OOoh That Smell!

Yesterday, as I waited in my doctor's office, I rubbed vanilla bean scented lotion on my dry hands. I breathed in the warm sugary scent and breathed out in relaxation. An older couple came into that area. Before the man even sat, he told his wife that he smelled graham crackers. 

That immediately caught my attention. I thought he could benefit from the lovely scent of my lotion. 

But he didn’t have the same reaction that I did. He kept sniffing and said, “It’s throwing me off. Why would I smell that?” 

Since he seemed upset, I pondered on whether I should tell him it was probably my lotion. Then he received a call and I was ushered into the back.

It made me think on a practical level that I should be more cognizant of applying perfume lotion in any doctor’s office. But then I thought about how the scent of something can evoke such a different reaction from one person to another. 

Did the scent of graham crackers remind him of a negative experience from his childhood? 

The scent of graham crackers and vanilla brings to my mind memories of my mother baking cookies, cakes, and breads. Baked goods increased during the holidays but our home always smelled of chocolate chip cookies, Bundt cake with drizzled white icing, sugar, cookies, and confetti cakes. 

Vanilla = Love

Sensory memories come through our lived experiences. Olfactory is perhaps the strongest to me. It can take me into a memory like I stepped back in time. Perhaps it does for you as well.

• What emotions, feelings, physical reactions, come up for you when you smell vanilla or graham crackers?

• What scent brings up a warm, loving, caring response from your childhood or any time in your life?

• What scent creates a negative reaction?

• If you’re called to go deeper, describe the memory in as many details as possible, and include all your sensory details.