Archive | October 2013

Sit and stare…

Oct27

Today is a let’s not think day!
Let’s just be day!

Today, I feel tired
My brain needs a rest!

Today I do’t want to solve
The mysteries of the universe!
Today, I’m trying to be content to just sit and stare…

Tiredness is tolerable
If you don’t expect too much of yourself
Tiredness is OK if all you do is sit and stare…

But the problem is that I’m restless, impatient
And I get easily bored
I can’t just sit and stare…

My brain wants to be active
I like to learn, examine, discover, and express myself!
And when I’m tired
Everything comes to a stop and I feel constrained!

Today I need to be like Cashew
Our relaxed, chill dog
Who can sit and stare into space
For a long time…

Needless to say
I don’t understand Cashew’s ways
How she doesn’t get bored…
Nevertheless, today
The best thing to do is not to do much
Not to expect much
Not to complain so much…
Today, I will try to just sit and stare…
And recuperate…

Lida Berghuis
October 24th, 2013

Fire of trials…

Oct25

Can’t feel pain unless we step into the fire
Can’t burn the impurities off our soul
Can’t experience pain just looking at fire
Can’t understand pain intellectually, no!

Once heat has seared our skin
Once our soul has felt the heat of trials
We are transported somewhere else
A place that is hard to describe

But those who have been there can tell you
It is worth the pain, abundant the rewards

Lida Berghuis
October 25th, 2013

Pitter patter

Oct24

Sitting downstairs
I hear the pitter patter of little feet
Walking around

Pitter patter pitter patter
I must be quick
Pitter patter pitter patter
The morning is here

Pitter patter pitter patter
Let’s wake dad up
Pitter patter pitter patter
It’’s time to start

Pitter patter pitter patter
He comes down the stairs
Pitter patter pitter patter
Now, I can see his face

A bright little face
With a beautiful smile
That lights up the room
And warms my heart

The pitter patter
Has come to a stop
I ask for a hug
And his arms open wide

He envelopes me
In those little arms
He gives me a kiss
That melts my heart

These are the joys
Of having a child
These are the pleasures
Of being a mom!

Lida Berghuis
Sept. 18th, 2003

Exhaling…

Oct23

I inhale as I experience life
I exhale when I write

I inhale when I read
When I listen to other people
I exhale when I write

Writing, something my well-being depends on
Not writing, something I can’t think of

I inhale sadness, joyfulness, confusion, frustration
I exhale when I write

I inhale as I learn the lessons of life
I exhale when I write

Lida Berghuis
Oct. 16th, 2013

Poetry is a love song…

Oct20

Poetry is the essence of life
The things that count
The things that touch us, move us
Elevate us

Poetry is an emanation of the soul
Our essential self
Our eternal self
Our higher self

Poetry is about the intangible things
Love, compassion, curiosity

Poetry reaches where other things can’t
It penetrates our material shell
And illumines our inner self

Poetry is the expression of love
Love for the Divine
Love for our fellow man

Poetry is other-worldly
Magical, mystical, transformative

Poetry is beauty
A beauty that does not fade

Poetry is a love song

School of Mom…

Oct18

 

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Mothering is one of the best schools in life
Patience, selflessness, being organized
Being flexible, being inventive, and being kind
Only a few things taught in this school of life
Endurance, problem solving, and creativity are other ones

One has to meet many challenges head on

When I thought I could not wake up again
To a crying child
When problems used to confound me
And I had tried all I could try
I learned to persevere
To problem solve
To open my heart

But eventually I felt burnt out
Because I was last on my to-do-list
And the first to be crossed out due to lack of time
Because I didn’t know the importance of caring for myself
Because I confused it with selfishness

Eventually it occured to me
That to be a good caregiver
I needed to care for myself
I needed an avenue for self expression
I needed a creative outlet

And I realized that
There will never be enough time
There are always things to be done
And that I needed to be an non-negotioable item
On my to-do-list
Not one that woud be crossed out

It’s counter-intuitive but it works
Because when I take care of myself
I can be a better mom!

Lida Berghuis
October 15th, 2013

The maze of love!

Oct17

The Rubix Cube
The most intricate jigsaw puzzle
The most challenging maze
All of these cannot compare to the puzzle of love!

The puzzle of love
A living maze
It changes and expands when least expected
Twists are added at whim it seems
While it was complicated to begin with!

The puzzle of love
Not for the faint of heart
Not for those who are not willing to get lost
In the desert of love!

The puzzle of love
About which stories are told
And poems are written
From the time of old

The puzzle of love
The eternal quest
For the heart that accepts the challenge
And makes a start

I was never fascinated
By the Rubix Cube
Or intricate jigsaw puzzles
Of many hues

But I am most intrigued by
The puzzle of love
This living maze
This ultimate challenge of the heart

Lida Berghuis
April 13th, 2004

Nostalgia

Oct14

 

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The scent of saffron and rosewater
Reminds me of my Persian past
The busy streets of the bazaar
The veil-clad ladies
Bargaining for the best price
The tree-lined streets of Shiraz
The entrance gate
Darvazé-Quoran

The garden of our house
Where the weeping willows cried
The large dining room
Where many a guest dined

The American school I went to
Where East met West
And my heart was won

Where the language
And culture of the West
Opened my eyes
To another reality
In a land far off

Where I experienced
The richness of diversity
And a door was opened
That could not be shut

And so it was, that gradually
There grew a yearning
In my heart
To know those lands
To experience freedom

Freedom from religious prejudice
Freedom of thought
Freedom to express myself
And not be afraid to talk

Many days have passed
Since those days in Iran
I have called many cities home
I have laughed
I have cried

I have experienced the freedom I longed for
But as I think of my sisters and brothers
In Tehran and Shiraz
I hope that they too
Will soon taste
The sweet savor
Of freedom

Lida Berghuis
Sept. 11th, 2003

Heart to heart!

Oct8

Talking heart to heart!
Listening, really listening to someone else!
We don’t do it often enough
Small talk takes up a lot of our time
Real concerns and worries
Are buried deep inside

Then once in a while
We open our heart to someone else
And talk about what really matters

That requires trust
And being able to be vulnerable
Letting our guard down

It seems it’s hard to be our real selves most of the time
Instead we hide behind a beautiful smiling facade
Instead we put on the “All is OK” mask
Instead we bury what really matters deep down

But then there are those rare moments of honesty
Of being our authentic selves
When pretense disappears
When we speak from the heart
When we feel in close connection with another soul
The barriers having come down

Those moments are precious
Those are the conversations that heal us
Change us, and make us feel really alive!

Lida Berghuis
October 9th, 2013