12/24/2025
The Quiet, Revisited: A Practice of Gratitude ~ Sue Parsley
There were seasons in my life when the house felt too quiet.
Not the peaceful kind of quiet , but the kind that echoed.
The kind that made you aware of what was missing.
The kind that carried a sadness I didn’t always have words for.
In those moments, I remember wishing for noise. For life. For evidence that I wasn’t alone.
Fast forward to today, and my life is full. Full of my adult children’s voices, grandchildren’s footsteps, conversations at the table, and the warmth of a loving partner and his family too . Full in ways I once quietly prayed for. And I am deeply grateful for all of it.
And yet… here I am now.
Sitting early xmas eve with soft Christmas music playing.
The house quiet again.
And this time, the quiet feels different.
This quiet feels earned.
It feels held.
It feels peaceful.
Yoga teaches us something subtle but powerful: everything moves in cycles. Breath in, breath out. Effort and rest. Sound and stillness. We suffer when we cling to only one side of the rhythm and forget the wisdom of the whole.
The quiet I once feared is now something I can cherish , because it’s no longer empty. It’s filled with knowing. With memory. With gratitude for the fullness that surrounds my life, even when the room is still.
This season, my practice is gratitude not just for what is present, but for the understanding that comes from what once wasn’t. For the reminder to cherish the noise when it’s here… and to honor the silence when it returns.
On the mat, and off the mat, may we notice the moment we’re in
and let it be enough.
I hope you enjoy some quiet in this season happy holidays from Lenox Yoga!
