We all know we need exercise. Some of us love it; we love to run or play sports or go to the gym and some of us are less keen.

I always hated PE at school and the idea of picking up a tennis racket for fun is utterly alien to me, but I do love walking and swimming.

For the past year, I haven’t been well enough to swim but now I’ve taken it up again. It was with some disappointment I found the pool where I used to swim has closed and the only other one is the council run pool.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very nice pool and I know I’m lucky to have a pool at all, but it’s different and it is taking some adjusting to. Here are some of the things that are different:

·   The pool is longer. This means that, while counting distance is easier as it is a 25m pool, I’m still getting used to that longer length.

·   There are many more people swimming, whereas there were usually only two or three in the other pool.

·   The lane swimming is divided into slow, medium and fast. I find I am faster than most of the slow lane swimmers but slower than most of the medium lane swimmers, so I must adjust my speed to match the person in front.

·   There are only three showers for the whole pool, so one must queue, shivering, for a free cubicle and then shower as fast as possible to be considerate to others.

·   The changing rooms and showers are unisex, so modesty is essential.

Most of these differences are negative and I would swap back to the previous pool in a heartbeat if it were to be reopened, but unless and until that happens, I must adjust.

Swimming up and down this morning, I was thinking about other things we adjust to in life.

·   We adjust to getting older and not being able to do the things we once could.

·   We adjust to ill-health and the restrictions on our activities that ill-health imposes.

·   We adjust to changes in our financial circumstances, to not being able to afford the things we once could.

·   We adjust to a move to another house or new part of the country or perhaps even to another country altogether.

·   We adjust to the loss of loved ones and start to live our lives without them.

·   We adjust to a change in job or to retirement and new routines.

It is a fact that to live is to experience change and that we must change too. It can be challenging but it’s inevitable. It can have a detrimental effect on our mental health, so learning how to adjust to change is vital.

I know some of you Moodscopers have had to adjust to the most enormous changes in your lives, so what changes have you experienced, how did you adjust to them, and do you have any tips or wisdom to share?

Mary

A Moodscope member