Have you been unexpectedly stopped in your tracks recently?

I was walking down the road this morning and passed some fairly normal, and reasonably uninteresting looking greenery overflowing a wall. But WOW! Once I was a few steps further down the road the amazing perfume of the jasmine hit me; it was wonderful, intense, heavy, luxuriant in the air. Clearly the wind was gentle enough to blow the intoxicating smell in the direction I was going, rather than the direction I had just come.

I stopped, retracted my steps and took a few moments to soak in the wonderful aroma that filled the air. I also looked at the wonderful creation of nature; not a flash and imposing plant that made itself known by the colour of flower; the size of bloom; a prickly stem; or even the leaf. No, simply a wonderfully understated presence, that is, until one catches the intensity of how it makes itself known.

I smiled broadly, pleased to have been stopped in my tracks, pleased to have my thoughts stirred.

It was 36 years ago, almost to the month, when this smell was etched into my memory – all for wonderful reasons. It also made me reflect on a few things that made me smile even more as I strode off to my appointment. Something had dug deep into my mind and raised something long forgotten.

Smell is an unusual sense and one, for me, that has some major impactful images, if I may mix up our senses. So a question or four that may well be worth a little time to consider:

• What aromas have an impact on you?
• When was the last time you were stopped in your tracks when a reminder from your past hit you, suddenly, unexpectedly, hard?
• What, or even who, has a low profile yet the hidden depth only becomes apparent when least expected – and have you yet to appreciate the power that may need releasing?
• What senses am I not using that would enrich my life?

If these questions have passed you by, untouched, perhaps a time to thing why! I certainly will….

Let’s get in tune with all of our senses – life is so wonderful if we embrace it fully.

Now what is the next smell that may pop into the memory bank to lie dormant for years, only to remind me of something so wonderful, so special when I least expect it?

My best wishes,

Peter

PS If your memory bank is feeling a little empty perhaps we really do need to speak.