The one who laughs a hearty laugh
Has probably cried many times
True joy doesn’t exist
In one who has not suffered at all
Joy springs from understanding
From having endured difficult times
Let your laughter ring out
During times of joy and wonder
Let your tears fall when broken hearted
Laughter the sun
Tears the rain
Both are needed
In our life on earth!
Lida Berghuis
April 3rd, 2013
The trials and sufferings of life are the medium
The canvas, what we must find to reveal the beauty
That can come from the trials of life
The paint is not enough
Sadness does not translate by itself
Into a work of art
The canvas, what we much search for
There is work to be done
Habits to let go of
New understanding to emerge
Virtues to be developed
Wisdom to be gained
Then we will realize
The gifts sadness has brought
The paint it has provided us with
And we can use this gift
To make a beautiful piece of art!
The trials, the paint
Our understanding, the canvas
The work of art a testimony to our growth!
Lida Berghuis
March 27th, 2013
*Mark Nepo, The book of awakening
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
Sometimes I think I feel too much
Absorb the energies around me too much
Positive people lift me up
But negativity drags me way down!
Somehow I feel this life
Is not meant to be easy
It will always be a struggle
With brief periods of respite!
Struggling and learning is part of life
But I sometimes wonder where to get
The energy to carry on after having fallen down!
Sometimes I feel so fragile
I feel like a flower petal that can be crushed
Blown away
And rained upon!
Sometimes I feel I’m not strong enough
For the needs of this world
That my skin is not thick enough
To withstand the bruises and the cuts!
Struggling is part of life
Joy is part of life
And the things that keep me going
Are art, the love of family and friends
My faith, and the beauty I see all around!
Lida Berghuis
March 6th, 2013
All worthwhile things in life involve risk!
Can’t wait for certainty to take that big step!
Can’t analyze every angle
And be completely sure
Of the outcome of the decision we make
Can’t guarantee success!
That’s the element of risk
Or faith, perhaps!
At the cross roads of life
We can weigh the pros and cons
We can imagine where we may land
We can guess what each step may bring
But in the end
We take a risk
We choose a path
Not totally certain of
Where it may lead
It’s being comfortable
With uncertainty
Living for now
Because we can’t be sure of the future
No matter how much we plan
A road that seems to lead to a garden
May end up in a dry patch of land
A path that does not look promising
But compelling
Will lead us to undiscovered places
Unexpected places
Places beyond our imagination, at that!
So we can calculate
We can analyze
We may wish for a “certain return”
But life does not work like that!
March 17th, 2013
Lida Berghuis
“Surprise and challenge in
Heartache and joy out!”
I think this pretty much explains life
There are always surprises, big and small
What we plan does not work out
What works out, better than what we planned
Challenge is on-going like the waves of the sea
There is respite, but not for long
Heartache always visits us
But what we’ve got to do is to let go
Feel it deeply and let go
Accept it as part of life
Joy always returns and washes the pain away
The sun always returns another day
Lida Berghuis
March 9th, 2013
*Mark Nepo
“We break, bleed, and rearrange
Into yet another beautiful thing”
It’s the “friction of being alive”
That polishes the gems we are
A life of ease yields no fruit
The stone that is not polished does not shine
Lida Berghuis
March 8th, 2013
Love is not logical
Love is not practical
Love is not easy
Love is not convenient at all!
It arrives when it wants
It remains despite our protests
And doubts!
And it will be clear
Without a shadow of a doubt
That something extraordinary
Has happened
It can’t be ignored
Or put off!
Love is a journey
Not a destination to be reached!
The journey fraught with challenges
And road blocks
With joy and exaltation
With tears and laughter
With confusion and doubt!
But the one who stays on the road
Is not scared off
Does not give up
Reaps the rewards
And what are the rewards of love?
Joy and wonder!
Growth and the flowering of the soul!
A new lease on life!
And seeing the world
Through the rose coloured glasses of love!
Like the sun
Love is blinding
Powerful
And it can burn!
Like the sun
Love gives warmth
Sustenance
Brilliance
And life!
Like the sun
Love is essential
Has always been!
Love is not logical
It’s not practical
It arrives without notice
And refuses to leave!
Lida Berghuis
February 14th, 2013
In the journey of life
I used to seek instructions!
Maps!
Guides!
Sign posts!
Even letters from God!
To show me the way
Map the route out for me
Take uncertainty away
and change gray to black or white
I was afraid to take a
step forward
Lest I stepped the wrong way
I used to crave certainty
As if it was something
I would find
If I looked hard enough
Prayed long enough
Or contemplated long enough
But I’ve learned
Certainty does not exist
Cannot exist
That I won’t have all the answers
Before I make a decision
I won’t know what tomorrow brings for sure
And that’s OK!
I now feel that
There is nothing called a
Perfect path or the only right way
Steps can be traced back
Or side roads will appear
I feel that there will always
Be a place to land
Even if I step into the void
And just because
I don’t see the landing place
It doesn’t mean that
It does not exist!
Lida Berghuis
February 15th, 2013
*Mark Nepo
We can try as hard as we can
Read as many self-help books as possible
Attend workshops on relationships and communication
But our world will still be a messy place
Conflict will not go away
Pain will not disappear
Anguish will still come our way
Im not saying we should not try
All Im saying is dont expect perfection if you try
100% effort does not always result in an A+
Our world is imperfect
Even unjust
But we are resilient
We will survive
The image of a happy life being
A problem free life is for me no more
Problems are here to challenge us
Teach us, help us grow
Pain is unavoidable in life
Even those we love
We hurt sometimes
But we are resilient
We will survive
Ill try to relish the joys in life
Live with the pain
Accept that our world
Is an imperfect place
And we are the imperfect inhabitants
Doing our best!
Lida Berghuis
November 22nd, 2012
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