Tag Archive | healing

Loneliness

Jan12

Isolation and loneliness
Like a cancer spreads
The effects are gradual and invisible at first
But eventually manifest themselves

Isolation and loneliness
Don’t seem so harmful at first
But over time they do damage
To our souls and hearts

Isolation and loneliness
Not how we are meant to live
Independence is over-rated sometimes

Contact and compassion what we need
What heals
A smile, a warm touch
A healing medicine

‘How are you doing, are you all right’
Shows we care, helps us connect
Sometimes this is all it takes
To rescue someone from the grip of awful thoughts
Sometimes this is all it takes
To give someone hope to go on

Isolation and loneliness, weakens and saddens
Contact and helpfulness, heals and gladdens!

Lida Berghuis
January 11th, 2015

Behind the mask…

Dec15

inukshuk

In our lives
We wear various masks
To appear ‘normal’
To look ‘happy’

So many people wear the mask of ‘normal’
That we feel we will stand out if we don’t
So many of us put on a show
That the show appears to be reality

But so often behind the mask of happy
Hides an injured heart, a despondent soul
Someone looking for love

When one of us takes off the mask of perfection
Admits to having challenges, needing support
It’s easier for someone else to do the same
And if this process happens enough times
We will feel less inclined to hide
Hide our true feelings
Hide our distress
Hide what’s bothering us
Pretend we’re fine!

Lida Berghuis
December 15th, 2014

My laughter does not age!

Oct6

 

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Are you fearful of getting older?

Not if I’m learning my lessons as I go
Not if I’m contributing to other people’s joy
Not if I’m doing something useful!

Are you fearful of getting older?
Not if I can look at the world with wiser eyes
A more compassionate heart
A twinkle in my eyes

Are you afraid of getting older?
No, since my spirit does not age
My laughter does not get old
My smile is as young as ever!

Yes, my body may not heal as fast as before
But perhaps my spirit can heal faster
There are wrinkles here and there
But why look down on wrinkles
They are the sign of a life well-lived!

So, let’s not fear aging
Let’s celebrate a life well-lived!

Lida Berghuis
October 6th, 2014

Joy and sorrow!

Aug24

Is this a world of joy or a world of sorrow?
Sorrows for sure!
Because our human condition necessitates it
Without the fire of trials we can’t be purified!

Joy also!
Because too much sorrow would drown us
In its continuous downpour

Joy is a necessity
A respite
A healing balm
An oasis in the desert of life

Sorrows have their purpose though
They will be the bringers of joy
In time, sorrow begets joy, eternal joy!

Lida Berghuis
August 23rd, 2014

Healed by poetry

Nov15

Poetry heals
How, you say?
The same way music uplifts you!
The same way a piece of art intrigues you!
The same way a song speaks to you!
The same way a story moves you!

Poetry
Is communion with the ‘Divine’
Poetry is sacred
That’’s what I’’ve been taught

Rumi, Hafiz, Tahirih
Nourish my soul with magical words
Words like diamonds
Priceless and pure
Words like rain
Wash my pain away

And when I hear a poem I need to hear
It shakes me to my foundation
Truth is revealed
Growth occurs
Someone has touched my soul!

Poetry
The instrument of the Divine
Complex issues
Are laid out

Poetry heals
Poetry guides
Poetry uplifts
Poetry defines

Lida Berghuis
April 26th, 2010
Inspired by ‘Saved by a poem’

Beauty revealed!

May6

Beauty revealed!

The purpose of art if any needs to be stated
Is to bring beauty into our world
Or to reveal the beauty that exists!

Beauty inspires
Beauty heals
Beauty eases the suffering
That is inevitable
In life

Beauty soothes the soul
And calms the heart

Beauty elevates and
Bestows joy

Beauty vivifies and
Energizes

Beauty makes hope blossom!

Lida Berghuis
May 6th 2013

The magic of poetry!

Mar23

 

 

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Sometimes we search for our identities
Especially if we are transplants in society

Born in the East
Bred in the West
I used to feel somewhere in between!

I felt at home in the West
But I was not sure
What to do with my Eastern roots
Eastern and Western
We are all one
But it took me a while
To reconcile these two parts!

It started when I began to read
The ‘translated’ poems of Rumi
The West made this Eastern jewel accessible to me!

For the first time I was really drawn to poetry!
This was not any poetry
It was mystical, and touched my heart!
It helped me understand!
It helped me heal!
It helped me see things more clearly!

Perhaps poetry is the great equalizer
It lets us know that we all have the same struggles
The same questions, the same fears and doubts
And we all need to love and be loved!

Perhaps poetry is all about love
Love for the Divine
Love for our fellow man
Love for the noble beings that we are

And then I put pen to paper
And wrote down my thoughts, my feelings
My experiences in life

Writing poetry was healing
Somehow feelings that were bottled up inside
Were allowed to slowly flow out!

The Western me and the Eastern me

Mingled and

The  poems were the result

 

Lida Berghuis
March 23rd, 2013

I have been there

Jun17

I have been there
Where you are
It’s probably hard to believe
But I have

I bet you thought
You were the only one
Who had discovered
This desolate place
This arid ground

I have been there
Not long ago
And when I was there
I was like you
I thought I was
The only one
To have found my way
To this strange
And frightful place

I have been there
Where you are
I understand the loneliness
The hopelessness
The powerlessness
The pain
And the sorrow
Of this almost inhabitable ground

Yet I persisted
Even when I thought
I couldn’t any more
Somehow I convinced myself
To carry on
Because the alternative
Was even worse

And I’m here
To sing my song
To let you know
That you will survive
You will finally find your way out
Of this land
This quagmire
This deep valley of misery
This arena of trials

I have been there
Where you are
And I hope
I can convince you
To persevere
To tolerate the pain
Of being lost

Because one day
The light will shine
And whether it’s through
The help of a friend
Or a loved one
Whether by new insight
Whether by the healing medicine
Offered you
Or steps you take
To find your way out
You will leave this dejected place
And you will bring with you
Some wisdom
An unexpected gift of insight

And you will learn
Not to hate that place
Because struggling and pain
Are part of life
And our teachers
Should we choose
To ponder the mysteries of life

The D-bomb

Apr23

People drop the F-bomb
much more often than
the D-bomb!
Don’t you think?

Why is depression
This ten letter word
Treated with more disdain
More suspicion
More stigma
Than four letter words?

Could it be that because like the
C-word, cancer
We associate it with
A dark and dreary condition
That often doesn’t have a cure?
And even that is changing
Now-a-days…

Is it because
Depression conjures up
Images of crying for days on end?
Being in bed for
Hours at a time?
Images of hopelessness
Helplessness
And all the things we’d rather
Not think about?

It is because se associate
Depression with a weak will
A defect of some kind?

Is it because we call it
A mental illness
And that conjures up
Images of patients in a
Psychiatric ward
Dulled by medication
Isolated and unwanted
By the rest of us?

I think it’s all of the above
And some more

Perhaps it’s because once someone
Conquers depression and feels good
They rarely talk about it
And share their victory

Perhaps it’s because
We don’t hear the stories
Of beating the blues and the
Transformational changes that
Can occur while dealing
With the challenges it brings

Perhaps it’s because
It takes courage
To share
To be one of the first few
Who brake the silence
Drop the veil
And let others know
That depression
Is as treatable as any other thing
It’s not one’s fault
Not a sign of weakness
Not a terminal illness
Nor a tunnel of darkness
Without end

The conversation
Is starting though
And I’m happy to add my voice
To those who have seen the darkness
And made their way to the light

Lida Berghuis
April 15th, 2012

My part!

Apr14

 

I used to pray and hope for
A letter from God!
With clear instructions
In legible handwriting please!

I used to pray and
And wait for a miracle
Ones that would erase
My problems with ease!

What I failed to realize
Was that prayer was a means
Of empowering me to
Find ways to grow and change
Find new ways of doing things

I assumed that change would happen
On its own
By the grace of God
My role was somehow left out!

I had to learn that
Problem solving starts with me
Examining the way I thought
Acted and lived

I had to learn
That self knowledge
Would lead to understanding
Understanding to doing things differently
And that would lead to healing

Why I left out this crucial part
I don’’t know
Perhaps because it required effort
Perhaps because I didn’’t realize
That in my own hands lay my destiny

I had to learn that
Inner change happens slowly
There are no quick fixes
Nor short cuts
But slowly and over time
The process gathers momentum
And there is no stopping it

I had to learn that
Once I took the first hard step
And saw some success
Taking the second step
Would be easier
And soon I’’d be walking
With much less effort
On the path that leads to
Understanding and healing

I had to learn I couldn’’t
Do all this on my own
That I needed guides
I needed friends
I needed those who would
Support me on the way
To a new understanding

Now I still pray
But I know I also have my role to play

Lida Berghuis
April 14th, 2012