The basket of words continues.
I have shared and explored with you the words, courage, willingness, trust, tenderness, power, balance and change.
Now the eighth word of the series is Rest.

Dictionary.com says:
The refreshing quiet or repose (be peacefully calm) of sleep.
as in: a good nights rest.
Refreshing ease or inactivity after exertion.
Relief or freedom, especially from anything that wearies, troubles,
or disturbs.
A period of solitude, repose, tranquility:
as in: to go away for a rest.
Mental or spiritual calm; to be quiet or still.
Are you getting the idea yet?
After so much hard emotional work one needs to stop and take an emotional break and that will include finding rest.
Rest is so important and should be a gift to oneself.
To gain strength and gain hope before starting the next phase.
A big step for me in recovery was learning to not feel guilty
when I rested.
Within my journey process there were many physically sick days.
My body began to show the amount of emotion it took for me to stuff and store so ‘no one would see or know’.
I was extremely tired but many of my close friends had no idea.
It was deeply emotional and internally heavy work.
When doing this kind of healing rest had to be a part of the ‘process’.
My therapy day would start with a group then I would see my counselor then sometimes I would see a chiropractor.
Doing all this required me to take a day off of work.
In all honesty there were days when I would come home and go to my room to lay down.
If at all possible I would do what I could to shut down the memories or the affects of the therapy session.
Through the process of healing I learned.
It is not being irresponsible to allow some time for rest.
One cannot go further and keep reaching inward if the ‘spirit’ of the person is fatigued.
I learned that to rest was being kind to myself.
I learned that my family benefited from me being more rested.
We come to the basket of words and we search and we learn and we slowly realize that any emotional process is hard work.
Maya Angelou once said: 
I learned a long time ago the wisest thing I can do is to be on my own side, be an advocate for myself and others like me. At 50, I began to know who I was. It was like waking up to myself. 
Yes.
It is like waking up to yourself and finding a new you.
A healed you.
A stronger and more empowered you.
Allowing yourself the gift of rest also allows yourself the power to say the word NO.
Perhaps for the first time the one in recovery will realize it is healthy and healing
to say “I am tired today and I need to rest.”