Smells detonate softly in our memory
like poignant land mines hidden under
the weedy mass of years and experiences.
Hit a tripwire of smells and memories explode all at once.
A complex vision leaps out of the undergrowth.
~Diane Ackerman

Not much of anything is an unforgettable as a tantalizing smell.  Even the most unforeseen, momentary, or transient scent conjures up all sorts of memories.  It might be the fragrance of a flower in the garden, a loaf of bread baking in the oven, salty air blowing off the ocean, or a favorite aunt’s heady perfume.  The “potent wizard” of smell simply cannot be altered by time, distance, or circumstance.

Because I love the Creation story, I have read the opening chapter of Scripture over and over again, and yet with each journey into its words and images I find more to love about the circumstances and implications of the story in Genesis.  The fact that sensory perceptions came into play on the 5th day with the birth of the creatures, however, had never before jumped out of the text at me.   That seems quite  surprising for a person who puts a high premium on the delights opened up through the five senses and for one who thinks the loss of one or more of the senses would be a devastating mishap.

With the birth of the creatures there is the emergence of
seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching.
The light of the sun and the whiteness of the moon can now be seen.
The wind blowing through the leaves of the trees
and the crashing of ocean waves can be heard.
The early morning fragrance of the earth can be smelled.Its fruits can be tasted and its textures touched.
~From THE BOOK OF CREATION by
J. Philip Newell, Celtic theologian, poet, scholar,  and teacher

Jean Houston said, “Our senses are indeed our doors and windows on this world, in a very real sense the key to the unlocking of meaning and the wellspring of creativity.” Many of the most exquisite parts of our existence and our most pleasurable, creature comforts come to us through  seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching.  Rousseau put it this way, “To live is not merely to breathe; it is to act; it is to make use of our organs, senses, faculties – of all those parts of ourselves which gives us the feeling of existence.”  God incorporated the five senses into the fabric of our being for a reason.  The life-giving, sacred fibers not only serve His purposes but also enrich our lives with goodness beyond measure.