Tag Archive | challenges

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

fifty

Jul1

IMG_0353

We were fifteen
The cream of the crop
From all over Iran
Wide eyed and ready to take on the world

Idealism was the order of the day
Most things seemed possible at the time
Yet we had a lot to learn

Now, we’re fifty
Time has passed
We have scattered all over Iran
All over the world
No longer naive, we have experienced life
We have experienced love and heartache

Perhaps we now know the value of
Friendship more
Won’t take it for granted, if we once did

Each of us has forged a path
Done wonderful things
Challenges have been there too
But that’s where friendship comes in

Now our messages criss-cross the world
Weaving a web of love as they do
Perhaps a love exists that didn’t exist before
Living life has taught us this

We were fifteen, and now we’re fifty
My dear friends, it couldn’t be better than this!

Lida Berghuis
June 30th, 2015

For now…

Jun23

For now…

So, it’s not what I wanted
Nothing I planned
The situation plumps itself down on me
and I feel its heavy burden

Where did it come from?
Another surprise on the road of life?
Was it in my blind spot?
Why didn’t someone warn me?
I guess then it wouldn’t be a surprise!

Now it’s here
I feel the unease
Actually I don’t feel good at all
I was going merrily on the road of life
And now this…

I’m told I’m supposed to accept what comes my way
That resistance is futile
But how does one accept unpleasant things
The situation reminds me of one of the valleys of love:

“On this plane, the traveler meeteth with many a trial and reverse.
Now is he lifted up to heaven, now is he cast into the depths.
As it hath been said: “Now Thou drawest me to the summit of glory,
Again Thou castest me into the lowest abyss.”*

What is the traveller to do?
I can see that the opposite of acceptance is not helpful
Won’t change things
It only creates bad feelings

So first I have to accept it’s OK not to be in my comfort zone for now…
It’s OK to be frustrated … for now
It’s OK to not have it easy… for now
It’s OK! For now!

And in the meantime
I’ll look for solutions
I will try to get around the obstacles of life
And find an alternative route

The process is not pleasant, I admit
But accepting things the way they are now
And remaining thankful for all that is going right, is key!

Lida Berghuis
June 22nd, 2015

*Baha’u’llah, The Four Valleys

Life sucks… but in a good way…

Jan20

“Life sucks!
What can you do?
Accept it and get on with it…”

This is not a pessimistic attitude
Or a defeatist one!
Our lives are not meant to be picture perfect
Everything they way it should be
Or the way we want it to be!

Our lives are a series of challenges
That when faced with grace
Can help us grow and be stronger
And better people

Life is not a smooth road
It’s a bumpy one
Some places are not paved at all
There are obstacles to manoeuvre around
Detours that pop up!
And sometimes we may reach the edge
Of a cliff and need to back up!

The easy road offers no benefits
Except for seeming ease and comfort
It’s the road full of pit falls and road blocks
That puts us to test and helps us develop new skills

So, yes, life sucks
But not in a bad way
It sucks
So we can learn, change, and grow

Lida Berghuis
January 15th, 2015

*something someone at the hairdressers said once

The person I’ve become

Jan16

The person I’ve become
Is more authentic, more real!
I don’t wear a mask as much
I confide in my friends

The person I’ve become
Knows her limits better
I don’t compare myself to others as much
I’ve learned to say no more often
I’ve learned to ask for what I need

The person I’ve become
Takes more responsibility
Feels more empowered to create change
To change myself
My thoughts
And therefore my actions and feelings

The person I’ve become
Sees challenges as an integral part of life
Not to run from
But to learn from

The person I’ve become
Takes care of herself
Without self care, one can’t help others
One burns out!

The person I’ve become
Sees interdependence as essential
Life is not meant to be lived in a solitary way
We need each other’s help
We need to build deep, authentic friendships and
Call on each other when we need support and help

The person I’ve become
Knows there is more to learn
There is always room for improvement
Ways to do things better
New ways of thought
Deeper understanding

The person I’ve become
Is more thankful
Seeing good in all that comes my way
The person I’ve become
Tries not to take simple things for granted!

Lida Berghuis
January 15th, 2015

Showing the real me!

Dec18

The real me!

She was not afraid to show her face
At a time when showing her face was akin to a crime

But she was not afraid
She removed the veil and showed her face
Some were confused
Some were perturbed
Some were shocked!

But she was not afraid
She had the courage of her convictions
She knew who she was

I draw on her courage to show you the real me
To remove the mask of pretence
The mask of ‘acceptable’
The mask of ‘normal’

And I don’t think the real me
Will shock others so much
Because I’m not that unique
My experiences are my neighbours’ experiences
My friends’ experiences
Or perhaps yours

I’m not so unique
Any pain I have experienced
Has been experienced by others as well
Any challenge I’ve had
Has been the lot of others as well

She showed her face when showing her face
Was akin to a crime
All I’m doing is showing you the real me!

Lida Berghuis
December 18th, 2014

Fabulous 50!

Sep28

Turning fifty has turned out well
Who says 50 can’t be fun!
Turning fifty has all kinds of advantages
To prove my point, here are some…

First, life is less hectic
The kids are now older and can do so much more for themselves
They can even lend a hand here and there and make my load lighter
They do their own laundry, their own homework
They can drive themselves places and…
They can even feed themselves if need be!

Second, life is more stable
And my chosen career is enjoying a good flow
Uncertainties have changed to certainty in some areas of life

Third, now that I’m somewhat sure of myself and the decisions I make
I don’t need everyone’s approval all the time
And with that comes peace of mind!

Fourth, I’ve learned to set some limits
As to what I can and cannot do!
Saying no to some projects is becoming easier!

Fifth, I’ve learned not to compare myself with others
Their limits, their level of energy, their priorities are theirs
And I have my own!

Sixth, My fifty years of life have given me some understanding
In some areas of life
And I feel happy to share some of that with others sometimes

Seventh, I’ve realised the value of art, creativity, and writing in my life
I know now why I need to write, why I want to write, why I have to write!

I think seven reasons are enough
Although I think there are more reasons
Why I like being fifty!

The more years we live
The more accumulation of experience and knowledge we can have
If this translates into wisdom and compassion and deeper faith
How can that ever be bad?

Turning fifty has been wonderful
I feel comfortable in my own skin
Life has not been easy always
But then challenges are necessary in life
I’ve been fortunate in so many ways
I am thankful for the good and the hard times
In hind sight, the hard times have taught me more
Getting up after falling down has made me stronger
I still feel quite fragile sometimes
But being sensitive is alright!

I accept who I am
How far I’ve come
And I look to the future
With an open heart and an open mind!

Lida Berghuis
September 22nd, 2014

Valley of sadness…

Sep15

When a crisis visits, big or small

When the storm is relentless, will not stop…

Take a deep breath and feel what you feel
Every feeling should be welcome

But when the intensity of feeling gets hard to bear
Try to be gentle with yourself
Get busy doing something that cheers you up or
Lend a helping hand to a friend

Get outside of your world
And enter someone else’s life
Many people are suffering
Suffering doesn’t discriminate at all…

Sometimes little things or big things will get you down
You will enter the valley of sadness for a while
But if you keep walking and don’t stop
You will walk through the valley and eventually walk out!

The valley of sadness, can be hot and dry
It will challenge your endurance most times
But there is always an end if you persist
The secret is to hang in there and not give up!

Crossing the valley of sadness is much easier, of course
If you have good friends and a supportive family by your side!

Lida Berghuis
September 15, 2014

The ocean of life…

Sep12

I see the ocean of life
Sometimes calm
Sometimes tumultuous
Sometimes wild

But life goes on
Despite the ups and downs
Despite the storms that come
Despite the times that we think we will not survive

We are resilient
We will survive!
The ocean will return to calm
And we’ll be so glad we persevered
Didn’t give up

The ocean of life
Beautiful!
Dangerous!
Deceivingly serene at times!
Unnervingly turbulent at times!

But life goes on
Despite the changes and chances
Despite the sorrows and challenges
Despite the periods of grief that seem to not want to end

Hope and faith
Friendship and love
These are the things that help us navigate the ocean of life

Lida Berghuis
September 11th, 2014
Inspired by a composition by Leon Alatif

Chaos and order!

Sep4

Order to chaos
Chaos to order
That seems to be the cycle of life!

After chaos, order comes into being
But order can only last so long
Before it’s time to grow again
And chaos arrives to destroy the order that exists
To prepare the way for a new order, and calm!

When one is in one’s comfort zone
Life seems more pleasant of course!
But comfort never leads to growth!

Growth comes from the disorder of struggles
And challenges that may seem insurmountable at times!

Chaos and disorder, not comfortable
Not what we love
But oh, the results can be wonderful
If one persists long enough
And learns the lessons they teach us

The building needs to be destroyed
Before a new one can be built
An old idea must die
Old habits must be let go of
Old patterns replace new ones

Often, it’s after the dust has settled
New lessons learned
New thinking adopted
New habits formed
That one realises what the chaos was for!

What was thought of as misfortune
Can be seen as grace
What was painful
Can give rise to joy!
Illness can lead to clarity
Blocks in the road can lead us to another path

One’s best laid plans can come to naught
What emerges instead though
Can be a marvelous surprise!

Lida Berghuis
September 4th, 2014