Tag Archive | Poetry

Courageous women

Feb13

IMG_3633 (1)

Courageous women
Breaking the mold
Taking the path less trodden
Going somewhere unknown

Courageous women
Breaking with tradition
When tradition did not answer
The questions posed by their hearts

Courageous women
Leaping out of the shadow of men
And Lighting the world
With brilliant light

Courageous women
Who didn’t believe in can’’t
Were not deterred by obstacles
Who dared to dream
Who dared to try

Courageous women
Spiritual giants
Powerful yet calm
Determined yet gentle
Persuasive yet mild

Courage can be quiet
Courage can be calm
Courage does not need to
Shout out

Courage needs no audience
Or praise or approval
Does not search for glory
Or fame or hurrah

Courageous women in the past
Courageous women of our time
Your audacity, our light, our guide!

Lida Berghuis
February 10th, 2012

When

Feb8

When colour seems to have
Drained from your world
When all you want to do
Is stay home
When you’ve tried to shake it off
For the thousandth times
When you think you can’t go on

Don’t despair
Hang in there
There’s a way out of
This tunnel of gloom
Don’t give up
Keep searching
You’ll be able to smile again
Soon

Your patience will be tested
Many times
Your prayers seem to fall on deaf ears
Sometimes
Progress can be slow
But be assured
In this battle
You’re not alone

Many people have been
Where you are
Many people are willing to
Help you out

When heavy chains seem to
Weigh you down
When you live life in slow motion
Most times
When everything you need to do
Seems like a giant task
When creativity seems like a
Thing of the past

Don’t despair
Don’t give up hope
The first step is to reach out
And let someone know!

Lida Berghuis
January 31st, 2012

Code of silence

Jan30

Why this code of silence?
What do we fear?

Why such stigma?
Where do we go from here?

Why does a word like depression
Scare us so?

Why do we feel ashamed
Powerless or both?

Why do we feel as if
It’s all our fault?

Why so many misconceptions
Enough is enough!

Depression has a cause
Like other diseases do

It also can be treated
If attended to

It’s not this strange, enigmatic affair
One is not doomed to years of despair

It can be debilitating no doubt
The danger comes from doing nothing at all

The first step is to break the code of silence
To change our understanding of what we call mental illness

Perhaps we need some new terminology
Something less outdated and scary

We need to talk
We need to understand

Knowledge is power
Let’s stop burying our heads in the sand!

Lida Berghuis
January 22nd, 2012

Smile

Jan26

IMG_1005

Smile and world will smile at you
Open your arms and the world will receive you

Radiate good thoughts
Good will come your way
Be generous
You will be rewarded

The positive vibes you send out
Attract goodness no doubt
The warmth you impart
Will be your own reward

We don’’t give to receive
We give because it brings joy
Give generously
And happiness will be yours

There is always weakness
And darkness if you look for it
Why waste that energy
No need for it

The most flawed person
Has something that can be praised
Focus on that
Leave the rest!

January 5th, 2012
Lida Berghuis

Stillness

Jan25

Stillness
Like the serene surface of a lake at Dawn

Stillness
Where words come from

Stillness
Where I seek refuge each time

Stillness
Where movement originates

Stillness
Where excitement comes to rest

Stillness
Where great ideas emerge

In my busy days
I seek the stillness of solitude

Daily life with all its demands and
Needs come to a stop

I go deep within myself
I connect to what’s out there.

Stillness feeds the soul
Stillness attracts thoughts
Stillness is essential

Lida Berghuis
January 20th, 2011

Easy to hide!

Jan21

It’s visible
And yet easy to hide

It needs attention
But it’s ignored

It can be treated
But it’s often not

It can be dangerous
If left alone

The treatment can be multipronged
But some modalities are frowned upon

Go to a psychologist?
Why? What’s wrong with me?
How can talking to someone else
Resolve this?

Take medication?
Out of the question!
What about the side effects
How can meds help me anyway?

Get out of the house?
You’re kidding me, right?
That’s the last thing on my mind!

Start exercising?
Are you joking?
I don’t even have the energy
To do the simplest thing!

Call on my friends?
And tell them what?
Everyone is busy with their lives

See my family doctor?
What can he do?
It’s not as if I have the flu!

All I want to do is as little as possible
I want to help myself
But it’s so hard
That’s why I do nothing at all

It’s visible
But easy to hide

It can be treated
But it’s often not!

Lida Berghuis
January 20th, 2012

The cliff

Jan16

The cliff accepts the wave
It does not fight the wave,
But it does not crumble

It does not get angry at the wave
It’s the nature of the wave to lash out

The wave is inevitable
Cannot be wished away

After the wave recedes
The cliff knows that the wave
Will be back

It’s not fearful
It’s not perturbed
It knows it has the strength
To face it again

January 11th, 2012
Lida Berghuis

Note to self 4: live and let live

Jan10

img_4219

 

Expect different attitudes and ways of thought
Don’’t judge and you won’’t be judged

Action speaks louder than words
No need to preach, to each his own

We each have different philosophies in life
Let’’s acknowledge that and move on
No need to change others
Or agree with everyone

Focus on the positive, laugh and smile
There’’s always something there
To cheer you up

Your armor of love and good will
Will protect you
See the good in everyone

Difficulties are not to be shunned
These things are part of life

Don’’t be surprised or perturbed by them
You are ready to face them

Live and let live, my thought today
Let go of hurt, grow and thrive…

Lida Berghuis
January 9th, 2011

Tidiness is overrated!

Dec12

What do the back seat of my car
My bedside table
My reading spot at home
And my coffee table
Have in common?

They’re strewn with books
And when I think of putting them away
I realize that that’s how I like them

My books are my companions
I read a few at a time
One at bedtime
One with my morning coffee
And one when I have extra time!

I don’t want to put them away
Because they grow on me
I like seeing them lying around
They’re like my recent history

Their beautiful jacket designs
Remind me of what I read
How I felt as I read the book
And of my friend
If they were given to me by a friend

Gradually, they become
A part of the furniture for me
How can I remove them?
They are also a part of me!

Lida Berghuis
November 2nd, 2011

Creativity and Freedom!

Dec11

 

“There’s a connection between creativity and freedom!”*
That makes sense!

To be creative
One must feel free from that which already exists

To be creative
One must create that which does not exist

Freedom from tradition!
Freedom from convention!
Freedom from the status quo!

Freedom from shoulds
Freedom from don’’ts
Freedom from must be sos

To be creative
One needs to be a rebel of sorts
Otherwise one will follow in the footsteps of others
And not create something new

Creativity and freedom
Such beautiful words
Such powerful words
Such harmonious words

Freedom to dream
Freedom to be
Freedom to open the doors

Lida Berghuis
December 3rd, 2011

*Walter Isaacson