Engage Your Senses

For many years I relied pretty heavily on only one or two of my senses…my sight and my sense of smell. But my mindset has shifted as I age and I’m intentionally engaging all my senses. What a gift God has given us! The wonder of a sunset, the sound of waves on the shore, the aroma of fragrant flowers, the feel of silky baby skin, the smooth flavor of dark chocolate melting in my mouth. I hope you’ll enjoy the photos I’m including in today’s blog as I remember the sights, sounds, smells, flavors, and feel of my August vacation to the Pacific Northwest.

Flying into Seattle at dusk.

The intricate beauty of a flower

Close up of small shells stacking inches high along the waterway.

Pike Place Farmer’s Market – strings of chilies.

The silhouette of my nephew.

Under a restaurant pier in Poulsbo, Washington

Foggy morning in downtown Seattle

A sailboat floating by in the waterway.

 

A harbor in Poulsbo, Washington

Preparing flowers for my nephew’s wedding

Get up close or take a big step back. Big breath in, large exhale. Touch the texture of furniture, skin, upholstery, flower petals. Get quiet to hear the sounds of birds, insects, raindrops, distant machines. Get down into the grass to see each individual blade. Go to the top of the parking deck and look out over your world. Explore new taste sensations: chilies, chocolate, sweet, spicy, savory. Close your eyes and listen or smell what’s happening around you.

God has granted us an opportunity to enjoy so much more than we take advantage of. Engage all those senses – breath it all in.

Your Nose Knows

I have a cold. It isn’t horrible but my nose is either running or stopped up. It takes quite a strong aroma to break that barrier. Like Vicks Vapo-Rub – remember that stuff? Every time I smell it, I’m taken back to my childhood…when my mom would spread that goopy gel over my chest and on the bottoms of my feet. I don’t know if it helped, but the aroma was pervasive and brings back all those feelings of love and comfort from my mom’s nurturing care.

That’s the great thing about our sense of smell – the trigger of good memories whenever certain aromas hit our nose. I love the smell of freshly-roasted coffee beans and freshly-brewed coffee (taste too!). There’s nothing like the smell of warm cinnamon rolls, baking bread, peppermint ice cream, fresh cut wood, pungent orange peels, fresh cut grass, newly-turned earth, incoming spring rains, strawberry shampoo, freshly-bathed babies, and a first time you crack open a new book. This list is only a few of my favorite smells. Each one brings up a bucketful of great memories and good feelings.

For instance, every time I smell pine I’m reminded of a family vacation we took when I was 16. There were five of us, headed to Arkansas, in a pick up truck with a topper and no air conditioning. We had put an old mattress in the back so we could take turns sleeping, sitting or driving. My mom and I were driving through the night with the windows open, along the highway lined with majestic fir trees. The bracing aroma of pine filled the truck cab. I don’t remember our conversation but the smell of pine still gives me poignant memories of a happy time in my childhood.

Do you have similar smells that trigger memories? Sure, sometimes smells remind us of sad times too, but as the movie “Inside Out” illustrates, sadness isn’t bad…it’s an emotion we need to feel and embrace as much as joy or anger.

It’s kind of cool that we, as children of God, are to Him the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing…the fragrance of life to one group, the smell of death to the other. Through us, He spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. So we are the trigger of the Holy Spirit in the lives of others. Hope you smell good!

Take a deep breath! Learn to use all your senses to unleash feel good moments. Even better – start making aromatic memories for the future. If you need it, they still sell Vicks Vapo-Rub.