Words.
We started off with the word courage.
Then the next word was willingness.
Then after that the word was trust.
Then it was tenderness and then it was power.
The sixth word in the continuing series from the basket of words is going to be balance.

My reason for this is very simple.
When someone enters into a therapy setting they are often imbalanced in their thinking.
Recovery brings to us an ‘all or nothing’ thought process.
All black and all white with no middle grey area.
Instead of saying, “growing up we had a mixture of both good and bad” the person in recovery usually remembers only the bad.
There were no good times… ever.
Now sometimes that can be incredibly true but also sometimes there needs to be balance in remembering.
Dictionary.com tells us that balance is this:
mental steadiness or emotional stability; 
habit of calm behavior; poise and composure.
Learning the process of balance when one is doing any kind of recovery work is very important.
If someone wakes up and has a good day, an almost fun day.
It is perfectly normal to do that and one should not feel guilty because of those feelings.
Balance means, I understand what was over here, in this ‘pile of journal writings’…
and I also understand ‘what is in this one.’
It takes balance to be healthy.
To remain focused on the issues but also to rest when it’s needed and also work hard when necessary.
As a young mom like I was when I began this process it was impossible to focus only on the recovery issues.
There were meals to prepare and life went on whether I felt good or whether I was deep in a memory or not.
It took balance to do the recovery work in the office with my counselor then go home and put that ‘away’ till the next week when we could talk again.
In the middle of those days I would write and journal or draw pictures to keep the words and thoughts fresh.
Balance… was critical in the process of healing.
Without balance it is impossible to stay stable and steady when working on recovery issues.
The sixth word in this series of words is balance.
A wise woman recognizes when her life is out of balance and summons the courage to act to correct it, she knows the meaning of true generosity, happiness is the reward for a life lived in harmony, with a courage and with grace. Suze Orman