how comfort and safety support real family rest

How Comfort and Safety Support Real Family Rest

In today's modern life, rest and comfort have become a luxury. As we move through days filled with obligations and responsibilities, time for family and some alone time has drastically reduced. That's why it's important to stay connected and spare some time for your close ones.

Slower moments, like short trips and lazy Sundays, may contribute more than you thought. It all happens when you decide to slow down, at least once in a while.

Moreover, when you all gather around, deeper rest is allowed when you are feeling safe and prepared.

What Makes a Space Feel Calming

For starters, your home should be a place where you can completely turn off the outside world and chaos.

Decorating and adding your personal touch is just one of the steps. More plants, bright colors, and fewer screens will make it more welcoming. However, let's not forget that functionality and how you use your space are equally important. The layout you chose, and how practical it is, will make you calmer, as everything is in its place.

The moment you have a home you want to spend time in is the turning point to creating a safe space for you and for your family. As it is well known, stress is reduced when you step into your comfort and safety.

That's when you can fully open emotionally to others and self-reflect.

Comfort and Safety as a Shared Family Experience

Looking at other aspects, when you want to bond with your family, it's slightly different than when you look for time alone.

Although, yeah... there ARE a couple of tips on how to make it work and to enjoy it all together.

Gentle Boundaries Help Everyone Settle

Talking about boundaries, there's nothing bad or strict about them. They are just a tool for everyone to be more relaxed.

For instance, having a clear space in the corner of your living room is going to please your children more than expected.They would have a place for their toys that can easily be picked up and returned to their place. It also creates a sense of security, not only for children but also for parents, as it all comes from agreement.

Of course, we can't ignore that everyone should respect each other's spaces/demands. A great example of this is when you get home from a stressful day at the office, and then you need your 30 minutes in silence without anyone asking questions or having demands straight from the door -- we're sure you can relate.

Accessibility Creates Ease Across Generations

If you're looking to spend a bit of time with your grandparents, then planning activities can play a huge part.

This mostly has to do with the fact that you can't really expect your grandma or grandpa to play soccer with you or to go skateboarding with you for a bit. You have to plan out different (less invasive) activities, such as short walks or spending time in parks. All this supports (emotional) bonding.

When equality is met, it's easier for everyone to naturally take a step back and relax more.

Consequently, it'll lead to having more deep conversations and extended time, proving that being thoughtful for others goes hand in hand with taking care of yourself and your close ones.

Shared Areas Shape How Families Connect

There's no spending time together without shared space. Open spaces, such as yards and parks, feel more welcoming when there are more people than usual.

However, planning a trip together should also be an option. That’s because a shared space, such as staying in the same apartment, naturally leads to time cooperating and spending quality time.

When feeling comfortable and connected with your family, the next step is easing the quiet mental pressure – what if something goes wrong? One way to stay calm is by doing brief research and slightly preparing in advance.

Preparation Is Part of Feeling Safe – Especially When Traveling

In most cases, spending time in your city, home, and usual surroundings doesn't pose potential risks to catch family off guard.

On the other hand, when traveling, you should be more prepared for things going sideways.

Here's a quick scenario for you to imagine:

You're from Chicago, visiting your parents in Rockford.

Going from one of the most urban cities in the country to a slightly slower-paced town is a relief in itself. Spending time in a more relaxed neighborhood sort of invites you to spend more time outside. This has to do with the fact that (smaller) towns like that are MUCH more convenient (and safer) for children and older people.

Nevertheless, even though it's a quieter, safer town, people may be more careless due to having a more relaxed and social lifestyle, for example, you might let your guard down more often because in your mind you know that it’s safe. That’s a mistake. You can’t just let your kids go play outside unsupervised (if they’re too young).

Threats still exist. And if your guard is down, then those threats are more likely to affect you.

For example, you’ll see people walking their dogs without a leash. And even though the dog might be trained (most aren’t), they can still act unpredictably. The last thing you want on your hand while visiting here is looking for a dog bite attorney in Rockford simply because you let your kids go on outside by themselves and they decided to pet that cute dog while playing outside.

And then that dog decided that it wasn’t having it that day.

TLDR: A small bit of awareness/caution and traveling around fit well together. It’s important to rest and enjoy yourself, and not to constantly have to worry about everything.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, how you are feeling is most important.

Spending time in secure spaces and enhancing healing, as a form of rest, will deepen your connections with family and heighten your inner peace.

Living in a world full of rapid changes and threats is affecting all of us; in spite of that, taking a step back, creating a safe space for your close ones, is a crucial step for rest to come naturally.

*contributed post*