Summer evenings
Sitting outside
Bug bites
The hum of the air conditioner
The swishing of the sprinkler
The green grass
Sitting in the gazebo
My feet up on the table
Trying to soak in the moment
We are always doing
Rushing from one activity to another
It’s good to sit quietly sometimes
And contemplate
Or write
These days won’t last
Before we know it, it will be fall
Let’s live intentionally
Slow down sometimes
And give thanks
July 5th, 2020
These are days of isolation
Of social distancing
Of hunkering down
These are the days of slowing down
Driving less
Travelling much less
Returning home
These are unusual times
The world is going through a crisis
And geography and borders matter not
These are days of compassion for others and ourselves
Of the selflessness of those who venture out for us
The nurses the doctors and other essential workers
Who must continue to be out and about
These are the days of realizing
The level of our interdependence
These are the days of coming together
To look for solutions
These are the days of empathy
Of patience
Of evaluation
These days are formative days
The effect of which will last a long time
April 14th, 2020
We charge our phone battery diligently
But sometimes we forget to recharge our own!
I guess the phone batter warns us
50%… 40%… 25%…
Whereas our mental and emotional battery
Does not have a gauge
Often we wait till it’s too late…
In absence of a gauge
And because we often don’t pay attention
To the signs of tiredness and fatigue
It’s best to recharge regularly, every day
And not wait
Sometimes we feel guilty
Paying attention to our own needs
It feels selfish
But if we don’t take care of ourselves and crash
No one will be better off
If we don’t take care of ourselves
We may feel resentful
And do things half-heartedly
Whereas when our batteries are full
What we do will be done whole heartedly
In a world that seems to be spinning
Faster and faster
Slowing down and paying attention to
What gives us energy
Is harder than before
I’ve learned these lessons the hard way
I’ve ran out of battery many times
But sometimes it takes a fall
To make us pay attention to the path we’re on!
Why do I sometimes not listen to my body
And slow down?
Maybe it’s because I’m too stubborn
Too darn stubborn for my own good!
Maybe it’s because slowing down doesn’t seem fun
And I think I want to be ‘productive’!
Maybe it’s because I don’t realise that
The crash is around the corner!
Maybe it’s because slowing down is hard!
Maybe going fast is addictive
Maybe slowing down seems boring
Maybe I’m impatient
Maybe I have trouble sitting still
Maybe my mind goes into over-drive
Maybe … all of the above!
But maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on myself
Change takes time
And as long as I’m striving, it’s all fine
Maybe I will eventually learn to slow down…
Maybe the hundredth time is the charm!
Lida Berghuis
August 18th, 2014
The journey of life is not a smooth road trip
Detours seem to sneak up on us everywhere
Bumps appear all along the way
Sometimes all our energy goes into climbing a hill
That does not seem to end
Sometimes we find ourselves careening down a hill
At breakneck speed
Perhaps one of the hardest things in life
Is to find balance
To know when to slow down
When to keep going despite bad weather
And how long to drive before coming to a stop
Finding balance requires getting to know oneself
One’s limits
One’s strengths
One’s gifts
It requires audacity to be different
To stand out
It requires the courage of one’s convictions
When others think we are wrong
It requires wisdom that comes
From facing the challenges of life
Finding balance is a life-long quest
And like many other things in life
It’s about the journey and not the destination
Lida Berghuis
August 11th, 2014
Green Acre
Moments of contemplation
So rare in our lives
We run run run
Do, do, do
Try to keep up with
Who knows who or what!
Daydreaming becomes a thing of the past
Concentration and productivity is where it’s at!
But what is the purpose?
What drives us so?
What are we trying to achieve
With our lives?
Even when we meditate
We are not supposed to contemplate
Never understood that
Or the concept of the empty box
That place that most often men go to
So I hear, when they want to get away from it all
It’s good to sometimes just stare out the window
Take in what’s going on
Instead of staring at our phones
Which we even do when we have to stand in line
Serenity has left our lives
It seems to be mostly do or die!
And that’s why I write
To get lost in my thoughts
To take a break from the rat race
And to nourish my soul with moments of stillness
And solitude!
Lida Berghuis
October 2nd, 2013
If you run too fast
You can’t tell what’s real
You pass by what’s real
Because you are in too much of a hurry
To go somewhere
If you run too fast
The rose will blur
The scent will not reach you
In your hurry to go somewhere
If you run too fast
You can’t contemplate
To contemplate
You need to meander
Take in what’s around you
Meditate!
If you run too fast
You may miss the entrance
To a secret garden!
If you run too fast
You won’t know
What’s real!
Lida Berghuis
February 15th, 2013
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