Common Scents
Scents can take me back to a time in life, person or place.
Each morning I grab a cup of coffee in our break room. I choose English Toffee... not so much for the flavor but for it's soothing scent. It reminds me of french toast which takes me back to childhood. Whenever I was ill, my mother would make me french toast once I started feeling better. It was something light, warming and filled the kitchen with the scent of cinnamon and butter. It's a reminder of being cared for and secure and makes the inner child in me giggle. It makes me feel comfortable and loved.
On several occasions, when I'm driving late at night, in sacred space or just thinking before bed, a scent will "visit" me. My father frequently "visits". When I've had a difficult time, feel low or need to feel a larger sense of purpose - he visits me. I can smell his scent very clearly and at the same time subtly. When he was living, we weren't very close. Sadly we only started to develop our relationship the year he passed, 1989. Though he's been physically gone from my life for some time now, his spirit remains and guides me. I feel him.
Much of my spiritual path has been with Ancestral work. Scent - essential oils, memory and nature (flowers, sea and forest) have been a constant ally in my work as well as a comfort for both my heart and mind.
Wishing You Were Here - Alison Moyet
I can't begin to tell you how it feels
It's a clear blue sky
Out here my heart so full it's fit to burst
Just counting the hours
Home, such a long way gone
How to share a day
Here's my only way
Send myself to you
Wishing you were here
I can't begin to tell you where I've been
It's a world behind
And if we are to find our heaven here
We just have to look harder
Now I can see you
I never could before
Now I wand nothing more
When I close my eyes
Wishing you were here
Home such a long way gone
How to share a day
Here's my only way
When I close my eyes
Wishing you were here
I can't begin to tell you how it feels
2 comments:
How comforting for you to have such a clear sign of your father's nearness. Scents have such loaded connections to our memories.
I enjoyed your writing a lot. Glad to see you've joined the sacred life project!
Thank you for this post! It reminds me of how special scent is to me as well. I remember a time, many years ago, when I'd made a life choice and ended up alone in an entirely new country. I was wondering what I had done, and why. I laid my head on the pillow in the hotel and it smelled just like my Grandmother. I knew I'd made the right choice then, and I was immediately calmed and comforted. Welcome to the sacred life project!
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