What's My One Little Word?

Have you heard of the One Little Word phenomenon?  My daughter Ani first introduced me to the concept about a month ago.  An avid blogger, Ani read the blog of Ali Edwards who started the idea of choosing One Little Word to be "your word" for the year.  A word that you can focus on in your day-to-day; something to help you in your self-reflection/self-improvement.   Interesting idea, right?  I started thinking about what word I would choose.  And then with Christmas, and the birth of our grand daughter,  I forgot about it. And then in Chicago, of all places, my step-daughter's best friend and I were talking when she asked, "Do you read Ali Edwards' blog?  Have you heard about One Little Word?"  Since returning home, I have been giving some serious thought to what my word might be.

Some of my close contenders were the words believe, hope, and love.  But after thinking about my New Year's goals, I found the right word for me.  BALANCE.

I'm a busy person by nature.  My life is full, and I tend to throw myself into all kinds of projects.  I'm active in my church, our homeless outreach, being a mom (and now a new grandmom).  I'm trying to build my jewelry business and my artwork. 

I LOVE the fullness of my life; BUT more often than not, my life tends to get out of control.  I get too busy, too tired, too indulgent, too intense.  And it ends up lacking balance. 

In order for me to reach my goals for this year, my life will need focus on this important word. 
I am hoping that by owning this word and making it mine, I will be able to be healthier, and therefore happier.

Balance will help me to not be excessive (whether it comes to food choices, getting enough rest, over-committing myself, taking care of myself).  I am trying to balance vegetarianism and weight loss; exercise and rest; committing myself to causes that are important to my heart and yet getting enough rest so I don't burn out.  Balance.

So that's the word.  I'm going to try to check in once a month on this blog and let you all know whether my balancing act is working or not.  : ) 

What's your word?  I'd love to hear from you.  Let me know what it is and why you chose it.  If you'd like to learn more about the One Little Word, here is the link to Ali's blog.  And here's the link to Ani's blog: "Love Well Crafted" where you can read about her word, and also about her 52 soups project.