Writing my way through the A-to-Z blogging challenge, I’ve tasked myself with exploring the concepts of pronoia (the belief that the universe is conspiring to shower us with blessings), quiety (serenity) and peace – all through the lens of unusual, obscure, or simply delightful-to-me words.
M is for…
macrosmatic – having a good sense of smell
Earlier this week I returned from a week-long retreat in an area of the country that was already in full Spring bloom. When I left home the temperature was in the 40s and only a few tulip leaves were poking up. But when I returned a week later a bit more Spring magic had unfolded. The tulip magnolia tree next door is blossoming, the grass has turned mostly green, and now a few tulips have sprouted their flowers and my lilac bush is leafing out. Heavenly!
As an aromatherapist and natural botanical perfumer, scent is very important to me. Maybe I’m saying that backwards. I suspect the truth is that I became an aromatherapist and perfumer BECAUSE I have such a great love of fragrance.
I committed a long time ago to avoid use of synthetic fragrances in my life and instead strongly advocate for the intimate connection to nature that comes from working with and only wearing botanical aromatic treasures from flowers, leaves, barks, seeds, rinds, and roots.
Fragrance can be complex both aromatically and in the feelings, memories, and thoughts it evokes. It is my belief that the natural world has so much to teach us and we should listen carefully.
I’m in love with Rumi quote:
“The morning wind spreads its fresh smell.
We must get up and take that in,
that wind that lets us live.
Breathe before it’s gone.”
That’s the admonition I’m taking to heart today. I invite you to as well.
What beauty are you allowing yourself to breathe in? Have a favorite natural fragrance? Love the wind as I do? Do tell – you know I love to hear.
My sense of smell has recently been restored after years, so I am right now enjoying every single smell I can lay hands on, or maybe I should say nose on? before it decides to disappear again…even the stale and the rank and the disgusting 🙂
Nilanjana
Madly-in-Verse
What wonderful news Nilanjana – I can only imagine what fun you’re having. Enjoy!
What nice little journeys into words I did not know before.
Thanks Linda, and I appreciate you stopping by. Happy A-to-Z-ing.
Spring isn’t quite here where I am yet. There a few flowers booming, but still big piles of snow. I look forward to the bloom and the smell of lilacs.
~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author
Ah, those last days of lingering winter are hard to wait through, but somehow knowing Spring is coming helps temper through anticipation I think. May you have abundant blossoming soon.
Hi Deborah – this time of year is wonderful … I too dislike false scents – and refuse to have any … fresh flowers etc – nothing false … gives my nose the ‘ughs’!! Dreadful .. but it’s lovely walking the streets and getting the natural aromas from the differing bushes around… cheers and have a peaceful Easter … Hilary
http://positiveletters.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/m-is-for-melton-mowbray-market-national.html
Neighborhood walks are such a delightful journey when paying attention to the flowers and fragrances that abound. I always think I’m going to take photographs so I can remember how things change as the seasons progress, but my eyes and mind clearly want to just be in the present moment so it never happens.
Hope you had a lovely and peaceful Easter Hilary.
Hi Deborah! loved your post . 🙂 thanks also for the new word (macrosmatic). Your passion for the organic in this age of synthetic cosmetics is very inspiring.
Best wishes,
Moon
https://aslifehappens60.wordpress.com
Love that you stopped by (and love your name btw Moon). It strikes me as such a curious journey we’re on – having moved away from the natural into the synthetic so extensively, and yet now the journey seems back once again to the natural. Slowly, slowly, slowly, and with lots of resistance, and yet I believe we’re headed in the right direction.
I have a fairly keen sense of smell. I love slower smells – roses, as cliché as it sounds, lavender, and lilacs. 🙂
The Multicolored Diary: WTF – Weird Things in Folktales
Slower smells – what a wonderful expression! I’m not entirely sure you didn’t mean flower smells, but whether you did or not, I’m totally feeling into the “slower” smells idea. Love it!
I think my favorite smell is vanilla. I don’t like overpowering smells. Love the colors in your image.
Janet
M is for McCartney
Vanilla is a powerfully comforting scent – with delicious memories for so many of us.
I can usually tell if the fragrance is synthetic and like you won’t wear them. I feel for those who have allergy to the scent of flowers, and there are some who have no sense of smell. I love the idea of slower smells too – if a typo it’s a good one.
An allergy to flowers or no sense of smell would feel like a great hardship to me – I’m glad it’s not mine to carry. Right now I’m enjoying a bouquet of freesia and irises and roses – so lovely.
Synthetic fragrances more often than not give me a headache. I love essential oils though. Lavender, jasmine, patchouli, and rose are particular favorites.
That’s a real issue for a lot of people Sara, and it gets compounded as we continue to use more and more synthetics in more and more products.
I’m not fond of sweet flower scents. They feel too heavy. Night blooming jasmine repulses me. Carnations bring back some of the best times in high school. And orange roses smell fruity — I love those. And clove, cinnamon, vanilla, good coffee, fresh cut grass, popcorn, oranges, lemons, limes. Raspberries. The pungent tang of my spaghetti sauce. Baby powder. Vinegar carries happy memories of dying eggs for Easter. Gingerbread.
Haha! Yes, a short list.
I’ve heard of super tasters — it’s a matter of an overabundance of taste buds. I’ve even known a couple children who I believe were super tasters. I’m sure there are super smellers, to — my dad was one, but it led him to banish all non-incidental aromas from the house.
Yours must be a fascinating field of study, Deborah. Do you experiment with different combinations of scents? Or is there an already established order in those subjects?
I love that we all have preferred “palettes” of scents that delight us. It also delights and intrigues me how fragrances can be like instant portals – an immediate way to access memories. Like your high school carnations.
It must be fascinating, and probably quite challenging as well, to have super senses. How interesting about your father. I don’t have a “super” nose, but I am a testament to how one can train their senses, and I suppose it certainly worked to my advantage that scent has always been interesting and important to me.
I love experimenting with different combinations of scents. It can be fun to combine very “contrast-y” things, but even more interesting to me is to work with variations of a particular scent. The location and condition under which botanicals are grown can create very different products, and often that nuanced difference is delightful to me. All in all, it’s very much a field that balances science with very heavy doses of art.