Archive | November 2013

To all the responsible moms!

Nov28

Take a minute to be silly
You can still be silly you know!

Procrastinate a little bit
It’s OK to miss a deadline once in a while!

Let the dishes pile up
The world won’t fall apart!

Watch a movie instead of paying the bills
Tomorrow is another day!

Don’t feel like cooking tonight?
Take out was made for a reason!

Even responsible people need to have some fun
Goof off, forget things, mess up!
No one can be together all the time!

There are times for being organized
On time and efficient
And there are times for being less than perfect
Life goes on

We put so much pressure on ourselves
We want to do everything right
We want to be there for everyone
And sometimes we forget that the world
Can go on without us for a while

Lida Berghuis
November 28, 2013

Will you love me when I’m sad?

Nov26

We think we are only lovable
When we are happy and all is fine
We think that others want to be around us
Only when we laugh and have fun

But in reality
Our true friends will love us even more
When our days are dark
And our emotions are low

They know we’re in pain
They know we don’t choose to be sad
They won’t abandon us
At times like that

I’ve been there too
Felt like that
Felt like I’m only lovable
When happy and glad

Felt like my tears would turn people away
Felt like my frown would bring them down

But those who loved me
Showed me I was wrong
They stood by me…
They held my hand when my hope was gone
When my days were cloudy and dark

I came to realise that we all have ups and downs
And the downs are what can bring us closer to those we love

We may feel not lovable at those times
We may wonder what’s wrong with us
We may be impatient with ourselves…
But not so our friends

They will love us back to health
They will give us a reason to go on
That’s what true friends are for
For happy times
But more so, for sad times

Lida Berghuis
November 26th, 2013

Feeling dial!

Nov25

Why do I always feel so much?
Why can’’t I be numb once in a while?
Why can’’t I shut down my heart
To the pain and sorrow that’’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’m not
And I don’t have a dial
I am who I am
And I have to accept it all
Accept my strengths
And my flaws

This world is not made
For perfect people
But for those who will try
And those who will strive

Strive to be better
Strive to serve
Strive to learn
And not give up

Not give up
In the face of calamity
In the throws of pain
Not give up
When the going gets tough
And the walls come up!

So I’’ll live my life
With its tears of sorrow
Its laughter and fun
I’’ll feel what I’’ll feel
I’’ll accept it all
Don’’t have much choice
So said a friend of mine!

Lida Berghuis
August 23rd, 2007

A more compassionate world…

Nov18

These things that happen to us
Why do we call them failures or mistakes?
Why don’t we call them
-a good start
-a valiant effort
-a first step
-a learning experience?

Why are things either a success or a failure?
Why do we see the world in black and white?

Is this based on a competitive model
Where there is always a winner and a loser
Those who get the prize and those who don’t

I’m sure there is a more compassionate way
A model that encourages one to try again
To take the time
Make an effort
To do better next time
A model in which we all win if we try

A model in which mistakes become learning opportunities
Failures, stepping stones
In such a compassionate world
We will grow and thrive even more

Lida Berghuis
November 17th, 2013

Mistakes?

Nov17

Life is full of ups and downs
The road is never smooth
Detours lurk here and there
Unpaved roads everywhere

I used to think that for some
The road was smooth most of the time
That is was my road that was so hard

I used to think if someone seemed happy on the outside
They were happy all the time

I used to think that my suffering was unique to me
My struggles only mine
I used to wonder why me
Why now…

Now I know all the obstacles were blessings in disguise
Now I know that there is no such thing as a smooth road in life

I used to think there is only one way to do things right
I used to feel paralyzed at a fork in life
What if I made a mistake?
What if I chose the wrong way?

Now I know all I needed to do was to make a start
There are many roads that lead to the same place
And sometimes we need to go the wrong way to find the right one!

I used to think
What if I make a mistake?
What a giant waste of time
But now I know that mistakes are essential parts of life

I used to think I knew what’s best for me
That I was usually right
But I now know that I’m here to learn with an open mind

Lida Berghuis
November 14th, 2013

Healed by poetry

Nov15

Poetry heals
How, you say?
The same way music uplifts you!
The same way a piece of art intrigues you!
The same way a song speaks to you!
The same way a story moves you!

Poetry
Is communion with the ‘Divine’
Poetry is sacred
That’’s what I’’ve been taught

Rumi, Hafiz, Tahirih
Nourish my soul with magical words
Words like diamonds
Priceless and pure
Words like rain
Wash my pain away

And when I hear a poem I need to hear
It shakes me to my foundation
Truth is revealed
Growth occurs
Someone has touched my soul!

Poetry
The instrument of the Divine
Complex issues
Are laid out

Poetry heals
Poetry guides
Poetry uplifts
Poetry defines

Lida Berghuis
April 26th, 2010
Inspired by ‘Saved by a poem’

Courage!

Nov15

Courage to change
Courage to grow
Courage to see things
From another view point

Courage to learn
Courage to explore
Courage to go where
One has not gone before

Courage to dream
Courage to work toward that dream
Courage to persevere
Endlessly

Courage to get up
When we fall
Courage to learn
And move on

Courage to face our fears
And overcome
Courage to accept that yet again
We may fall

Courage to love
And be loved
Courage to be able to
Stand one’s ground

Courage to be different
Stand out
Courage to say
What others might not

Courage to be in the
Vanguard of change
Courage is needed
If we want change

Lida Berghuis
April 16th
Montreal Shrine

On getting older…

Nov14

Perhaps getting older is about letting go
Letting go of the struggle to be right
The struggle to fix everything
The struggle to answer all the questions
One comes upon

Perhaps getting older
Is about seeing the beauty in life
and paying less attention to pain and heartache

Perhaps getting older is like mellowing…
The sharp edges of our personality having been smoothed
By the torrents of life

Perhaps getting older is gaining perspective
Wanting to give back
To give a hand to the next generation
Easing their anxiety
Answering some of their questions
Or helping them be patient enough to find the answers
On their own

Perhaps getting older
Is being a balm to others’ cuts and bruises
Being a shoulder to lean on
Being that warm voice that comforts the one
Who thinks all is lost

And if getting older is all this and more
I’m happy to be getting older too!

Lida Berghuis
November 5th, 2013

Clear as mud!

Nov13

It’s hard to know what I’m feeling
Disappointed?
Sad?
Surprised?
Confused?

I feel a flood of emotion
But the feeling itself is clear as mud!

Someone or something has caused this
I know
But what I exactly feel
I couldn’t tell you

It’s something that is taking up space
In my head and heart
I can’t brush it off
It demands attention
But how can I address it
If I don’t even know
What I’m dealing with

I wonder what to do
Do I keep thinking till I figure it out?
Do I talk to someone?
Or do I just experience the confusion
And move on?

These feelings will be resolved
In time
But for now they are as clear as mud!

Lida Berghuis
November 13th, 2013

They have grown up!

Nov10

When I want to go to bed before my kids
I know that they have grown up!

When Nicki can prepare a power point and I can’t
I know that he has grown up!

When Natalie can wear my clothes
I know that she has grown up

When Nicki can comfort me
I know that he has grown up

When he asks for an Ipod and laptop
I know that he thinks he has grown up!

When I realize Natasha is taller than me
I know that she has grown up

When she writes stories that are
More imaginative than mine
I know that she has grown up!

It seems like yesterday
When we brought them home from the hospital…
How quickly, they have grown up!

2009
Lida Berghuis