Pilates Thoughtful Tuesday: The Sound of Silence

Morning light across Scottish fields and Athens streets reflecting life's unexpected journey.

I'm writing this from Athens, a city that was home for me for seven years. Last night there was the sound of neighbours talking, traffic moving through the streets and the city simply being a city. Life carrying on all around me. Then this morning I woke up and had one of those strange thoughts that seem to appear unexpectedly.

How lucky I am now to wake up in Scotland and hear absolutely nothing.

Years ago, I could never have imagined saying that. Back then, I loved the energy of city life. The people, the movement, the restaurants and the feeling that something was always happening around you. Silence almost felt uncomfortable because life was supposed to be busy.

Yet somewhere along the way, life changed.

Maybe we all believe at certain points that we know exactly who we are and what we need. We say things like, "I could never live in the countryside," or "I could never live in a city." Then time passes, experiences happen and priorities shift. Suddenly we discover we have become somebody slightly different.

I see this in Pilates teaching all the time. Clients often arrive convinced that they know their bodies. They tell us they are "not flexible", "not strong", "too old", or that "their body has always been this way." We all create stories about ourselves and then quietly live inside them.

Bodies change. People change. Life changes.

The movement that feels impossible today may become comfortable six months later. The habit you swore you would never change slowly disappears. The place you once thought you could never leave becomes a memory and the place you never expected to love becomes home.

Perhaps part of growing is not holding on too tightly to who we think we are supposed to be. Maybe it is simply staying open.

For me, this morning it was hearing absolutely nothing outside my window and realising that silence had become one of my favourite sounds. Funny really, because people spend years trying to create more noise, more activity and more things, only to eventually treasure a quiet morning and a cup of coffee.

Maybe change happens much more quietly than we realise.