Tapestry of friendship

Aug14

Weaving bonds of friendship
Working on a beautiful tapestry
The tapestry that costs nothing to make
But is more valuable than many other things

It’s a life-long project
Sometimes I spend more time on it
It cheers my heart and uplifts my soul
I so love my tapestry
Different patterns for different periods of my life
Some of the colors are so rich
Occasionally I use threads of gold and silver
You can imagine how beautiful that can be

When I travel to the unseen world
It’s one of the few things I will take with me!

Lida berghuis
August 14th
Yokeh’s garden

Home visit

Aug8

Come into my home
Come into my life
Come into the space
I spend a lot of time

Bring your positive energy
Bring your smile
But if you are sad
You can still come

Maybe my smile will then
Brighten your day
And when I’m sad
You will smile my sadness away

Let’s have tea
Let’s sit and talk
Let’s connect
In this world of disconnect and rush

Let’s deepen our friendship
Deep as it can go
Let’s mine the gems
That are in me and you

These deep connections
Make life worthwhile
Otherwise in our worries
We will drown

You can be my life raft
And I can be yours
The sea can be stormy
And dangers close

In a world that can sometimes be dark
Let’s build friendship castles of light!

Lida Berghuis
August 7th, 2013

Tourist

Aug4

Some people travel to see places
Old buildings, ornate churches, famous landmarks…
You get my point
And there is nothing wrong with that of course
But I travel to see people
To experience other cultures
To expose myself to other ways of thought

Don’t take me to a resort
There is not much to learn there for me
The walls, the swimming pool, the restaurants
Don’t have any lessons for me
But bring me in contact with the locals
Invite me into their lives
And that will make me extremely happy

Because I’m the tourist of cultures
Not of ruins
I learn from people
Not from buildings
Rest and relaxation
I can do close to where I live
Exploring other cultures
A reason to travel for me

Don’t bring me to hotels
Bring me to homes
Where the people are
Don’t bring me to restaurants
Bring me to kitchen tables
Where the food is prepared with love
Don’t bring me to big cities
Being me to towns
Bring me to the country side

I’m a tourist of people, not of places
I’m not looking for what’s outside
Bring me inside into people’s lives, into their homes
And into their hearts!

Lida Berghuis
August 4th, 2013

Words fail me!

Jul28

When words fail me
When silence is all I hear
When emotions stop the flow of words
When I’m overwhelmed by what I feel
My smile hides my anxiety
My mask is back on me
I’m back in my actress mode
I pretend that nothing is wrong
When in fact I’m falling apart…

Lida Berghuis
July 24th, 2013

My diary

Jul23

My poems are my diary
What I’m thinking about goes in there
What I’m reading inspires them
The questions I have are stated there
The things I’ve learned are recorded there
My highs, my lows, my serious and silly moods
Are reflected in them

Like a diary
They are dated
Like a diary
They are re-read later

Pages and pages
Notebooks and notebooks
My notebooks make
A colourful tower on my shelf
The covers are different and varied
Reflecting the variety I seek in life
Some are smaller
Some bigger
Like the different chapters
In my life

But collectively
This sea of words
Represents me
My spirit
My mind
My emotions
My thoughts
My hopes
My dreams

And that’s why
My poems are my diary!

Lida Berghuis
May 26th, 2013

Using my outside voice

Jul15

Girls and women have been told to use
Their inside voices for a long time
Men may scream and shout
And their roars of laughter
is somehow not met by surprise…
Girls on the other hand
Have to be demure
Soft spoken
And even suppress loud laughter
How dare they be loud?

Men can gesture and speak
At the top of their lungs
No one will tell them
They are out of bound
Girls however will be criticized
Or thought of as not refined

Of course, all of this is not surprising
Considering that not too long ago
Women could not leave the house alone
They needed protection
Or were they being controlled?

Not too long ago
Women could not vote
Or be elected to office
No wonder they were expected
To speak softly
Seen but not heard
If at all possible…

Women have made amazing strides
Since then
They now lead, set policy
Demonstrate for their rights
Then why are we frowned on
When we speak or laugh out loud?

I’ve decide I’m not going to wait
For permission from society
To use my outside voice
Some people may feel offended
I may get some strange looks
But that’s OK
Times have changed
And I have changed too!

Lida Berghuis
July 15th, 2013

A few of my favorite things

Jul11

A few of my favorite things

What makes me happy are simple things
Reading, writing, talking to friends
Laughing and being silly sometimes

Walks with Albert
Hugs from my kids
Early mornings
Sitting in the sun

Learning new things
Meeting new people
Traveling
Nature walks

Flowers
Beautiful things and
Art!

Lida Berghuis
July 11th, 2013

Love’s confusing joy*

Jul10

Confusing, because
It is unexpected
unexplainable
Often times unreasonable
And impractical

Joyous, because
It makes you smile
It cheers your heart
It gives meaning to life

Confusing, because
It often does not make sense
It’s complicated
It involves trials

Joyous, because
It brightens your day
Makes you feel wanted
Gives you wings to fly

Confusing joy
Is what love brings
And what welcome confusion
It is!

Lida Berghuis
July 8th, 2013

*quote from Rumi

Placeless place

Jul10

Sometimes I need to escape
The clutter of my thoughts
The chatter of my to-do list
The routine tasks of life
And let myself float
In that etherial space
That has no name

I have to quiet my mind
Open my heart
And listen to what is normally
Drowned by the noise of life

I have to go that placeless place
And wonder a while
I have to read words that inspire me
Write what comes to me
And get lost in that place
I can’t describe

All I know is that
I return from that place
Feeling refreshed
Feeling calm

Lida Berghuis
July 10th, 2013

No matter the circumstance!

Jun30

What makes us rich is our relationships…
A house, a car, a piece of jewelry
Can all be gone in an instant
But friendship remains no matter
The circumstance

A job can be lost
A career can take a down turn
But a friend will stay
No matter what

Storms come and go
And so will the crises of life
And what is the thing that gets us through
No matter the circumstance?

Not the material possessions we have
Our fancy job or
Our fancy house
It’s our friends
Who will give us
The gift of friendship and support
The gift of love and kindness
And a reason to hold on
Till the storm is gone!

Lida Berghuis
June 30th, 2013

*Inspired by a poem of Maya Angelou