Imagine waking up without your sense of smell.  Perhaps you have a bad cold or some other temporary reason – or – perhaps your keen sense of smell is just gone.  You can’t smell the morning coffee brewing, the biscuits baking in the oven, or the seasonal spices brewing on the stove.  The calming effect of certain smells like lavender or bergamot are obsolete.  A fresh batch of homemade cookies right out of the oven doesn’t smell like anything, when normally, your mouth starts salivating for a taste before they’ve cooled.

Our sense of smell is strongly linked with our emotional response system, thus affecting mood and so much more in our brains and bodies.  Smell is also linked to our taste buds since it contributes to each flavor’s response and impact on our sensory system.  When smell is lacking, so is taste.

I busted out the seasonal spices with some cut-up fruits to simmer together late this afternoon.  It’s really remarkable how something so simple can create a warm, rich aroma for a cozy, grounded feeling on a blustery day.

If you could smell just one scent always, what would you choose?  

How often do we take our sense of smell and taste for granted?  For today, I’m simply grateful for both working together to enrich life’s journey.  🙂