Tag Archive | Poetry

What’s the rush?

Dec2

Faster, faster!
Better, better!
More, more!
But what if the destination
Is not well thought of?

Bigger, bigger!
Higher, higher!
But what if the concept
Is not a good one?

Sometimes we have to
Slow… down…
Come to a stop

And think about where we are
Where we are heading
What’s the rush?

There is no point
In going nowhere fast
There is no point running
Without a plan

So often we get caught up in life
Taking a step back
Can help a lot

Why are we doing what we do?
What is our ultimate goal?
Who are we trying to please?
What is it that makes us happy?

Whose race are we running?
Ours or theirs?
Who has set our goals?
Us or them?

So, let’s slow down
Let’s take stalk
Let’s reflect
Before we go on

Lida Berghuis
November 16th, 2011

The humility of acceptance

Nov28

“The humility of acceptance”
What profound words

To accept our shortcomings
To acknowledge them
To live with them
And work towards overcoming them

Not to expect perfection
Because that can’t be
But to seek improvement
Be as good as we can be

To know we have limits
And to respect them
To know we can break
If we don’t acknowledge them

To accept ourselves as we are
Even during moments of weakness
To look for lessons we need to learn
To know we can be mistaken

To realize that growth
Can happen anytime
When one is an adult
Or a child

To face problems
Rather than run from them
To know we can succeed
If we try

To feel empowered to act
To have faith in goodness and kindness
To reach out to others
When we’re down

To have patience when
Something takes time
The end will come
It always does

The humility of acceptance
Comes with time
Comes with trials
It comes with battles lost and won

Lida Berghuis
November 5th, 2011

Ode to facebook!

Nov12

To Facebook or …
Not to Facebook?
Perhaps the answer is not no or yes
It’s hard to ignore something
So ubiquitous!

Rather how much should I facebook each day?
To avoid getting addicted or perturbed?
And who should be my ‘friend’ on Facebook?
Who should read every update
And see every photo?

Pictures and words can connect us, of course
Keep us up to date and in the know
But should I put all my pictures on Facebook?

I’m impressed when people ask for information
And pose questions in their status updates
An interesting way to use their network of friends

But do we need facebook for
Relationship updates?
‘In a relationship’ can mean one thing to me,
Another to my ‘friend’
And what does ‘it’s complicated’ actually mean?
This one really confuses me!

‘Friending’ is fun
But when do I defriend?
How do I feel if I’m the one being
Defriended?

How often should I change
My profile picture?
In it, should I include my spouse
And my lovely children?

Do I have to ‘like’ someone’s comment
So they know it was read?
Do I ‘like’ the whole album
Or just photos of a friend?

Facebook like anything else
Can be used in different ways
And these are choices that we need to make!
And for good or for bad I am afraid,
Facebook is here to stay
My friend!

Lida Berghuis
November 11th, 2011

Mistakes?

Nov6

“Getting to what feels right
Often comes from things going wrong!”*

How true is that!
Been there, done that many times!

Why do we think we should have the answers
Right away?
Why do we see mistakes as a waste of time?
Why do we think of failure as final?
They could just be a new place, to start!

A choice is just that!
It has consequences of course
Consequences that we will like, or
Consequences that can lead us somewhere new

Those who succeed, fall many times
The secret is to have the strength
To get up each time!

Why are we so hard on ourselves?
Why do we expect success the first time?
There is no shame in turning around
Until we get to the place that feels right!

Lida Berghuis
November 2nd, 2011

*Oprah

Telling heals…

Oct29

Sometimes I wonder why I write so often
Why I tell the story of my days and share my thoughts
There are many answers of course
Today I read somewhere, “It’’s the telling that heals

When I talk of sorrow
Some of it leaves
When I talk of tests and trials
They acquire meaning
Sorrow is transformed into joy
Trials transform into lessons learned

Telling heals
That’’s why a conversation
With a beloved friend
Is the best medicine for me

Telling heals
Emotion is released
The story that was trapped within
And caused me pain
Can finally leave

So, I’’ll tell my story
And you can tell yours
To be healed
To be consoled

And next time you’’re listening
To a friend’’s story
You know that you are part
Of the healing!

Lida Berghuis
October 29th, 2011

To die and so to grow!

Oct22

To die to the self
To grow towards the beloved
To die
And therefore see with new eyes
To die
To let go of old habits and thoughts

To be born anew
Requires that we die
The egg needs to crack
For the chick to emerge
The seed needs to break
For the plant to grow high

Therefore, life is a series of deaths
Childhood dies and adulthood emerges
Our adult self dies
For the soul to be free
Death is never the end things
It’s only the path to the beginning of things

Death involves pain and suffering, of course
It’s hard to associate pain with growth
But once we’ve experienced a few beginnings, we
Can be assured of how things work

Lida Berghuis
October 2nd 2011

It can wait!

Oct18

Today
I don’t care what’s on my to-do list
Today
The phone calls can wait
Today
The errands and the chores
The decisions that need to be made
The bills that need to be paid
The laundry that needs to be done
Can wait
It has to wait
If I want to keep my sanity
It has to wait
Because I need a break
It has to wait
Because I’m not a machine
It has to wait
Or I will break!

Today I give myself permission
To do the things I love!
Today I allow myself
To be a child at heart!

Today
Is my day of rest
Today
I take responsibility for my health
Today
I’ll put the lessons I’ve learned into use
And I won’t wait till it’s too late
Today
I choose to play
So tomorrow I can get back to work again!

Lida Berghuis
October 18th, 2011

Perfect façade!

Oct13

 

When I hide my weaknesses
I give the appearance of being strong
But this appearance is false
And that strength is false!

When I share my weaknesses
And they’re there to be seen
Does that make me appear weak?
Or is it not more likely
That others will see themselves in me?
Not perfect and struggling

Is it not likely that my weakness
Will inspire a friend
To lend a hand
To give me a hug
To tell her own story
Of troubles and trials?

Where does this idea of ‘always strong’
‘always together’ come from?
Why do I need to appear together
And never fall apart

It’s my imperfections
That make me real
Perfection is reserved
For angels and saints
Not mere mortals
Like you and I

Afraid to show vulnerability
I used to hide my tears and fears deep inside
Now I know that it’s showing vulnerability
That strengthens friendships
Sharing hard times creates strong bonds
Now I know
Perfection is an illusion
We can’t always smile!

Lida Berghuis
October 13th, 2011

The maze of life

Oct6

We start at one corner
Seeking the goal
The way out
We make some false starts
But that’s a must

No perfect way to traverse the maze
Each one chooses a different way

Even though the destination
Seems to be the goal
Each time we make it
Through a maze
We will be invited to start again

No need to rush
Through the maze of life
Better to go slow
Meditate a while
One good move
Better than a few wrong ones

Once we’ve been through
A maze or two
We’ll see the pattern
Discover the groove

We’ll see the value
Of reflection and a slower pace
We’ll realize that there’s no hurry
To get to the end

We’ll focus on the process
Of getting there
Accumulate wisdom
On the way

The maze of life
Passes through desserts dry
Mountains high
Rivers that rush
And forests, lush
The secret is not to give up
When the going gets tough
Not to fear challenges and hard times
They are the most valuable times

The maze of life
Full of twists and turns
The one who designed it
Knew the secret!

Lida Berghuis
September 18th, 2011

The blessed shore of sleep

Oct1

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The blessed shore of sleep
I arrive there every night
And what a relief it is
To rest my mind

Often, as I put my head on the pillow
I smile
Knowing that I can leave daily life behind
With decisions that need to be made
The tasks that need to be completed
The emotions that need to be experienced
The feelings I need to let go of

Sleeping and dreaming
Like recess for the mind
A time to let go
A time with no agendas
No struggles
No musts

A time to listen to the voices
Of our ancestors
A time to travel to distant lands
And see with different eyes

And once the morning comes
I wake up
And I’’m ready to face another day
A day of juggling mind and heart
Knowing that sleep awaits
When my mind needs to slow down

Lida Berghuis
September 22nd, 2011