shazza
7th June 2011, 07:47 AM
I love scents. Scent is our underappreciated sense: society makes the compulsive effort to capture visual moments, create timeless tunes, sell foods for the sake of taste rather than energy, and prostitute women for sensual touch. But smells? Perfume and flowers are sold, but specific smells for the sake of smelling them is not a mainstream commodity. Moreover, there is no electrical devices – so far – to record smells to relive over and over. Give that a few years to come!
Which brings me to my next point: my love for smells is based on its profound and latent affect on bringing you to a time now gone. One cannot logically pinpoint the precise moment; it is not a memory in the normal sense on how we reflect as an almost separate observer. A scent alternatively puts a spell on your soul, freeing it from its usual constant state, as the soul flows carelessly along the scents fluctuating waves back to that moment. Spiritual time travel. The soul is back into the past you; everything becomes so lucid of that time: the culmination of emotions, your then perspective on life, memories that words cannot describe. It can be as young as your 2 year old self. But this starts and ends in a fleeting moment – no longer than a second. A myriad of Christmas gifts in Santa’s sack. Once it’s over, an instant amnesia sets in: you can recall intuitively recollecting, but you cannot directly recall. It’s like trying to catch water in a net; it only becomes ever more elusive (although in recent months I’ve gradually been more able to recall the memory for a bit longer than a second due to a conscious effort, and able to recall the small thereafter, which is extremely satisfying!)
So, what is everyone’s opinions on smells? Do people have certain scents that evoke such an experience? Favourite smells?
Which brings me to my next point: my love for smells is based on its profound and latent affect on bringing you to a time now gone. One cannot logically pinpoint the precise moment; it is not a memory in the normal sense on how we reflect as an almost separate observer. A scent alternatively puts a spell on your soul, freeing it from its usual constant state, as the soul flows carelessly along the scents fluctuating waves back to that moment. Spiritual time travel. The soul is back into the past you; everything becomes so lucid of that time: the culmination of emotions, your then perspective on life, memories that words cannot describe. It can be as young as your 2 year old self. But this starts and ends in a fleeting moment – no longer than a second. A myriad of Christmas gifts in Santa’s sack. Once it’s over, an instant amnesia sets in: you can recall intuitively recollecting, but you cannot directly recall. It’s like trying to catch water in a net; it only becomes ever more elusive (although in recent months I’ve gradually been more able to recall the memory for a bit longer than a second due to a conscious effort, and able to recall the small thereafter, which is extremely satisfying!)
So, what is everyone’s opinions on smells? Do people have certain scents that evoke such an experience? Favourite smells?