepped the wrong way
I used to crave certainty
As if it was something
I would find
If I looked hard enough
Prayed long enough
Or contemplated long enough

But I’ve learned
Certainty does not exist
Cannot exist
That I won’t have all the answers
Before I make a decision
I won’t know what tomorrow brings for sure
And that’s OK!

I now feel that
There is nothing called a
Perfect path or the only right way
Steps can be traced back
Or side roads will appear

I feel that there will always
Be a place to land
Even if I step into the void
And just because
I don’t see the landing place
It doesn’t mean that
It does not exist!

Lida Berghuis
February 15th, 2013

*Mark Nepo

Red

Feb21

Red is a state of mind
It’s fire
It’s creativity
It’s joy

Red is a state of heart
It’s love
It’s friendship
It’s compassion

Red is a state of soul
It’s exaltation
It’s anticipation
It’s flight

Red is a state I like
To be in
Even if it’s From time to time

Lida Berghuis
February 15th, 2013

I thought I could not!

Feb20

I thought I could not
But I did!
I thought I would crumble and fall
but I did not!
I thought joy was gone forever
But it returned!
I thought the night would never end
But morning came!

I thought all hope was lost
And the reason to live
Had become hard to find
I thought this time was different
And I would not survive

I thought I had come to the end of my rope and could not take another step
I thought life was unfair
And I’d suffered enough

I thought I had reached my
Threshold of pain
And continuing would only
Bring more of the same

But despite all that
Hope gradually returned
Suffering eased
And I smiled again!

Lida Berghuis
February 20th, 2013

Connection!

Feb15

Connection!

Connections of the heart
Hard to wrap your head around
What is it that attracts you
To someone and
Compels you to extend a hand in friendship

What is that little voice that Insists on bring heard

These connections do not fade with time or distance
or hardships met on the way

They get stronger
As the years go by
And with each challenge met on the way

Connections of the heart
Other-worldly they are
Not limited to this plane of dust
They transcend space and time

Lida Berghuis
February 15th, 2013