A few of my favorite things
What makes me happy are simple things
Reading, writing, talking to friends
Laughing and being silly sometimes
Walks with Albert
Hugs from my kids
Early mornings
Sitting in the sun
Learning new things
Meeting new people
Traveling
Nature walks
Flowers
Beautiful things and
Art!
Lida Berghuis
July 11th, 2013
Confusing, because
It is unexpected
unexplainable
Often times unreasonable
And impractical
Joyous, because
It makes you smile
It cheers your heart
It gives meaning to life
Confusing, because
It often does not make sense
It’s complicated
It involves trials
Joyous, because
It brightens your day
Makes you feel wanted
Gives you wings to fly
Confusing joy
Is what love brings
And what welcome confusion
It is!
Lida Berghuis
July 8th, 2013
*quote from Rumi
Sometimes I need to escape
The clutter of my thoughts
The chatter of my to-do list
The routine tasks of life
And let myself float
In that etherial space
That has no name
I have to quiet my mind
Open my heart
And listen to what is normally
Drowned by the noise of life
I have to go that placeless place
And wonder a while
I have to read words that inspire me
Write what comes to me
And get lost in that place
I can’t describe
All I know is that
I return from that place
Feeling refreshed
Feeling calm
Lida Berghuis
July 10th, 2013
When it pours
Dance in the rain!
You can complain
But dance instead!
When life gets busy
Take one step at a time
You can get overwhelmed
But count your steps instead!
When confusion reigns
Just relax!
You don’t need to know
All the answers right now!
One step at a time
Dance the dance of life
Sometimes slowly
Sometimes quickly
Sometimes with grace
Sometimes awkwardly
Dance in joy
Dance in sorrow
Dance your worries away
The secret is to hear
The music when others may not!
Lida berghuis
June 28th, 2013
We hesitate to show our flaws
We hesitate to ask for help
We want to appear strong!
But is that real?
We can’t be strong all the time
We can’t do everything on our own
What we think will make us look weak
Is what makes us seem normal
Normal is being weak sometimes
Normal is falling down
Normal is needing support
Normal is having flaws
Showing vulnerability
Requires trust
One must feel loved
And know that that love
Does not depend on
Appearing perfect or strong
Showing that we are fragile
That we break down at times
Builds bonds
Bonds of friendship and love
It allows others into our lives
Everyone has scars
And imperfections
It’s our choice to show them
Or not
But these imperfections make
Us look real
Put others at ease
And gives them a chance to be strong
This is how we can build authentic friendships
Ones that will stand the test of time!
Lida Berghuis
March 14th 2013
Beauty revealed!
The purpose of art if any needs to be stated
Is to bring beauty into our world
Or to reveal the beauty that exists!
Beauty inspires
Beauty heals
Beauty eases the suffering
That is inevitable
In life
Beauty soothes the soul
And calms the heart
Beauty elevates and
Bestows joy
Beauty vivifies and
Energizes
Beauty makes hope blossom!
Lida Berghuis
May 6th 2013
“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
Try to enjoy life
What seems of huge consequence
Will wash away like a sandcastle in time
Look at the positive
The negative will always be there
Looking at the sunny side
Will bring light and warmth into your life
Don’t be too hard on yourself
There are many things you do well
We always need to improve
But with ourselves we must be patient
See what you have
Rather than what you don’t
Count your blessings
They are easy to ignore!
You may think you know
How things are or should be
But understanding life is not easy!
Things are not black and white
We realize we are mistaken many times!
What we thought we understood
Will suddenly seem all wrong
Confusion will replace clarity
A thunderstorm, a period of calm
Strength will leave us many times
But when we feel weak
We are learning to be strong
We will gradually realize the
Value of trials
Anger and confusion will be replaced by
Understanding and calm
The world has a way of teaching us
That we are very small
And to survive and thrive
We need sunshine
The sunshine of Faith and patience
And the heat of trials
Lida Berghuis
April 5th, 2013
We are raised to be independent
To accomplish things on our own
To stand on our own two feet
And that’s fine
But sometimes in the process
We forget that we still need
The love and support of friends
We forget that we need to be held
To be caressed
We need a shoulder to lean on
We need trusted friends we can confide in
We need to ask for help from time to time
That others aren’t so busy with their own lives
That they don’t have time for us!
That we are not a burden
When we reach out for a helping hand!
We forget how interdependent we are
We forget the value of true friendship
Sharing our thoughts and concerns with friends
Letting them hold us up for a while
Till we are strong again!
There is no shame in sadness
It’s not possible to be ‘up’ all the time
We don’t have to pretend to smile
If we are crying inside!
These are the things I had to learn
I had to learn not to be afraid to share my vulnerabilities
That moments of crisis come upon us all
And it’s during these moments
That our friends can be life boats
Rescuing us from turbulent sea of life
And I’ve learned that when I share
The stories of my trials
Others trust me enough to share theirs
And it’s this sharing that strengthens
The bonds of friendship
I’ve learned that to build genuine friendships
I need to be more genuine myself
To let the pretense of perfection drop
To share my sadness as well as my happiness
To reach out in times of trouble
To trust!
Lida Berghuis
March 28th, 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
lida's musings 