Speak your mind…

Aug6

Speak your mind…

Say what you mean
Mean what you say
You’ll be happier
And others as well…

Hiding your emotions
Hiding your concerns
Is not a sign of consideration
And kindness
It’s a form of deceiving others
And yourself

When you pretend to be happy when
Your’s sad
You’re wasting a lot of energy
Keeping up the facade

When someone says something hurtful
And you remain silent
You’re hiding your emotions from them

So, speak your mind
With tact and care
Because you don’t want to hurt others instead

But speak your mind
Live out loud
It will serve you well in the long run…

Lida Berghuis
August 6th, 2015

Friendship that deepens….

Aug5

The requirements of our WhatsApp group:
Lost of coffee and tea to stay awake and alert
And read all the posts which rain down continuously
A few committed people who post consistently
Lots of dedicated people who read regularly
And some people who we don’t see we but don’t forget

Everyone is needed to make the group work
And of course a highly skilled ‘modeer’
A highly effective ‘mobser’
and a wonderful ‘nazem’

Occasionally we have intensive classes
Offered by esteemed ‘ostads’
Often we laugh at funny posts, photos
And conversations…
Poetry is a staple of the group
So is breakfast with ‘mosha’ereh’
And the group wouldn’t be complete
Without the beautiful ‘deklames’ we receive
And posts from the ‘morning police’

The group never sleeps
The sun never sets
And even when the sun has set somewhere
The magical moon is ever present

This is a special group
Made of love
Made of friendship
Made of loyalty
Made of a common history!

May the group grow and develop
Over the years
May our friendship last a long time…

Lida Berghuis
August 3rd, 2015

Going digital

Aug2

I’ve shared with you my trials with my phone book
Now, to that is added the problem of the
Digital phonebook
All the numbers are not in one place
I have to check two places just to be sure

The calendar is a similar beast
Paper, digital, which one should I enlist?
I solve the problem by using both
Which creates problems of its own
Sometimes I forget to put an event in one
Sometimes I forget to put an event in both

Every day I check my paper calendar
But I forget to check the digital one
And if my event wasn’t transferred from the digital to paper…
You see the problem, I’m sure

Albert says to get rid of the paper version for good
Go digital and leave the paper behind
And since my paper calendar just finished for this year
I’ve decided not to get a new one
So I’m forced to use my digital one

The only thing left to do after that
Is transferring all the phone numbers
From my phone book to my phone!

For those of us who grew up with paper
Switching to digital takes much effort

Our children however don’t have this issue
They’ve seen the digital version only
Phone books don’t mean anything to them
A paper calendar is an old thing…

But for those of us who are middle aged
It’s all about making a graceful transition
To digital from paper…

August 1st, 2015

Best provision for the journey

Jul29

Best provision for the journey

The world works in mysterious ways
What hurts you ends up helping you grow
What seems sad at the time
Brings you happiness
The person you have a hard time with
Teaches you the most

Your friends often surprise you with
Their love and attention
With holding your hand when the going
Gets tough and
When you feel like your world
Is falling apart!

Good friends are the most valuable
Things you can acquire in life
Better than gold and diamond
Better than honors and degrees
Better than assurance and security

In our changeable world
When from one day to another
Everything can change
A good friend is the constant
That won’t change

July 28th, 2015

The happiness police…

Jul27

The happiness police…

Here in Quebec we have the language police
On the look out for too much English
French they feel needs to be protected
Or English will rule the day

In Iran there is the ‘guidance’ police
Guidance re modesty
Guidance re how much make up is allowed
Guidance re how much hair can be visible under your hijab

Is it me or are most of these rules for women?
Why should men get a free pass?

Someone said we need a ‘happiness’ police
Someone who’d stop you if you looked despondent and sad
Someone who’d give you a hug to make you smile
Someone who’d ask you how your day was going so far

Someone who’d carry your groceries for you
Someone who’d help you find the address you’re looking for
Someone just smile at you so you would smile too!

I think our communities would be happier and
Healthier if we had the happiness police in charge!

Shamloo

Jul24

Don’t need fancy words to communicate
engaging thoughts and ideas
Don’t need rhyming to call it poetry

Poetry has been released from the cage of tradition
And is flying in the atmosphere of freedom

On the wings of imagery and metaphor
Through words that are understood by all
Poetry is leaving the land of the elite
And entering the world of ‘every man’

Lida Berghuis
July 25th 2015
Anniversary of passing
of Ahmad Shamloo

Blessed day…

Jul23

Some days, the stars align
I feel at peace
I feel loved
I feel I’m leading a good life
No major crisis is looming
No difficult problems to resolve
Everything is going its merry way
I’m not paddling against the waves
My spirit is in a sacred place

I know tomorrow won’t be like today
But that’s OK
Our lives are is constant motion
Our emotions rise and descend
‘the only constant is change’

So, I’ll celebrate today
Give thanks for the blessing
That have come my way
And when things get tough
And the ocean choppy
I’ll remember that what
follows is calm and serenity

Lida Berghuis
July 23rd, 2015

Travelling

Jul22

Travelling and learning
Getting to know new people
My favorite thing

Seeing new places is also good
But I’m a tourist of people

Different personalities fascinate me
I learn from talking and listening
The physical place is not as important
It’s the people that count for me

Connection matters to me
Friendship is important to me
It’s the trip of the soul that counts
The body just comes along

The physical landscape is interesting too
But if I go somewhere and don’t get to
Know a new soul
I may have as well stayed home!

Solitary lives

Jul21

At the coffee shop
We stare at our phones
One person per table
Conversation only over the phone
Two people talking
Not so much any more!

Each person interacts with a phone
Or a laptop
We’re not looking each other in the eye

We’re living isolated lives
Where is the community
Where is the warmth?

Blank stares on our faces
Smiles are rare
We are social beings
Not loners

We should sit in a group
Laugh and talk
Share experiences
Spread the love

Solitary lives are sad ones
We need each other to survive
We have taken independence too far
We need to rely on each other to thrive…

Lida Berghuis
July 19th, 2015

How I start my day

Jul20

 

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I start the day with messages of love
A beautiful painting here
A poignant photograph there
A heart warming poem here
Words of wisdom there

And these messages of love
Come from all over the world
Boundaries have been erased
Communication is instantaneous
Our whatsapp group never rests

Voice files make phone calls unnecessary
Technology is the magician of this day

We learn from each other
We support each other
We remind each other of our common past

This group
The cream of the crop
The best there is
Brought together by love and care

East and West represented in different ways
Friendships formed, renewed, and strengthened after many years

Lida Berghuis
July 20th 2015

For my high school class whatsapp group!