ODE TO SMELL
“Who's painting the flower cannot paint its smell”
French proverb.
This text is intended to be a cry from the heart, for the taken-for-granted sense of smell. I don't understand why so few people pay attention to their sense of smell.
Last week, I came across an article in a general public magazine (nothing scientific, I agree) which gave the results of a survey carried out among the American population whose question was: "What is the meaning that you wouldn't want to lose? » Without too much surprise, more than 70% of people surveyed answered sight. But where I am completely stunned is that only 2% of respondents said smell. But do we really know all the valuable services and all the magnificence that the sense of smell offers to our life? Clearly not!
I always knew that smell was a sense left behind, except in very specific places such as Grasse (France) where I had the pleasure of staying and where I was able for the very first time to express my love of smell and perfumes and find echo in them. But why? First of all, I took the trouble to think about the place that our five senses occupy in our daily lives to attempt a rough answer to my own questioning.
View
The darling of our senses. We certainly owe him a lot, but we also gave him a lot of space. Let's think about literature, theater, cinema, television, photography. Today, through our smartphones, we all have a camera nestled in our pocket, always ready to capture a moment of our life. As well as a photo album always available for all those moments of sharing with friends. And what about the video which now takes up all the space on social media. It has always been said that “a picture is worth a thousand words”. But it's not nothing. 20 years ago, sight did not occupy as much space in our lives.
Hearing
Our hearing has also benefited from new technologies. Through this same tool, we all have music lists in our smartphone to accompany us in our different activities or to complement our moods. Today we listen to music, conferences, meditations at all hours of the day and night. Thanks to our hearing, we are never alone and can create a universe according to our needs.
Taste
It’s pure madness here! I challenge you to count the number of cooking shows available to you each day. Added to this are recipe books which are increasingly specialized (green juices, sushi, poké bowl, etc.) as well as magazines. The food markets offer a variety of extraordinary foods, and what can we say about the catering offerings. It's completely unheard of, eating and tasting have never occupied such a large place in our daily lives as they do now.
Touch
Here, it's much less spectacular. There was the advent of massage which made a small revolution in the use of the sense of touch and there will always be these so-called manual professions which anchor the sense of touch in our daily lives. Without being the poor child of the five senses, studies show that the use of touch is on the decline. Hugs and hugs are much less fashionable than 50 years ago. And unfortunately, the pandemic has only increased the deficit of human warmth in our societies.
The smell
And there we arrive, at this sense left behind: smell. With the pandemic, we've talked a lot about the loss of smell. But if we lose it, what exactly do we lose? Can we really talk about loss if we don't care about it? That is the question! The only universe that we have been able to create relating to this sense is that of perfumery. But unfortunately, this universe is very cloistered and almost out of reach. Not very unifying compared to the worlds of sight and hearing. I believe this observation partly answers why we attach little or no importance to smell.
This lack of smell in our lives really concerns me. I sincerely believe that everyone should have an olfactory vocabulary in order to be able to put into words how they feel about a smell. I don't understand that the pleasure of smelling these great smells such as tuberose is only offered to a small number of us (the great noses of this world). If we have democratized art, why not the world of perfume? We are not all great photographers in the making, but we all have a camera in our pockets and we use it without complexes or restraint. I dream of the day when everyone will have the joy of smelling angelica, sacred incense and violet and feeling its power over their emotions.
I make it my mission! I believe that the time has come to give the sense of smell all the attention and respect it deserves.
I therefore invite you to follow me on this wonderful adventure via my “Blog Post” such as this one which you will find at: todore.ca/blogs
Read next week: Inspire life. I explain the great benefits of smell.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Sylvie-Anne
If this text resonated with you, share it and leave me a comment and I will be happy to read it!
See you soon!
Sylvie-Anne