Hello again! It's been a little while since we've chatted. But that's okay. I'm sure you've survived drinking tea with a little peace and quiet. Speaking of peace and quiet. I thought I'd share some ideas about safe spaces.
Now first let me preface that I don't know everything about safe spaces. What I do know has come from a friend and some research. Let's start with a definition. My Google dictionary says a safe space is: a place or environment in which a person or a category of people can feel confident that they will not be exposed to discrimination, criticism, harassment or any other emotional or physical harm.
It's just what the name implies; I guess. I would relate it to a safe room in a person's house. A person might go there to avoid a catastrophe or an intruder. I would think some places should also be considered safe places; maybe your attorney's office, doctor's office, therapist's office. They take oaths not to reveal your confidences. So why not consider them safe spaces?
Most of the research I've found likes to talk about safe spaces at schools and especially colleges. That concept is a little foreign to me. So let me talk about a time I needed a safe space and we can compare the situations.
Back in the late seventies I was in upper elementary school. And I suffered with my share of name calling and bullying. Come on, who didn't? And you couldn't always run home to mommy and daddy for help. It just wasn't convenient. But the thought of asking for a safe space was laughable. In fact, there were probably people who needed one more than me. I had my charming sense of humor to help me. Not really! I was just as dorky as everyone else. But one time I created my own safe space. And in the spirit of helping anyone who might need a safe space, I'll tell you my story.
I lived on a little street in Springfield, MO back in my younger years. I was probably in 6th or 7th grade. I didn't know it at the time, but maybe people called it a rough part of town. I don't know. It was home. Around the corner and on the corner lived a family of really tough kids. I won't mention any names, but they didn't like to play nice. I'm not sure what I did, but one summer day I did something that didn't make those tough kids happy. And they were out for me. I needed a safe space and I needed it quickly. I hopped on my bike and headed home. Running inside wasn't going to help. Those kids knew how to knock on the door and ask for me. What did I do instead? I made my own safe space. I dropped my bike in the yard and high tailed it up a tree. I was safely hidden in leaves of the tree as I watched those kids come by my house looking for me. I was still in that tree when they got bored and took off.
Whew! My only problem was how to get down. Dang it! That's always been my problem with tree climbing. It's so much easier to get up than it is to get down. But I made my own safe space. I was protected from physical and emotional harm in that tree. So let's remember that life is hard, but we can make our own safe space. The seventies weren't that bad, in fact I think we might have learned some creativity in those days. Let me know what you think.
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