I was reading recently about a hospital that had repurposed a room for staff during the covid pandemic and renamed it “The Wobble Room”.

It contains soft seating areas, facilities for making drinks; a notice board and white board for messages.  And provides some essential space for staff to retreat from the frontline and regroup.

“The phrase “when all this is over...” is much in evidence on the messages written on the board.

Staff are able to find their own quiet corner, or a friendly face to talk to or a shoulder to cry on.

Put like that, it made me think that, in many ways, the therapy space can often be described as “the wobble room” for a lot of clients.

But it also got me thinking about those times, particularly over the last few months, when I too have needed my own “wobble room” or at least some “wobble space” to retreat away from the frontline of events in my life and in the lives of those around me.

And then, of course, it seems very evident to me, that a “wobble room or space” really is an essential part of the process of life whether you are a client or therapist.

For some, this might be a cup of tea in the kitchen with a close friend or relative.  Though even that has not been always possible in lockdown restrictions.

For some of us, it might be a whole room, or even the process of our own therapy whether that’s a physical room or zoom.

Personally, I have a comfortable chair in the corner of a bedroom.  Space to stretch out.  A large plant by my chair, a shelf for my mug of tea, and a view of the forest through my window.

At various times, that chair has provided space to sit and reflect.  Space for meditation.  Space to cry.  Space for journaling.  And space to talk to treasured family members by phone, skype and zoom.

It gets me away from the hurly-burly of a very visible life and work at the front of my house in a busy residential community.

It gives me space physically, emotionally and mentally.

And most of all it gives me space and time to wobble.

And we all need a bit of that in our lives.

How much wobble room do you make space for in your life?