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

The other D-word!*

Oct6

Death may not be an uplifting topic to some
But I think it does actually uplift us
Up out of this physical plane
Which despite our attachment to it
Does cause us much sorrow and pain
Up out of this world
Where we struggle to choose good over evil
And upon our death
Our spirit is released from its physical limitations
And like a bird flies out of its golden cage

Death is a continuation of this life
I prefer the concept of life after life
But perhaps our spirit will be in a more developed state

The dream world is a sign of the existence
of realms beyond this realm
Where we can communicate with those who
Have arrived there first

Perhaps we fear death
Because we fear annihilation
But what if death is the release of our spirit
From its material form
And its continued existence in a higher state!

Lida Berghuis
October 6th, 2013

*The first one being Depression
which I wrote a poem about earlier!

My guide

Oct3

Do we ever know for sure
What the future holds?
Can we really plan everything out?
Can we see into the future
And guarantee success?

Sometimes what we thought was impossible, happens!
Sometimes what we thought was for sure, disappears!

We can plan
We can calculate
Put in safeguards
Have contingency plans
And yet, the project can fail
The trajectory can change in an instant!

We like to think we are in control
And we are to a certain extent
But as soon as we think we’re totally in control
The unexpected arrives to show us we’re wrong!

Sometimes the best things are unplanned
They just appear in one’s path
Most times intuition is more accurate than intellect
Sometimes the right people appear in our lives
And their influence is life changing, transformative in fact!
Not much planning goes into that!
Only recognition of the blessing
That has been put in our path!

Sometimes things that seem illogical work out
Plans that seem impractical bear fruit
And how is one to know?
I let intuition and prayer be my guide!

Lida Berghuis
October 3rd, 2013

Slowing down

Oct2

Moments of contemplation
So rare in our lives
We run run run
Do, do, do
Try to keep up with
Who knows who or what!

Daydreaming becomes a thing of the past
Concentration and productivity is where it’s at!

But what is the purpose?
What drives us so?
What are we trying to achieve
With our lives?

Even when we meditate
We are not supposed to contemplate
Never understood that
Or the concept of the empty box
That place that most often men go to
So I hear, when they want to get away from it all

It’s good to sometimes just stare out the window
Take in what’s going on
Instead of staring at our phones
Which we even do when we have to stand in line

Serenity has left our lives
It seems to be mostly do or die!

And that’s why I write
To get lost in my thoughts
To take a break from the rat race
And to nourish my soul with moments of stillness
And solitude!

Lida Berghuis
October 2nd, 2013

The gift of calamity

Oct1

“In the path of the Blessed Beauty, I have experienced but little adversity… I pray that I will be given the opportunity to attain the gift of calamity in His path!”
Dr. A. M. Davudi

“The gift of calamity”
What does this phrase imply?
What does it mean?

Perhaps the lover of Truth is so intoxicated
With the wine of the love of God
That calamity in His the path
Is seen as a gift!

To see calamity as a gift
Requires deep faith
And the letting go of self and ego!

When one is released from the prison of self
Imprisonment will seem like freedom
Freedom from the desires of the insistent self

When one is released from the prison of self
Fear leaves and contentment pitches its tent

When one is released from the prison of self
Anger and injustice can be met with kindness and generosity

When on is released from the prison of self
There is nothing one can’t achieve

The Beloved is the focus
His will reigns supreme
One’s comfort and ease
One’s wishes and dreams
Take second place to His wishes
He who wants nothing but
The illumination of that soul
The development of his capacities
The polishing of the mirror of his heart
And the appearance of the gems of virtues

When one is released from the prison of self
One dies to the world
One becomes dust in the pathway of the Beloved
One only wants to serve and love others
Now and all through eternity

Lida Berghuis
October 1st, 2013

Solitary hours

Sep25

 

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I sit in solitude
My mind roaming in a world
That is here, but is not
It’s close to us
But it can be far

Silence brings me there
Reflection guides me there
Inspiration is found there
Serenity resides there

It’s like roaming in a rarified atmosphere
Examining reality
Listening to the voices within

It’s like opening a gateway
To a different world
A magical world
A mystical world

And these wonderings are so liberating
So intoxicating
So addictive
That they call me back each day
Lest my day not be spent
Even if it’s momentarily
In that world of mystery

Lida Berghuis
September 25th, 2013

Me, me, me!

Sep21

The insistent self!
Me, myself and I!
What suits me!
What benefits me!

Me me me!
My my my!
My comfort!
My pleasure!
My fame and fortune!

That’s all good and that’s all well!
But it doesn’t lead to lasting happiness!
Let’s look at the times I’ve been happy
Let’ examine them, let’s see!

Isn’t it when I’ve helped someone else?
Made someone else’s day?
Showed someone else the way?

Isn’t it when I do for others
What I hope others would do for me?
Isn’t it when I treat others
With kindness and generosity?

Why is that?
Because that’s what I’m meant to do!
Who I’m meant to be!
How I’m meant to live!

Sadness comes when I think of myself
My problems, my challenges
Sadness comes when I don’t get my way

The insistent ‘I’ needs to be tamed!
Needs to be controlled!
Needs to be transformed!

‘I’ needs to be replaced with ‘we’
Therein lies felicity
This is the road I choose for me!

Lida Berghuis
September 16th, 2013