Blue and white

Aug4

Blue and white
Is the house of the Beloved
Where He stayed
Where hardship rained
Where verses were revealed

I look out the window
At the blue sea
See white clouds in the sky
The sun streaming in
Sending assurance
That it will not set
For a long time

A cool breeze comes from the sea
A welcome relief from the heat
The heat of summer
Reminiscent of the tribulations
That befell the Holy family here
Reminiscent of the heat radiating
From the revealed Word
Ready to set ablaze the hearts

I try to forget the heat
And realize how privileged I am
Realize where I’m standing

From this muddy water
The lotus bloomed
And appeared in great beauty
In great majesty!

Blue and white
The land and the sea
The sky and the clouds
Blue and white
The house of Abud, in Akka!

Lida Berghuis
July 2011

Written during our pilgrimage this July to the Baha’i Holy places in Israel, after visiting the House of Abud, in which the founder of the Baha’i Faith lived under house arrest, prisoner of the Ottoman empire for several years.

fork in the road

Aug2

“If you come to a fork in the road, take it!”
Yogi Berra (baseball player)

I’ve learned this the hard way!
So many times, I’ve come to a fork in the road
And stood paralyzed
Not knowing what to do!

I’ve weighed my options
A thousand times
I’ve liked something about this road
And something about the other one!

What led to my paralysis
Was fear of making a mistake
Not realizing that
That’s part of life

No one road leads to contentment
No mistake can completely break us down
There is no way to have all the answers beforehand
We need to take a leap of Faith and jump!

Secure in knowing that
We can get up from a fall
Falling and rising
Integral parts of life

It takes courage to make a choice
It takes strength to get up after a fall
But each time we rise, we’ll be stronger
Our courage and strength will multiply!

Lida Berghuis
July 27th, 2011

Passion

Jul26

Oh, to be passionate about something!
Oh, to have found that something!
You will hear the birds sing!
You will see the sun shine!
You will smile a radiant smile!
You will know why you’re alive!

It took me a while
To find that something
The clues were there
From the time I was young
But it took a while
For the fire of passion to ignite

I’d see a little spark here
A little spark there
And as they were nurtured over the years
A few fanned into flames

I felt the warmth
It saw the light
It felt love
And the night became bright

Things I’m passionate about make me smile
Make my heart sing
They are things I can’t do without

Now, I try to keep fanning the flames
Because there is nothing more beautiful
Than seeing this bon fire burn

Lida Berghuis
May 29th, 2011

The ego dissipates

Jul24

The ego dissipates
Even if it is momentarily
I, me and mine
Melt away
Calm replaces anxiety
The way appears more clear

And as my hand made
Statue of myself
My design
Breaks down
It is built anew
A better design
Replaces mine

I recognize my place
In the universe
Infinitesimally small
Yet, I can be guided
By the hand of the Divine

I have the map
The way is shown
The journey is long
And starts anew
Each morn

The ego dissipates
Melts down
Doors open
And I begin to walk

Lida Berghuis
July 14th 2011

Why pray?

Jul15

Why should I pray?
The question came
In order to live fully
The answer was heard

Prayer connects us to the
Spiritual world
The world of love
The world of compassion
The world of virtue

In prayer we call on our
Angels and guides
In prayer, the drop
Joins the ocean of light

Prayer feeds our hungry soul
Prayer lights our way in the world

In prayer we testify to our poverty
Through prayer we learn humility

Prayer gladens the heart
Prayer lifts our spirits up

Prayer a shield!
Prayer a guide!
Prayer an oasis!
Prayer sublime!

Lida Berghuis
July 11, 2011

Happiness!

Jun20

To see the beauty of the unfinished work!
This is the secret to serenity
And peace of mind

Each of us is a work in progress
And we are beautiful
As we are

To appreciate that transformation
Takes time
Nothing of value
Can be accomplished at once

To have the wisdom of looking ahead
to see how what we do
Will affect everyone

To contemplate and consult
Then make a decision
Accept the consequences
Learn, and carry on…

The gardener will be joyous
When the tree bears fruit
But he will love and appreciate
The tree from the time it’s small

He will water the tree
And care for it
Allowing it to grow slowly
In time

Once we manage to do this
Each day can feel
Like how we imagine
The destination to be like

Lida Berghuis
June 21st, 2011

The veil of oppression!

Jun15

I wonder how men would feel
If they were told to veil themselves
So that they don’t entice women!

Are men unable to restrain themselves
When they see beauty in women?

Does modesty mean not showing hair
Hands, legs and or the face?

Or were women asked to veil themselves
So they could be not seen and heard?

The veil
A symbol of oppression
The black tent that hides the body
The hair and the spirit of women

The veil
Prescribed by tradition
Not religion

The veil
Unattractive
Restrictive
Dark
And morbid

Beauty is to be celebrated
If you ask me!
Yes, modesty
I agree
But being enclosed
In a black tent
Is not the epitome of modesty

At a time when the East was
Steeped in tradition
Tahirih threw away the veil
Her spirit
Strong and free
Fought against dogma
And tyranny

And because of souls like her
Women will be freed
Their spirits will be freed
Their limbs will be freed
They will be heard
And they will be seen!

Lida Berghuis
April 25th, 2004

The ocean

Jun11

The river of life
Leads to the ocean of eternity
The fish of the spirit
Finds peace at last

No more choppy waters
The ocean is deep
The spirit attains
Its destination at last

The river was familiar
His home for long
But the ocean is vast
He is free at last

Not bound by the current
Of the river now
It is free to
Travel around

The ocean is calm
The ocean is vast
The river was good
But it’s in the past

Adventures endless
Await the soul
Beautiful vistas
To travel and roam

The river of life
Leads to the ocean of light
It has been so
And it will be now

Lida Berghuis
June 2nd, 2011
For Martin

Onward!

May18

Aging body
Growing spirit
Eyes that need glasses
The inner eye still going strong

Ears that may eventually
Not hear as well
But will listen much better than now

A face creased with wrinkles
But ready to face what’s ahead
Hands with veins that pop out!
But these hands have been held and caressed

Hair thining and graying with age
On a head held high
Legs as strong as before
Except when I don’t treat them right!
These legs have taken me
To so many places near and far
I hope to travel with them for some time

Memory was never my strongest suit
Not much lost there!
You can tease me if you want
Been there, done that, go ahead!

A wrinkle here
A scar there
A testament to a life well-lived
Even the frown lines
On my forehead
I have made peace with

Life is not meant to be easy
Hardships come
But the lessons we learn
Are worth the frown lines

These lines don’t diminish beauty
True beauty’s inside
This body, a vehicle for me
For a short while

I’ll take care of it
Nourish it well
But it’s my spirit
That will live long

Lida Berghuis
February 11th, 2011

Staying power…

May1

There is a power that only a few of us have
And that does not include me!
This amazing power, my husband has
And my daughter Natasha has inherited it!

It goes like this:

Albert reading an hour, two hours
Three hours or four
With little breaks for lunch and snack!

Natasha working on a story
For hours at a time
So quietly that we forget
She’’s around

Natasha drawing and coloring at the computer
From morning till noon
And then returning to it in the afternoon!

Albert disapearing to the bedroom to rest and staying there all afternoon

To be honest
I couldn’’t do any of these things
I’’d last an hour, max!

Too restless to sit for hours
I need change
The scenery needs to change
And the activity as well

So, that’’s why I say
That Natasha and Albert
Have staying power
And I’’ve grown to appreciate that!

Lida Berghuis
April 30th, 2011