I don’t know if I should answer this from a physical or emotional perspective.
Physical safety seems a little obvious, so maybe it would be more thoughtful to go with the emotional side of things.
So, what makes me feel emotionally safe? Or, what is it about another person that makes me feel like the relationship is emotionally safe?
-I’m a pretty sensitive person, so I want the other person to be gentle and kind.
-I hate, hate, hate to have my motives negatively assumed, so I want the other person to assume the best, and if they have concerns, to ASK me instead of telling me what my motives are.
(Do not explain me to me, thank you very much! No one except God and me truly knows what is in my heart.)
-If someone shares in both my joys and my sorrows, then I feel that they are in my corner, and that makes the relationship feel safe.
-If someone is not easily offended, that makes things feel safe. I feel like I have to be super careful around someone who is easily offended, for fear of “stepping in it”, so to speak. That’s like navigating a minefield, and no one thinks of a minefield as safe!
-If there is both give and take in a relationship, that feels safe. In a relationship where the other person is just taking, taking, taking, I tend to feel unvalued and un-cared-for, which makes me prone to putting up a wall.
-When someone is steady, that makes things feel safe. If someone is unpredictable, then I am prone to having my guard up, preparing for a possible negative encounter.
When I saw the title prompt, the first thing I thought was, “Having a lot of food on hand.”
And there you have my priorities in a nutshell. 🙂
Taking it from a physical sense… Light. As a woman, I’m still often uncomfortable being out by myself in the dark.
Very interesting! I feel so much like you do, but really hadn’t been able to put into words. Sort of “I know it when I see it”.
This is interesting. I had an encounter today with an in-law, someone I try very hard to have a good relationship with as she is married to my son and it’s very important to me. But she both jumped on me and negatively interpreted my motives, and reading this, I have just realized that I have been trying so hard to be a safe person for her, but she doesn’t feel like a safe person to me. Hmm.
This made me think for a day.
Basically, I feel safe at home. My interpretation of “home” is been more or less the entire Great Plains, excepting cities which don’t make me happy at all; and I do also feel most safe in the place I hang my hat at the moment.
is, not is been
d’oh
Everything mentioned previously. Also, having a job that seems fairly secure, and a little money in the bank.