Does anyone feel like they belong?
Don’t each of us feel like outsiders sometime, somewhere?
If we’re in touch with different groups of people
We’re bound to feel like we don’t belong
How does it feel to belong?
It’s feeling accepted and loved despite our flaws
It’s having our uniqueness and individuality acknowledged
And feeling accepted means not feeling judged
But feeling encouraged and celebrated
December 23rd, 2018
Dear readers,
I’ve recently published a second collection of my poems: Collage of Me, Reflections on identity and belonging. It’s the story of how a Persian girl who moved to Canada when she was fourteen dealt with questions of identity and belonging. It’s available on Amazon.
We need not have one category to fit in
We can have complicated identities
As a result of living in various countries
Speaking various languages
Having various roles
We can fit in many different worlds
Instead of being worried because we don’t
Fully fit in one box
We should be happy
We fit in a few boxes
That doesn’t dilute our identity
It enriches it
November 18th, 2018
We feel the need to belong
To be accepted
To be similar to those around us
To fit in
But what if we embrace otherness
Accept the uniqueness of our experiences
The difference in the colour of our skin
Or the country we come from
Realizing that underneath
All these seeming differences
We are one
We all come from Africa
The devisions we have created
Are manmade
Differences can be good if we accept them
And are aware of the underlying oneness
I belong to the human family
And my experiences in life
Make me the unique human being that I am
And that uniqueness
That otherness
Is on the surface
Deep inside we are all one
And when I understand that
I will feel like I belong
No matter where I am
November 12th, 2018
We all want to belong
It’s a little harder when you are visibly or obviously
The odd one out
But that sense of belonging
Comes from within
It’s not always imposed from outside
If I feel like I belong
I act like I belong
And most people will treat me
Like I belong
Yes, there are times when others
Can make me feel like the odd one out
By what they say or what they do
But most of the time
How I see myself is the key, what counts
Do I fit in here or there?
Do I belong here or there?
Questions I once asked myself
How about I fit in here and there
I belong here and there
I also belong to a group of people
Who have grown up here and there
There are other people like me out there
They are also my community
At the root of it all though
We are all human beings
Who belong to the same family
Sept. 5th, 2018
A second book
Another essay on life
My life
With its challenges and trials
With lessons learned
With hope and optimism
Written with love
The collage of me
Is a collage of prose and poetry
The coming together of various experiences
And exploration of various cultures
Of Travel
Of connections
Of fellowship and camaraderie
It tries to answer the questions
Who am I?
And where do I belong?
It explores issues of identity and immigration
And the coming together of East and West
And the essential oneness of man
Rediscovering my homeland from afar
Sometimes I feel like a tourist in my own town
There are also things I’m discovering for the first time
Technology makes this possible now
I travel to my place of birth everyday
And hang out with my friends
I learn about them and their experiences
There is good and bad everywhere
And there are challenges there as there are anywhere else
What I’m experiencing with my friends
Which is special though
Is an openness that’s new to me
My friends accept me as I am and
I feel a sense of belonging
I missed this feeling in my childhood
The feeling that I could share all that was dear to me
There was always this barrier between us
A divide in understanding
Time and distance, and new experiences
Have removed this barrier
And in some ways now, in a land far off
I feel closer to my countrymen
June 26th, 2017
“Vulnerability is the birth place of love, creativity
joy, and belonging”
One has to risk rejection to find love
One has to be open to trying something new and untested to be creative
One has to have known sorrow to know joy
One has to share one’s weaknesses to be welcomed into an authentic relationship
It’s easy to show our happy, together, confident, optimistic side
It takes courage to show our pain, sorrow, insecurities, and doubts
It’s easy to play it safe, afraid of making a mistake
It takes courage to take a leap of faith
It’s easy to decide when the outcome is clear
It’s more difficult to accept the uncertainties of life
I used to want a letter from God
telling me which way to go and what option to choose
I know now that growth comes from making the best decision with the information I have
Knowing that it may not lead me to the desired destination right away
But that eventually I’ll find my way
Life is not a straight line
It’s a jagged line
Or perhaps it’s a meandering river
Going to the right or left sometimes
But all the way adjusting its course to reach the ocean
And the way to accept this perceived imperfection in our path
Is to realize that in any case, we are worthy of love!
Lida Berghuis
December 16th, 2014
*Brene Brown
We are super-connected
Yet, so disconnected at times
We have the technology
But to transform the world we live in
We need to add heart!
Because when hearts connect
There’s nothing that can’t be done!
We have the World Wide Web and the Cloud
We are connected to each other 24 hours a day
But the connection that we need
To change the world we live in
Is super low-tech!
This connection can be made with a smile
A shared moment of joy
It can be made with an eye contact
That acknowledges the other person
This connection is made by feeling the pain of someone who is in distress
Someone who needs a helping hand
And listening ear
For this connection, all one needs is love
A sense of belonging to the whole and
Being responsible for the welfare of all
So, as we get better connected technologically each day
Lets not forget this most important connection
Lida Berghuis
October 12th, 2014
Inspired by:
Reimaging the world From scarcity to prosperity
Eliane Ubalijoro | TEDxConcordia
lida's musings 