Writers Prompt #09 — Safe Spaces

Where do you go when you need to be completely yourself? Where do you go when you want to feel at peace?

I spent many a childhood summer at my grandparent’s home in Sussex, England.

It was a classic, massive Victorian structure that housed many charms — my favorite of which was the largest back garden I have ever known. It was a magical place, exploding with flowers, trees, and vines, surrounded by hedges 10 ft. tall.

It was behind one of these hedges, beneath the shade of a willow tree, that I set up “tree fort” camp every summer, far away from grownup eyes and opinions.. I spent countless happy afternoons in my hideaway, listening to the leaves move with the sea winds, reading books, drawing, singing to myself, and plotting adventures with my toys and siblings.

Though I didn’t know it then, it was my first “safe space”. A place I could run off to, to play, relax, and be myself as I liked to be.

The house has since been sold, and the garden renovated — tragically stripped of its honeysuckle bushes and moss-covered rocks — but whenever I find quiet, peaceful places, my heart always remembers my hideaway.

So for today’s prompt: tell us about your safe space.

Where do you go to be alone with your thoughts, your creativity, and your spirit?

What does it look like? What does it feel like?

When do you feel called to go there?

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