A swimming pool is undoubtedly a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to swimming with my family this summer in our pool. It’ll be the first year that our twin son and daughter are able to go in our pool. They just turned a year old and we didn’t want to expose their delicate skin to the chemicals last year, as well as too much sun.

But pools are also a lot of work. Opening them, adjusting the chlorine, pH levels, and making sure the water is both safe and clean to enjoy can be tricky. A couple of years ago when I opened the pool for the first time, it was an absolute nightmare. We moved into this house and the pool came with it. Great addition to the home and for our growing family. The problem is, the pool had been let go and the previous owners didn’t take very good care of it. So needless to say, when it came time to open it, it truly tested my already small amount of patience.

This year also hasn’t been easy. It amazes me how the smallest amount of algae or leaves can keep the water from being that beautiful and inviting blue color. You can dump chemicals into the pool day after day, but until you get the debris out, the water will continue to be cloudy.

This has reminded me a lot about my own life. I can allow things and certain people into my life, and they can take what was once something beautiful and turn it ugly. I can allow outside influences to turn the water murky or cloudy. No matter what I introduce into my life to clean things up a bit, if I continue to allow those influences, unhealthy actions, or toxic people to remain, things never really get clean.

Another lesson I learned, especially this year, is balance. I can dump a lot of chlorine and shock into a pool, but if the pH is off, I won’t have clear water. There must be a balance or everything is thrown off and I won’t reach my desired result. The same is true with each of us. There must be a balance. You know how it goes; you can spend hours at the gym every week and be in the greatest physical shape of your life, but be the most miserable person on the planet. Your emotional, mental, and spiritual health can be so far out of whack, that what you’re doing physically for yourself means little to nothing. You must have balance within all aspects of well-being in order to really be healthy.

Simple lessons from opening and maintaining a pool, but important and valuable lessons as they pertain to life.

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Thanks for taking a moment to read. Drop me a comment and let me know what you think!