It takes a while to build it up
When your sense of self has been torn down
It takes a while to feel confident again
When your confidence has been shattered
It takes a while to laugh again
When your laughter has been silenced
It takes a while to get moving
When you’ve been stopped in your tracks
It takes a while to accept what was
When that thing is unpleasant
It will happen
But it takes a while
August 24th, 2018
Thankful to be feeling well again
Thankful to start teaching again
Everything has a season
And the season of sadness is over
It took a while
It was extremely hard sometimes
I would lose hope
I’d get frustrated a lot
I was unhappy to be in darkness again
I was tired of hanging in there
Summer came and summer left
My mood finally began to change
As suddenly as darkness came
One day it began to leave again
Still haven’t left it behind
Still processing this time
But I’m working my way back to me
To the confident, optimistic me
It will take a while
That’s normal
I’ll keep writing till all the sadness is gone
August 21st, 2018
Relaxing and enjoying my solitude
It’s been a while since I could say that
Now, silence is not filled with anxiety
Now, I can roam freely in the atmosphere of my thoughts
Now, writing takes me to my place of calm
August 17, 2018
Calm like the stillness of the lake
Calm like the quiet of the night
Calm like green grass of the meadow
Calm like the early morning breeze
Calm like the serenity prayer
Calm like a baby sleeping
Calm like the murmur of water
Calm like a soul at peace
July 9th, 2018
Morning pages
Write what you want
Empty your cup
Let your mind roam around and explore
There is no particular goal
Write about what has been
Write about what’s to come
Write about your hope and dreams
Just write
We all need to express ourselves
We need to be listened to
Your pages are your companion
Always ready to listen to you
Morning pages
Write what you want
Empty your cup
This is your gift to you
May 15th, 2018
A smile is a smile
No matter our race or class or nationality
Tears are tears
No matter where we are from
Laughter is exhilarating
No matter who is laughing
Heartache is painful
No matter the colour our skin
Hope gives us wings
No matter where we were born
Despair makes our days
Cloudy and dark
No matter how rich or poor we are
Kindness and a loving heart
Don’t depend on what we look like
Patience and humility
Come from inside us
Our essence
Our qualities
How we make others feel
And how we feel, emanate from and are felt by the spirit inside us
May 14, 2018
What do I do when I want to relax?
What do I do to get away from it all?
What do I do for me time?
The answer is simple: I write
Sometimes what I write is interesting
Other times, not so much
The purpose is not always
Creating a work of art
It’s emptying my cup
There is a calm that comes over me
When I write
I can’t explain it
Don’t know why
But that writing is one of my favourite things
There is no doubt
Give me a pen and paper
And a writing spot
Preferably in a coffee shop
And I’ll be happy and satisfied
Why expressing myself
Brings me joy, I don’t know
Why do I have this need to write
I don’t know
All I know is that writing gives me life
Refreshes my soul and cheers my heart
April 21st, 2018
Why is connection so important?
Why is friendship essential?
Why do we need good friends in our lives?
Because friendship is a reflection of love
And love is the essence of life
It’s what gives us life
It’s what sustains life
And it’s what makes life beautiful
A second book
Another essay on life
My life
With its challenges and trials
With lessons learned
With hope and optimism
Written with love
The collage of me
Is a collage of prose and poetry
The coming together of various experiences
And exploration of various cultures
Of Travel
Of connections
Of fellowship and camaraderie
It tries to answer the questions
Who am I?
And where do I belong?
It explores issues of identity and immigration
And the coming together of East and West
And the essential oneness of man
When assumptions I’ve held for a while
Are shattered
When the veil falls off
And what’s underneath is clear to see
It causes a little earthquake inside me
I have to recalibrate my understanding
The aftershocks come as well
It takes a while before all is quiet again
But of course the shape of the landscape has irreversibly changed
April 4th 2018
lida's musings 