Today I am in Madrid, Spain. It is the third city in just over a month that I have visited where some of my communication has not been in the native language of the place I am visiting and also not in English! Before I travel I want to make sure that I won't offend anyone by knowing nothing of the primary language of the place I am visiting so I make a concerted effort to learn at least a few words. This has been useful even if all I can say is hello, goodbye, thank you, and 'can you speak english?'

Surprisingly, in the last few weeks it is has been my broken, but good enough to be understood, Urdu that has enabled me to travel in cities with ease and communicate with a few key people to find my way around.

The pictures above are a sample of those that I took on my walk in Madrid. 

As I was travelling in the taxi from the airport to the hotel I am staying in Madrid I started a conversation with Adnan, the driver in Urdu. I am often asked where I am from and what I am doing in the place where I am visiting, when I said that I am ethnically Pakistani Adnan started to speak to me in Urdu. I asked him what life in Madrid was like. Adnan said that he had lived in many cities all over the world but there were two things in Madrid that made it special:

—it is safe, and

—it is peaceful. 

I explained to him that with some sadness I could not say the same thing about London. 

I wanted to test if Madrid really is safe and peaceful. I had some work to do today but had planned to spend a few hours walking to the Royal Palace and back in the mid afternoon. As I walked at a leisurely pace it felt strange being able to have my mobile phone in my hand without fear of it being snatched away from me. 

And there is sooo much open space and greenery — even the large main roads are full of trees and lush vegetation. That clearly contributes to the sense of peace and safety. 

And without wanting to become a representative of the Madrid tourist board I can tell you that it feels like a calming city... certainly my brief experience on a Sunday afternoon. 

It all got me thinking, imagine how life would be if we had safety and peace. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, the foundational principles that enable people to grow and utilize their human potential refers to psychological, safety, belonging, esteem, cognitive, and aesthetic needs with self-actualisation and transcendence higher in the ranking. 

According to Maslow's theory the foundation for personal and professional growth is psychological (peace) and safety. 

I know that the majority of people reading this are not based in Madrid, and even those who are may not always see the safety and peace that I experienced in my leisurely Sunday afternoon stroll... So if we are living in an environment where there is some element of danger and a lack of space to settle what can we do? 

I urge you to think about where you can find safety and peace within yourself. 

I have spent most of my life living in large urban metropolises. Every time I start to get a little overwhelmed or frustrated by something to do with the wider environment I am in — whether it be the crime rate, the garbage on the streets, or people being too busy to see their impact on you — I do my best to make a conscious effort not to fall into the trap of accepting that peace and safety have to be compromised. 

And sometimes our environment will be such that safety and peace are compromised. 

And then it comes down to a decision... 

Now, I am noting what is coming up for me as I write... 

— Where am I negotiating safety and peace? (Noting that they are not one and the same thing. Each has a distinction. And if we can have safety and peace then it feels like we've hit the jackpot!)

— What are my non-negotiables when it comes to safety and peace?

— What am I actually willing to give up to have safety and peace? 

And nothing is clear cut... a lot of this is contextual and also impacted by who we are thinking of/about.

I invite you to think about what creates and enables safety and peace for you.

What do you need more of, less of, and what is just right in your life when it comes to safety and peace?

How can you bring more safety and peace into your life? Even if nothing else changes.

Who might you create a little more safety and/or peace for? 

I'll leave you with that thought for this week. 

All my best,
Saiyyidah

The Space