Hi there,
A delightful way to be present and connected is by activating our senses: sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch. Our senses are extraordinary. They provide us with multiple ways for us to directly experience life. Specifically, our sense of smell is deeply related to our sense of taste and is a powerful medium to bring old memories back to life.
Nothing like walking past a bakery and smelling freshly baked bread, right? Most of us can agree on the appeal of scents like clean sheets, fresh flowers, lemon zest, vanilla beans, or fresh air after rainfall. Aromas can promote relaxation, reduce stress, energize us, and relieve pain.
This week, the invitation is to expand our awareness by engaging with our sense of smell.
Every day, take a five-minute break, close your eyes, breathe and notice what you can smell. You can be anywhere: at home, in the office, on the street, in a restaurant. By closing your eyes, it is easier to focus on the sense of smell without mixing with the sense of sight.
How many things can you recognize through smell only? Chances are that there are multiple things: a cup of coffee, cleaning products, rubber tires, someone's perfume, just to name a few.
Go through as many things as you can.
Even when it feels like you’ve got them all, give it an extra minute, and find out if you can uncover something more. Can you smell something that you don’t recognize? Can you try to guess what it is and, when opening your eyes again, look for it? Let this be a little game between you and the world.
Mindfulness can help us with that by encouraging us to not run away from discomfort. Mindfulness is an invitation to stay here, now, and feel it all. Here is a mindfulness practice that supports you in expanding your joy in everyday life.
This is one of the 50 weekly mindfulness practices that I share in my upcoming book, “Bullshit-free Mindfulness”. You can register here to be notified when the book is launched, I hope you enjoy it!
See you next week,
Aline