Tag Archive | questions

On getting older…

Nov14

Perhaps getting older is about letting go
Letting go of the struggle to be right
The struggle to fix everything
The struggle to answer all the questions
One comes upon

Perhaps getting older
Is about seeing the beauty in life
and paying less attention to pain and heartache

Perhaps getting older is like mellowing…
The sharp edges of our personality having been smoothed
By the torrents of life

Perhaps getting older is gaining perspective
Wanting to give back
To give a hand to the next generation
Easing their anxiety
Answering some of their questions
Or helping them be patient enough to find the answers
On their own

Perhaps getting older
Is being a balm to others’ cuts and bruises
Being a shoulder to lean on
Being that warm voice that comforts the one
Who thinks all is lost

And if getting older is all this and more
I’m happy to be getting older too!

Lida Berghuis
November 5th, 2013

Why?

Aug23

Nothing to say
No urgent thought
Yet my wish is to write
Why?

I’ve stopped asking that question
Not everything needs a reason
Not everything can be understood
Curiosity is good
But if time after time
The answer eludes me
I let it go

Somethings are not understood by the mind
Somethings need to be accepted by our hearts

Wishing to understand everything
Limits us
My understanding is limited
So, I open my heart!

Lida Berghuis
August 23rd, 2013

Castaway

May24

 

beach

“The castaway’s worst mistake is to hope too much and do too little”*

Feeling depressed is similar to
being stranded on a boat in an ocean
with no land in sight

Every day is the same
The challenges are the same
The fears are the same
The limitations are the same
The questions are the same
Why am I here?
What happened?
How am I supposed to survive this?
Who is going to rescue me?
How long will this agony continue?
When will this nightmare end?

Floating on an ocean of negative thoughts
Dark clouds of hopelessness surround you
Sometimes it pours misery
Sometimes the heat of trials is unbearable
Sometimes you feel numb to all feeling
And all the while you wonder how to go on

The loneliness is intense
No one to console you
No guarantee that the rescuer
Will arrive in time
Or that you will find your way
Out of this maze
Sometime

The mistake is to rely on hope only
To choose patience over action
To count the days
Till someone comes

The mistake is to think
That the only thing that brings you joy
Is the sight of land

Salvation lies in realizing that
Some of the answers lie within you
Your actions will determine your fate
Praying is appropriate
But so is taking a stand!

Salvation is in problem solving
When no solution seems to come to mind
Salvation is in not giving up
No matter how many times
What you thought may work proves wrong
Salvation is in taking small steps each day
Steps to help you stay afloat a little longer

It’s no picnic
No walk in the park
But giving up is not an option
Persistence and action is the answer
To finding a way out!

Lida Berghuis
May 24th, 2013

*Life of Pi

If

Aug22

If you expect perfection
Don’’t come here
This is the abode of the imperfect

If you expect a smooth ride
Don’’t come here
This is the abode of challenges and trials

If you expect quick results
Don’’t come here
Only the patient will survive

If you expect rest and comfort
Don’’t come here
This is where one must strive

If you expect clarity
Don’’t come here
This is the home of questions and thought

If you can’t take pain
Don’’t come here
Pain is a part and parcel of this lot

If you aren’t persistent
Don’’t come here
Only the steadfast will thrive

This is the abode of the imperfect
The student, the one tried
This is the abode of joy and love
Where there are rainstorms and sunshine

Lida Berghuis
August 21st 2011