Hello friends! I hope everyone had a great first week back at school! The beginning of the semester can always be a stressful time for everyone. So today, I thought we’d talk about something we recently discussed in my Trauma and Resiliency graduate class in the MA Art Therapy program; the safe place. 

The safe place, or happy place, is somewhere that you can easily access in your mind. It is used as a way to cope by focusing on thoughts, people, or places that evoke feelings of security and tranquility. It can be a real, physical place that you’ve been, or a fictional, made up place. As long as this environment makes you feel safe and calm, it is the perfect place for you. 

Personally, my safe / happy place is under the stars in Kenya. As you all know, I spent a portion of the last two summers serving in Machakos, Kenya. After a particularly long day, I would often find myself sitting outside at night when everything was quiet and staring up at the stars. There were so many, and it was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. 

This week in class, during our art experiential, we were asked to create our safe / happy place. I decided to draw a rough sketch of the night sky in Kenya. Later that day, I used acrylic paint on canvas to better illustrate what I was going for in my sketch. 

Well that’s all for today my friends! I hope you will all take a moment to reflect and figure out what your safe / happy place is! Next time you feel stressed or anxious, consider taking a mental trip there!