Scars become part of us
And define us
Most times they tell the stories of hardships overcome
Scars upon our souls are invisible of course
But they have stories too
We walk around with visible and invisible scars
Sometimes we forget they’re there
Sometimes we relive old times
One thing’s for sure
We all have scars
Maybe we can learn to acknowledge them as parts of who we are
Not look at them with disdain
But as rungs of a ladder we climb
August 1st, 2017
Sometimes, life seems unfair
Those who are honest
Don’t succeed
Those who lie brazenly
Get away with it
But do we ever consider the soul
Of the one who lies, cheats and climbs
Do we ever think of how they
Will be remembered
When they die?
Can they bring their power
And fortune with them?
I wonder if they’ve heard of Karma
The repercussions of our actions
Will be felt when we journey on
This world is an illusion
Reality awaits us
July 27, 2015
There is something about the familiar
Which is very comforting
No introduction necessary
Old feelings come to fore:
A box of Persian sweets from Iran
Brought by my cousin
Sent by my aunt
Takes me back to my visit to Yazd
I pick up the Sohané Ardi
And gently take a first bite
As it melts in my mouth
My senses take me years back
When one spring
My father, mother, brother and I
Drove to that part of Iran
My first memory is of gazing at the sky
Dotted thickly with luminous stars
So many stars that the sky seemed white
The endless dessert around us
Dust on the road
Dust in the car
The wide streets of Yazd
The numerous bakeries in town
Seeing pashmak* being made
Smelling the sweets all around
I take a second bite of Sohan
A feast for my taste buds
Now comes the memory of Naw Ruz
When we used to live in Iran
Where our Haft Seen table was prepared with love
The family visits
The sweets we ate
The shirini** my mom baked
The love we shared
And now…
The Haji Badoom, Baklava
Nane Berenjy and Sohan
Cause these memories to flood my mind!
Lida Berghuis
April 4th, 2010
Written after receiving sweets from dear aunt Badri
*pashmak is a Persian sweet resembling
cotton candy
**shirini is sweets in Persian
Sometimes you just have to sit with the feelings you feel
They can’t be explained or reasoned out
They can’t be banished from your mind
They can’t be ignored
The only thing you can do is accept them
You have to walk through them, not around them
July 17, 2017
I travel to meet people who are living a different life from mine
I enter their lives for a short time and having exchanged thoughts, ideas and feelings, I depart
Sometimes it will be years before I see the same people again
Sometimes I’ll never see them at all
It’s a short intense relationship
A connection of the hearts
And the fact that I won’t be with these friends for a while, seems not to matter
I don’t know why!
July 14, 2017
Amsterdam
Rediscovering my homeland from afar
Sometimes I feel like a tourist in my own town
There are also things I’m discovering for the first time
Technology makes this possible now
I travel to my place of birth everyday
And hang out with my friends
I learn about them and their experiences
There is good and bad everywhere
And there are challenges there as there are anywhere else
What I’m experiencing with my friends
Which is special though
Is an openness that’s new to me
My friends accept me as I am and
I feel a sense of belonging
I missed this feeling in my childhood
The feeling that I could share all that was dear to me
There was always this barrier between us
A divide in understanding
Time and distance, and new experiences
Have removed this barrier
And in some ways now, in a land far off
I feel closer to my countrymen
June 26th, 2017
Who is the inner child we speak of?
The one who has a sense of wonder and awe?
The one who is innocent and honest?
The one who laughs and giggles?
The one who is creative and fearless?
Yes, all of the above!
Our inner child has all these qualities
That may become veiled over time
Layers of responsibility, sorrows and challenges faced
Can cover the face of our inner child
We can become jaded
Disappointed
Forget to dream and
Become our own worst enemy
When we set limits for ourselves
We can become over cautious, conventional and
Look back at our childhood with nostalgia
Some of that is normal and necessary, but
We have to guard against
Looking backward instead of forward
We need to continue to see ourselves
As agents of change
Plan new adventures and
Fulfill old dreams
Hanging out with those who honor their inner child is very helpful
We can inspire each other to see possibilities instead of road blocks
We can nurture our friendships and build strong bonds of camaraderie
We can look at the period that remains of our lives as a crowing event, a farther climb
Our inner child is still there
It may be hidden under some veils but we can remove those veils and bring those wonderful qualities back into our lives
July 30th 2017
When your long held ideas about something
Begin to change
When light starts shining through the blinds
When you reconsider how you thought about things
Because pleasant surprises come your way
You feel a newfound joy
You feel lighter
How we feel and think about things
Is not carved in stone
And even if is
The passage of water
And the flow of ideas can change it
And if that change leads to greater unity
What a blessed change it is
July 25th, 2017
Stay calm like the depth of the ocean
Pay no attention to the waves above
Trust, serenity, assurance, optimism
Approach life with open arms
Some days will be chaotic
Other days too long
But don’t lose sight of the blessings
And opportunities that abound
The world looks dark sometimes
And we wonder how
There is so much cruelty and ignorance around
Why haven’t we learned to love our fellow man
No matter where they come from
Why have we created these divisions
Why can’t we cooperate instead of fight?
Aren’t we all the children of God?
Why do we think we have the monopoly
On being right?
The age of isolation and division has passed
We can’t turn back the clock
Women are sharing their talents and strengths with men
Holding them back, an outdated idea
We can achieve more with cooperation today
We are so dependent on each other now
Diversity and co-existence is the order of the day
On our own we can’t survive and thrive
May 20th, 2017
Healing the wounds of the past
And making sense of trying episodes in my life
Needs reflection
I need to sort out my feelings
I need to express them
Sometimes I grapple with the same thoughts over and over
Sometimes I repeat the scenes in my head
But eventually I get to a place of calm
Where I can let go of the negative feelings
Understand that this episode
Was a chance for me to test my metal
To learn new things
To better understand reality
Yes, it was frustrating
Yes, it reeked havoc in my life and
My patience was tested again
But I weathered the storm
And emerged from the other side
With new insights
June 12, 2017
lida's musings 