Tag Archive | hope

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

Cold comfort

Jun23

Everyone tells me I’ll be fine
I’ve been here before
And I’ll get out again

I believe them, sort of…
But that doesn’t ease the pain
The challenges I’m facing now are ever present
I’m still in the battlefield being battered and bruised
The fact that sometime in the distant future
This will be all over is cold comfort!

Yes, I’ll be fine
But what about now?
How am I to endure this pain
That won’t let go of me
How am I to smile
Knowing that tomorrow will be the same
And victory is in the distance

Nevertheless I have to find reasons
To keep hope alive
I rely on my friends
On prayer, on art!

The journey is long
There are not that many signs to
Show me the way
I walk with a heavy heart
With indescribable sadness
Feeling incapacitated
My energy drained
My laughter silenced
My mind foggy
My flow of words slowed to a trickle
My surroundings grey

It’s cold comfort to know that
Nightmare will be over when one is
In the midst of one
But human beings are resilient
We can always find reasons to go on!

Lida Berghuis
June 9th, 2014

Perking up!

Apr8

Perking up!

Perking up
Very slowly
Sunshine is returning to my life
The Winter was long and towards the end
Blue, the color of my mood
And gone was my smile

Energy left me
Laughter disappeared
I was not in a happy place

Sometimes hope returned
But the cold and dark days persisted
And my mood did not change

The glimmerings of spring are here now
Snow is melting
It’s warmer outside
My mood is finally changing color
It’s on its way to rosy and bright

April 8th 2014
Lida Berghuis

Castaway

May24

 

beach

“The castaway’s worst mistake is to hope too much and do too little”*

Feeling depressed is similar to
being stranded on a boat in an ocean
with no land in sight

Every day is the same
The challenges are the same
The fears are the same
The limitations are the same
The questions are the same
Why am I here?
What happened?
How am I supposed to survive this?
Who is going to rescue me?
How long will this agony continue?
When will this nightmare end?

Floating on an ocean of negative thoughts
Dark clouds of hopelessness surround you
Sometimes it pours misery
Sometimes the heat of trials is unbearable
Sometimes you feel numb to all feeling
And all the while you wonder how to go on

The loneliness is intense
No one to console you
No guarantee that the rescuer
Will arrive in time
Or that you will find your way
Out of this maze
Sometime

The mistake is to rely on hope only
To choose patience over action
To count the days
Till someone comes

The mistake is to think
That the only thing that brings you joy
Is the sight of land

Salvation lies in realizing that
Some of the answers lie within you
Your actions will determine your fate
Praying is appropriate
But so is taking a stand!

Salvation is in problem solving
When no solution seems to come to mind
Salvation is in not giving up
No matter how many times
What you thought may work proves wrong
Salvation is in taking small steps each day
Steps to help you stay afloat a little longer

It’s no picnic
No walk in the park
But giving up is not an option
Persistence and action is the answer
To finding a way out!

Lida Berghuis
May 24th, 2013

*Life of Pi

I thought I could not!

Feb20

I thought I could not
But I did!
I thought I would crumble and fall
but I did not!
I thought joy was gone forever
But it returned!
I thought the night would never end
But morning came!

I thought all hope was lost
And the reason to live
Had become hard to find
I thought this time was different
And I would not survive

I thought I had come to the end of my rope and could not take another step
I thought life was unfair
And I’d suffered enough

I thought I had reached my
Threshold of pain
And continuing would only
Bring more of the same

But despite all that
Hope gradually returned
Suffering eased
And I smiled again!

Lida Berghuis
February 20th, 2013

When

Feb8

When colour seems to have
Drained from your world
When all you want to do
Is stay home
When you’ve tried to shake it off
For the thousandth times
When you think you can’t go on

Don’t despair
Hang in there
There’s a way out of
This tunnel of gloom
Don’t give up
Keep searching
You’ll be able to smile again
Soon

Your patience will be tested
Many times
Your prayers seem to fall on deaf ears
Sometimes
Progress can be slow
But be assured
In this battle
You’re not alone

Many people have been
Where you are
Many people are willing to
Help you out

When heavy chains seem to
Weigh you down
When you live life in slow motion
Most times
When everything you need to do
Seems like a giant task
When creativity seems like a
Thing of the past

Don’t despair
Don’t give up hope
The first step is to reach out
And let someone know!

Lida Berghuis
January 31st, 2012