Volume II: Scent is a Doorway
IMAGE by Richard Deakin, "Flora of the Colosseum of Rome" (1855)
"Tell me your favorite scent, and then tell me why." This is the first question I ask in every class I teach.
Although the answers vary, they are invariably personal. Some people remember childhood scents - their grandmother’s rose garden on a summer day. Others connect their favorite scent with someone important, like their late mother, and the smell of her holiday cookie recipe baking in the oven. Often, it's a scent that takes a person back to a specific place and time - the air in a New England forest after a heavy rain.
Many experiences seem similar, even common, but they are not. One grandma's rose is soft and powdery, while another’s is bright and citrusy. Fresh laundry on the line in California, sunbaked and dry, is different from the tangy, aquatic laundry coming out of a dryer in London.
When I pose this question, I am actively looking to travel with a person back to a place, an idea, or a moment in time when they encountered a scent that would stay with them, years and even decades later. These scents, and the experiences they represent, exist vividly within the minds of those who describe them, and offer an intimate doorway into their experiences, thoughts, and lives. In this way, scent is a way inward to our memories and emotions.
So, today, I invite you to reflect on your favorite scent and to think about why. Perhaps even pose this question to another person. You may be surprised by what you uncover. And, if you feel like sending me your answer, please do.