Hi friends!!
Sorry I missed you last week, I was very much distracted with readjusting to being out of a hotel room and onto the streets of Adelaide!
Let me catch you up...
It's been 10 days since I completed my mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine, after crossing the border from Melbourne to Adelaide to get back to training. To be honest, my quarantine stay wasn't as bad as I had anticipated and I actually found it quite relaxing to have no responsibilities for 2 weeks, other than not walking out my door. I was spoilt with love and support from my beautiful family and friends, which also contributed to a positive experience!
Nonetheless, it was exciting to be set free and reintroduced to society. Being on the ground level again was odd, but even more strange was the fact that everyone here seemed to be living life very much as normal- which was a stark difference to life back home. There was not a mask to be seen, and every man and his dog were out and about getting coffee and walking along the beach on Sunday morning.
The sunlight on my skin has been wonderful and social interaction reinvigorating, albeit slightly overwhelming. I've spent my days settling in to my new accomodation, reacquainting myself with the training facilities, and touching base with friends in Adelaide. One thing diving has certainly blessed me with, is having friends in many cities all across the world, ready to catch up as soon as you are in town.
It did, however, only take me a few days of being distracted with settling in, to already miss home- and the comfort of my familiar environment. Thankfully, I have been chatting with a wonderful friend this week who reminded me of the process of readjustment.
"Readjustment takes time, and our instinctive reactions also take time to balance out and accept the changes and see them in their positive ways too."
Truth!
Our brain's don't like when things feel unfamiliar, and so the instant reaction is to avoid or run from those situations. I'm a creature of habit, and after many years of hopscotching around the country, I crave consistency and stability these days. Unfortunately, the world had other ideas this year and there's no choice but to keep adapting to a changing environment. My initial resistance to change this time around is slowly weakening, and with my goals at the forefront, I have to keep tabs on my mindset, and most importantly my wellbeing!
Overall, I have really enjoyed being back with my coach, and slowly getting back to training. Especially the gym, where I am working to regain a lot of the strength I lost over isolation. I know there will be bumpy roads ahead, with no real idea of when i'll be able to just jump on a plane and go back to Melbourne, but I know it's all part of the journey, and right now, this is the best place for me to be for my diving. I'll just keep putting money in that resilience bank!
Stay safe, and keep smiling.
Til next week, Belle
