Feeling safe during these times.

You may have heard of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs being mentioned on social media over the last few weeks.  It explains what we need in order to survive, and how over these times, actually sometimes we just need to focus on the basics.

Feeling safe is one of these basics.  It can be very hard to think about a new career path, finding a new job, or even rewriting our CV, when our foundations are feeling very unstable and there are so many unknowns out there.

Talking on a group call recently, and we were discussing how we feel safe.  One of the ways just before lockdown for me was to fill my car up with petrol.  Ironic as we weren't allowed to go anywhere, but that felt right for me.  There would have been many reasons why people panic-shopped, but I can imagine for a large proportion it was around feeling safe, whether it was a conscious thing or not.

What can feeling safe look like for you?  On the call I mentioned, there was a real feel of needing to have a purpose helped people to feel safe.  I have one friend who has posted amusing things on his Facebook feed, and when I talked to him about it, he said it was to break up the tirade of fear and conspiracy etc that can sometimes collect there.  For others it has been connecting with friends, supporting neighbours or the elderly, for others, fundraising, whatever that purpose is, it has helped people feel grounded and safe.

Something else that came up on the call, was support, and being really specific with this.  Identifying those friends that we can call upon, others that maybe we can be distracted by and just have a giggle.  We may not ever need to call on them, but just identifying who they are, can be really helpful.

For me, its also around having a physical space.  A spot that I can go to and hunker down for a bit.  Do you have a spot at home, in the garden or local to you, maybe by the river or down at the beach, that help you feel connected to Papatuanuku and safe?

Maybe it is through meditation, yoga, other practices, that help you get out of the overwhelm of fear in your head, connect in with your body and soul, and feel grounded once more.

How about spending some time thinking about what it is for you, so not only can it become part of a regular routine, you also have it up your sleeve for those times that those foundations are feeling a bit unstable.

And one last thing, don't forget to put the team at the Taranaki Retreat down in your support crew.  Always here.

Author

Liz the Life Coach, who hangs out over here