5 Days 5 Senses- Smell

I had a lot of fun with this focus – smell. Well, first thing in the day I was doing housework. Not my favourite way to start the day and it’s just on the list. So my first smells of the day were bleach and cleaning products. Can’t get too excited about that. From there moved on to brunch and that involved bacon. Now, there is just something about the smell of bacon, mmmm.

All of which got me to thinking about how rarely I focus on smell and yet how powerful it is. I know from talking with people that smell is a big part of selling your house. If your house smells of dog or cat litter it adversely affects people and decreases their interest in your home. If your house smells fresh and clean, perhaps with bread baking in the oven, interest increases.

So, here are some questions to focus you today.

1. What smell from your past evokes positive feelings?

2. What smell are you conscious of as you read this post?

3. At the end of the day, what smell will you remember?

4. How has smell influenced you in your decision making?

The smell of bread baking as I arrived home from school is one of my favourite childhood memories. I would walk through the back door, cold from my trek through the snow and there they were: fresh bread and buns. On Wednesday afternoons my after school treat was a fresh bun. I looked forward to to it all day. And I still miss it on a cold day.

I sometimes go to the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver. The first thing I smell is the frying onions from the hamburger stand. They act as a siren call to me and I know at some point I will not be able to resist them.

Smell is often under rated as a sense that helps us make choices and determines some of out actions. Take time to smell the roses today and pay a little attention to what happens when you do.

Looking forward to your comments.