If someone’s words hurt me
I’m supposed to forgive them instantly
My heart should supposedly
Not be offended by anyone
But these are very high ideals
And not easy to live by
Sometimes it’s good to receive a dose of humility
Sometimes it’s good to come back down to earth
There is a freedom in flying high
But you can also fall
December 13th, 2018
Reflections on wealth, looks and class
How far can wealth, looks and class take you?
Wealth is good but it’s here today and not the next
Plus wealth brings its own problems
There is always someone who is more wealthy than you
One can never say one has enough wealth
So, if that’s what we’re after, we’ll never get there
Wealth also puts you in a bubble of sorts
Everyone around you is the same
You’ll end up living in a world that’s not real
You can easily lose touch with the average man
And possibly your humanity
Good looks is Ok
But by now we know
It’s as impermanent as water colour
And as deceiving as fool’s gold!
Plus if what’s on the outside
Is not reflected inside
It’s no use
Good looks does not comfort you
Support you
Or encourage you
A kind heart is what does that
And that definitely does not depend on good looks
Class?
What is that?
How do we decide if someone has class?
For me the classiest things are humility
Generosity and empathy
This is what I would be looking for
The outward stuff tends to take the fun out of life
One needs to take oneself so seriously
Good looks are good only
If accompanied by a good heart
Wealth is good
If we use it the right way
If it doesn’t go to our head
If it doesn’t blind us to the rest of the world
If it’s earned honestly and with hard work
Class is good
If one’s actions are classy
Not one’s appearance only
No one wants a classy friend
With a cold heart
By themselves wealth, class and looks
Don’t amount to much
They are empty shells that will disappoint
In the long run
On the other hand
Kindness, generosity, humility and such
Add to wealth that can’t be taken away
Beauty that will never fade
And a classiness that is real!
Lida Berghuis
November 11th, 2015
Adversity is a blessing if we are able to look
With the eye of wisdom and see the gems hidden in it
Adversity is opportunity for growth
Adversity makes visible the invisible
Shows us what’s essential and
Guides us to surrender, humility, and acceptance
When faced with adversity
One can crumble and complain incessantly
Or one can decide to take an active part
In tackling the situation
Not running from it
Not hoping for miracles
Not blaming others and even God!
But resolving to see what can be learned
How best one can cope and to keep setting
Noble goals despite what may seem like
Unsurmountable limitations
Lida Berghuis
January 2nd, 2015
How is it that things we imagine have the worst timing in our lives
Become the blessings we never expected?
How is it that things we don’t plan
End up having the best outcomes?
How is it that we can be so mistaken?
Perhaps these things come our way to teach us humility
Humility of acceptance
Trust in the Universe
Contentment under all conditions!
Our ego fights a battle to death
And if we’re lucky
It’s the ego that loses!
Mysteries of life abound!
Learning is life-long
Humility is learned one trial at a time…
Lida Berghuis
July 20th, 2014
It’s a dam built up of who knows what
But the dam keeps my emotions at bay
I try to ignore my anxiety
I try to ignore my pain
I try to ignore the hurt of the past
And the anxiety, hurt and pain
Has nowhere to go
It’s blocked!
But by the grace of God
The dam begins to crack
And the power of the hurt, pain and sorrow
Having increased,
They break the dam
And out flows the torrent of tears
And pent-up emotions
The rush of tears is uncontrollable
The pain arises from deep within
The emotions are so powerful
I don’t remember having sobbed like this
In anger!
In frustration!
In sorrow!
The pain is almost unbearable
The roar of the water so loud
But perhaps when all is said and done
I will let go of expectations
The sense of needing control
And the sense of being responsible
For other people’s lives
I’m back at the gates of humility of acceptance
And trust in God!
Lida Berghuis
March 3rd 2014
“When the mind is quiet
We experience our spacious non-linear nature”
And access a sacred place
A place where the heart reigns
Where love is what counts
Where reason takes a back seat
Where what’s essential comes to the fore
A place where where we connect
To something greater than us
Assume a humble posture
And open ourselves to possibility
And greater wisdom
In a world where we need to know
To be in control
It’s a place where
We relinquish control
Ride the waves
And end up in places
We could not imagine
It’s a place that poetry can take us
It’s the place that poetry comes from!
Lida Berghuis
April 10th, 2013
*Kim Rosen
I always knew humility was not my forte!
There were times I felt very self righteous
I thought I had the answer to many questions in life
I knew I didn’t know everything
But I thought I knew a lot!
The confidence I felt
Came from not having lived long enough
To experience real pain and real suffering in life
I had not fallen hard yet
Unable to get up
I had not been brought to my knees by the trials of life
I had not been thrown into confusion
And questioned the fairness of life
I had not come to the point of questioning the point of life
Considering all the suffering it entailed
But life has a way of showing us how small we are
How mistaken we can be
How easy it is to break and lose faith
How hard it can be to get up again!
And perhaps that’s good
Because these are lessons
That can’t be learned the easy way
These are lessons
That require the sobering effects of pain!
Lida Berghuis
March 19th, 2013
I feel in life
I’ve been often led
Sometimes even pulled and drawn
Against my will!
What I said never to
Has come to be
What I thought would break me
Has built me up
Somehow I thought I knew best
Somehow I thought I should decide
The unexpected arrived
And inconvenienced me
I complained
I did not know why!
Why were my plans
Turned upside down?
When I expected to go left
Why did I end up going right?
My unhappiness came from the fact
That I did not consider
That I didn’t have the answers all
That I was in fact wrong at times!
Maybe I didn’t have the humility
To accept a different path
A better path
In the long run!
Maybe I looked at the short term challenges
And did not look far enough
Maybe I did not realize that experiencing
Discomfort was part of growing up!
Lida Berghuis
February 21st, 2013
*Mark Nepo
The humility of acceptance
What profound words
To accept our shortcomings
To acknowledge them
To live with them
And work towards overcoming them
Not to expect perfection
Because that cant be
But to seek improvement
Be as good as we can be
To know we have limits
And to respect them
To know we can break
If we dont acknowledge them
To accept ourselves as we are
Even during moments of weakness
To look for lessons we need to learn
To know we can be mistaken
To realize that growth
Can happen anytime
When one is an adult
Or a child
To face problems
Rather than run from them
To know we can succeed
If we try
To feel empowered to act
To have faith in goodness and kindness
To reach out to others
When were down
To have patience when
Something takes time
The end will come
It always does
The humility of acceptance
Comes with time
Comes with trials
It comes with battles lost and won
Lida Berghuis
November 5th, 2011
We are brought to humility
As we live our lives
The tests and trials of life
Do this for us
The bravado leaves
The arrogance starts to fade
Capital I becomes lower case i
There is no easy way
To tread this path
Easy does not give results
Don’t look for the easy way
If you want to go far
Humility is learned
One lesson at a time
The journey is long
And what is humility
What is this rare commodity?
Perhaps its knowing
Our place in the big design
Perhaps it’s knowing
How much we don’t know
Perhaps it’s letting go
Letting go of the ego
What does humility lead to?
Perhaps it releases us from
Needing to be right
Perhaps it opens our hearts
To new ways of thought
Perhaps it protects us
From the big fall
Perhaps it leads us
To a place of calm
Where we wont need to prove ourselves
All the time
Lida Berghuis
August 6th, 2011
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