Thursday Thoughts: Aroma Therapy

A sommelier once told me: “Don’t let anyone tell you what you smell. If you smell blackberries and burnt rubber, then that’s what you smell.”* That’s good because my sense of smell is not as honed as some. When I take in that bouquet from a glass of wine, I know that I have smelled a particular aroma before but usually find it had to place. Grapefruit, tobacco, cut grass are some that I can identify—and in the case of some Sauvignon Blancs—cat pee—or ammonia if that is more appealing sounding.

So, if I was a dog or cat with a sense of smell, I wouldn’t last long…

 Where is this going? Well, I was walking along a river trail. It was a warm day, and the sun was playing hide-and-seek behind the scattered clouds. I could smell something, and I knew it was one of my favorite smells. The leaves were just coming out, and it smelled green and moist, with a hint of dusty dryness. I could smell the meandering water slowly flowing along the marshy banks. I felt at peace. The dog that I was walking was a bonus, adding to the therapeutic experience.

Certain smells do trigger vivid memories and feelings:

• The smell of sawdust is my father and so is chainsaw exhaust
• Jack pine on a hot windless day is my grandparent’s farm
• Baking bread is my mom
• An outdoor wood fire is time camping with friends. That jacket sure holds onto that odor—and I don’t want to wash it.
• Cigar smoke reminds me of a friend that I miss
• Coffee tells me the day has just begun
• My high school crush wore a perfume that I catch a whiff of from a passing stranger every so often
• Old wood timbers take me back to the university building with the creaky stairs
• Book pages—well, they just smell nice
• Does rain have a smell? It sure does. It smells like rain**

I’m sure I’ve missed a few, but they will come back to me when the wind is just right.

Do you have a favorite smell? Where does it take you?

-Leon

^{*He also said that the only person who can tell you if a wine is good or not is you.}

_{**I love the smell of rain, don’t get me wrong, but when it rains, the world kinda smells like worms.}

Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.