Archive | November 2015

In the long run…

Nov19

Those who are the victims of terror
Will be missed
Their lives were cut short unjustly
But their spirit has soared to the etherial realm
The bird of their heart has been freed
From the cage of their body
And they will be the recipients of the mercy of God

Those who commit terror
Are doing the greatest disservice to themselves
Sooner or later their soul will leave their body
And then what will they have?
Paradise, as they have been told?
I think not!
They will have to carry the weight of their
Guilt and remorse for the rest of time

November 19th, 2015
Lida Berghuis

Secrets

Nov18

When we have a secret
All is OK on the outside
But inside, something doesn’t feel right
We don’t feel as free as we should feel
We don’t feel authentic

We have our secrets because we feel
We will be judged
People may think less of us and
Their perfect ‘image’ of us will be tarnished
We will be the ‘other’, the one who does not belong

The ironic thing is that what we’re fearful of
May never come to pass
Actually, people will admire our courage
To be ourselves
And it will feel as if a weight has been lifted
From our shoulders

We keep secrets because difficult topics
Have been hidden in the past

We keep secrets because not enough people
Share the difficult parts of their lives to
Give others the courage to do the same

We keep secrets because we don’t want to
Feel vulnerable and get hurt
We keep secrets because it seams easier

But when we open our hearts to others
When we trust them with our secrets
The reaction most of the time is that of
Empathy and understanding
Because we will look more human, if less perfect
Because others have secrets too

The ocean of life is turbulent
And not one ship is immune from the
Challenges of the journey

November 18th, 2015
Lida Berghuis

Waiting for happiness…

Nov17

If you’re not happy now
You won’t be happy
After getting where you want to get
Having what you want to have
Being what you want to be

So often we think
When I have finished my studies…
When I’m married…
When my kids are in school…
When I’ve published my first book…

We think our happiness depends on
Those mile posts
That somehow crossing the finish line
Will change something in us
Will bring us joy and happiness
Will be essential to us feeling fulfilled

But joy comes from contentment
From peace of mind
From believing in something greater than us
From setting lofty goals
From not being self-centered
From reaching out to others
In their time of need

And none of this is dependent on where
We are in our lives
And what mile posts we have crossed
We need to have goals
But we can be happy at any point in our lives

November 17th, 2015
Lida Berghuis

Points of light

Nov14

The night is darkest before the dawn they say
Darkness is evident in the world today
Killing in the name of God has become common place
What God intended was love not this!

Children suffer and die from hunger
As we throw away mountains of food
Girl children are deprived of education
Who makes these rules?

Darkness rears its ugly head too often these days
But hope and love can’t be eliminated by darkness
The atrocities we see
The selfishness and hunger after power that perpetrates them
They sadden our hearts, but can’t demoralize us

Goodness and love
Compassion and kindness
Justice and mercy will prevail

There is a lot of gloom in the world
But there are points of light as well

Neighbours helping neighbours
People opening their homes to strangers
Out of love
Millions of people volunteering their time
Trying to make a difference in someone’s life

These points of light are our hope
Light will conquer darkness in the long run

November 14th, 2015
Lida Berghuis

Reflections on wealth, class and looks

Nov12

Reflections on wealth, looks and class

How far can wealth, looks and class take you?

Wealth is good but it’s here today and not the next
Plus wealth brings its own problems
There is always someone who is more wealthy than you
One can never say one has enough wealth
So, if that’s what we’re after, we’ll never get there

Wealth also puts you in a bubble of sorts
Everyone around you is the same
You’ll end up living in a world that’s not real
You can easily lose touch with the average man
And possibly your humanity

Good looks is Ok
But by now we know
It’s as impermanent as water colour
And as deceiving as fool’s gold!

Plus if what’s on the outside
Is not reflected inside
It’s no use
Good looks does not comfort you
Support you
Or encourage you
A kind heart is what does that
And that definitely does not depend on good looks

Class?
What is that?
How do we decide if someone has class?
For me the classiest things are humility
Generosity and empathy
This is what I would be looking for
The outward stuff tends to take the fun out of life
One needs to take oneself so seriously

Good looks are good only
If accompanied by a good heart
Wealth is good
If we use it the right way
If it doesn’t go to our head
If it doesn’t blind us to the rest of the world
If it’s earned honestly and with hard work

Class is good
If one’s actions are classy
Not one’s appearance only
No one wants a classy friend
With a cold heart

By themselves wealth, class and looks
Don’t amount to much
They are empty shells that will disappoint
In the long run

On the other hand
Kindness, generosity, humility and such
Add to wealth that can’t be taken away
Beauty that will never fade
And a classiness that is real!

Lida Berghuis
November 11th, 2015

See you in the clouds

Nov8

It’s a conference in the clouds
Because how else could we talk
She’s in Switzerland, he’s in Shiraz
He’s in Denmark, she’s in Australia
It must be that we meet in the clouds
There is no other explanation
None that I found

It’s someone’s morning
Someone’s noon
Someone’s getting ready to sleep
Someone’s going to work

From these different times and places
We gather where there is no time and place
And all that matters is our thoughts

We communicate and laugh out-loud
How amazing , we are no longer earth-bound
Because we can meet in the clouds…

November 8th, 2015

Why bother

Nov6

Lids are over-rated
That’s what Natasha thinks anyway
Why put the lid back on the toothpaste tube
If a few hours later you have to take it off?
Why put the lid back on the eye makeup remover
Pretty soon you’ll be using is again
Luckily somethings like Shampoo bottles
Come with their lids attached to them
Otherwise there would be lids everywhere

I’ve concluded that
Natasha and lids don’t get along
She avoids them and they avoid her too!
I’m sure she’s sometimes surprised
When she sees the lid back on something
That belongs to her
I’m sure she thinks, who did that and why?

The problem is that she does the same thing
With the jar of jam!
And as for putting it back in the fridge
She must think why bother with that
Someone will need it soon enough…

November 6th, 2015

encouragement

Nov5

When someone encourages me
I feel like a flower in the sun
I want to stretch my petals
As much as I can

When someone encourages me
My heart smiles
My eyes sparkle
I feel exuberant!

When someone encourages me
The world seems like a kinder place
I feel surrounded by love and care

When someone encourages me
I want to say thank you, my friend
For brightening my day

November 5th, 2015

takes the cake

Nov4

When things you thought would never come to pass, do!
When people you thought you would never hear from again
Reappear in your life
When friendships that started years ago can continue to grow
When I have a connection to my homeland I never thought I would

It becomes clear to me again that life
Is full of surprises, difficult and joyous
That things can change in an instant
For better or worse
That one never knows what lies ahead
That technology is bringing the world together
In amazing ways

So thrilled to be in touch with my classmates
So proud to know what they have achieved
So happy that we can still be silly and laugh
So wonderful that we don’t take ourselves too seriously

Life is full of unexpected turns
And this connection certainly takes the cake!

Lida Berghuis
November 4th, 2015

Have I grown up?

Nov2

IMG_7096

Have I grown up?
It depends…

When I joke and giggle with my kids
Talk about absurd things and
Sing songs badly
I feel just like a kid!

When I laugh at silly jokes
And tears start rolling down my cheeks
When I play Sherades or other games
I feel just like a kid

When I cry because of a harsh remark
Can’t find words to respond
Feel insecure as can be
I feel just like a kid

When I learn something new
Discover a poet I like to read
And time passes without me noticing
I feel just like a kid!

Of course I have the responsibilities
of a grown-up
Working, taking care of bills
Watching over my children
And these kinds of things

Of course, I’ve learned a thing or two
Experienced hardship
And can talk about my life lessons
So, I’m not a kid

But bing an adult would be so boring
If from time to time I could not be like a kid!

Lida Berghuis
November 2nd, 2015