Tag Archive | Life

The dance of life

Jun12

From the desert sun
To a rainy clime
To a land covered with snow
It seems like I’ve experienced it all

From the restrictions of tradition
To smelling freedom in the air
To being able to express my feelings and thoughts

From a shy girl in Shiraz
Too serious for her age
To gradually opening up
And making laugher a part of my life

From relative ease
To the violent storms of life
Interspersed with sun

From thinking to feeling
From science to art
From hesitation to creativity
From black and white to all the shades
In between in life
It’s been and eventful journey

Sometimes I still feel the insecure
18 year old in me
Many times the need to please
Still overtakes me

Have I changed and grown?
I have!
Have I stayed the same?
I have!

Have I been battered and bruised
I have!
Have I been showered with grace
I have!

And what do I see at this point
In my life
As I look back
As I look forward?

That life’s challenges will always be there
But the sun always comes out from
Behind the clouds

That being in control is an illusion
That change is a constant
That happiness is in appreciating the simple things in life
In helping others
In nurturing our talents
and in drinking deep the beauty of art

From the desert sun
To rain, to snow
I’ve experienced a lot
I’ve started over many times
I’ve laughed
I have cried

What the future brings
Remains to be seen
But I’ll try my best
To remain thankful and content
And greet each day with open arms

Lida Berghuis
June 10th, 2014

The human condition!

Jun8

 

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Emotions all bottled up
Though the surface is serene
But there is sadness
That’s hiding deep within

The human condition
The human emotions
Can grip me in their clutches
Sometimes they squeeze and squeeze
And breathing becomes harder

At such moments
I feel like throwing away my heart
It’s the only way to stop the pain
The only route to respite

But sadness is part of life
Confusion is part of life
The only thing that brings us peace
Is reliance on God

That’s easier said than done
The ego does not want to let go
Of the illusion of control that it has
Cultivated over time

We tend to forget we’re not so powerful
A breeze can blow
And set us off course
And life can change dramatically
For better or worse

But perhaps worse is not so bad
If we learn the lessons we need to
And better is good
But it won’t last in this world!

The soul’s journey in this life
Full of ups and downs
A smooth road this won’t be
I’ve come to realize

There is a lot to be thankful for
This we should not forget
Our blessings we tend to ignore
If the ego has its way

Don’t have all the answers
My emotions at times rough me up

But I’ve learned that friends
Can be saviors during the trials of life

June 6th, 2014

The passage

Apr27

The sky rained tears of sorrow
The volcano spewed lava the colour of blood
The grief was unbearable
But I had not choice but to carry on

To carry on
Till life returned
To carry on
Till smiles came back
To carry on
Until laughter reigned
To carry on
Till a new journey began

And this passage
Through the corridor of pain
Was the most severe test

The support of friends
What I needed and what I got
To be able to stand the pain
And carry on

And now the horizon
Is clear and bright
The sun is here
Darkness is gone

Acting happy, feeling sad*

Apr13

A brilliant smile on my face
Only if I felt like that inside
Too hard to share my pain with others
I put on a happy front

Acting happy, feeling sad
Acting like everything is fine
What you see on the surface
Does not reflect what’s inside

Acting happy, feeling sad
Cannot share the turmoil within
Too much to explain
What would I say?
It’s easier just to smile

Acting happy, feeling sad
An actress in my own life
But the script was not written for me
I’m writing it as I go along

Acting happy, feeling sad
Feeling unauthentic and unreal
Tired of putting on a show
There is no joy in this smile!

Lida Berghuis

*This poem was written a while back when I felt down.
It can apply to other situations in which we hide
our true feelings from others.

Cups

Jan19

 

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Cups
Containers
Purveyor of that which quenches thirst

Cups
Full
Empty
Half way done!

Cups
Decorated on the outside
A life story inside

Two cups
A friendship
Nurtured over conversation

Two cups
Sharing the load
Lightens the load of life

Two cups
Two minds
Two hearts
Can better withstand
The trials of life

Lida Berghuis
January 14th, 2014

Love is blind!

Dec23

Why is the path to true love
Fraught with dangers, thorny paths, and mountains high?

Why do we have to suffer so much
Even when we find the one we love?

Why is the world of emotion so complicated?
Why can’t we design a computer program for love?

Make a spread sheet of pros and cons
A logical way to judge what our heart desires

Why aren’’t computers smart enough
To help us with this complicated equation called love?

Why do pain and joy intertwine
In this crazy thing called love?

Why can’’t we just live as monks and nuns
That way we wouldn’t have to worry about love!

There is a yearning in our hearts
We need love
True love is like water
To the thirsty one

We are drawn to the lucid spring of love
Even as a thirsty one wondering in the desert of life
Once we see the face of the beloved
It’s imprinted in our hearts

All the reasoning in the world
Is unable to change our mind
Love does blind us
To the loved one’s faults
Others will tell us this or that
But we are not sure what planet they are from!

Our heart longs to be with our loved one
Our heart only sees the beautiful qualities
Of the one we love

We would swim an ocean or desert cross
Without a thought
Without a doubt!

The people who love us try to tell us
To be careful not to drown, not to fall!
Sometimes we listen, sometimes we don’’t
Love is blind, after all!

But true love stands the test of time
This love doesn’t die because of trials
One can lose battles, but one wins the war
To be united with the loved one

This thing called love
For which blood has been shed time after time
This magical force
Is one we can’’t live without

The path never easy
But worth the fight!
Without love
Life would not be worthwhile!

Lida Berghuis
February 2nd 2004

The many colours of courage!

Dec22

Courage comes in so many shapes and forms
For some, it’s in chasing a storm
For some, it’s in fighting a worthy fight
For some, it’s in singing their song

Courage comes in many colours too
Black for daring
Brown for persevering
And gold for feeling worthy!

Courage!
Be fearless I was told!
And yet I thought
I had some courage before
But as we grow
Our courage also needs to grow

Courage to be who we are meant to be
Courage to share our gifts
Courage to remove the mask of pretense
Courage to remove the veil of fear

Courage to see the signs
Courage to listen to our guides

Courage to live our dreams
Courage is what I need!

Lida Berghuis
April 26th, 2010

A more compassionate view of ‘mistakes’!

Dec1

The word mistake has negative connotations
I like to think of mistakes as choices we make
Choices that have their consequences
But can lead to better understanding

We make choices based on the knowledge we have at the time
Based on our understanding at that point in our lives
And since our understanding is always limited
And can grow all of our lives
We are bound to make choices that don’t give the desired result

We call them mistakes
But without them
We can’t expand our knowledge
And learn more about ourselves
And the world we live

And when it comes to making a choice
we sometimes hesitate
We agonize
We procrastinate
Because we are afraid to make a mistake

I have done that!
I’ve stood at the fork in the road
Stared far too long
Agonized far too much
Afraid of choosing the wrong path

But now I know
That the only thing I can do
At the fork in the road
Is pick a path based on what I know
At that point

I’ve learned that what we call
The wrong path
Is just a path
A path that will lead to
Better understanding

I’ve learned that after what we call mistakes
Life goes on
If we fall, we will get up
We are resilient!

And to expect the desired outcome
Every time we make a choice is absurd
I’ve learned that what we call mistakes
Are a necessary part of growth!

Lida berghuis
December 2nd, 2103

Feeling dial!

Nov25

Why do I always feel so much?
Why can’’t I be numb once in a while?
Why can’’t I shut down my heart
To the pain and sorrow that’’s around?

Not feeling is not the answer
Feeling numb does not make sense!
But feeling less may be OK
I think I need a feelings dial!

But a machine I’m not
And I don’t have a dial
I am who I am
And I have to accept it all
Accept my strengths
And my flaws

This world is not made
For perfect people
But for those who will try
And those who will strive

Strive to be better
Strive to serve
Strive to learn
And not give up

Not give up
In the face of calamity
In the throws of pain
Not give up
When the going gets tough
And the walls come up!

So I’’ll live my life
With its tears of sorrow
Its laughter and fun
I’’ll feel what I’’ll feel
I’’ll accept it all
Don’’t have much choice
So said a friend of mine!

Lida Berghuis
August 23rd, 2007

Mistakes?

Nov17

Life is full of ups and downs
The road is never smooth
Detours lurk here and there
Unpaved roads everywhere

I used to think that for some
The road was smooth most of the time
That is was my road that was so hard

I used to think if someone seemed happy on the outside
They were happy all the time

I used to think that my suffering was unique to me
My struggles only mine
I used to wonder why me
Why now…

Now I know all the obstacles were blessings in disguise
Now I know that there is no such thing as a smooth road in life

I used to think there is only one way to do things right
I used to feel paralyzed at a fork in life
What if I made a mistake?
What if I chose the wrong way?

Now I know all I needed to do was to make a start
There are many roads that lead to the same place
And sometimes we need to go the wrong way to find the right one!

I used to think
What if I make a mistake?
What a giant waste of time
But now I know that mistakes are essential parts of life

I used to think I knew what’s best for me
That I was usually right
But I now know that I’m here to learn with an open mind

Lida Berghuis
November 14th, 2013