Bloodstones

The other day, I said to my daughter, “Oh, it smells like rain.” And she agreed with me, but I doubt either one of us could accurately describe what rain smells like. In Australia, in 1964, scientists coined the name “petrichor” for the refreshing, cleansing smell of rain, after a particularly dry season. Petrichor comes from two Greek words meaning “blood of the gods” and “stone.”

Last night, my husband and I were watching a show about nature and it showed that elephants have such a powerful sense of smell that they can find water from deep within the dry, sandy earth. Other animals rely on elephants to dig and to find this water, so that they can drink from it, after the elephants finish. It turns out that, among many other wonderful things, elephants are enormous ecological divining rods.

Supposedly our human sense for smelling rain is better than a shark’s ability to sniff blood in the water. I think that is why I like shows about nature or observing nature around me. It’s such a keen reminder that we are so much more than our minds, and the stories that we tell ourselves. We are just complicated animals who have lost the awe for what our senses can tell us, and do for us. We need to remind ourselves of our own amazing ability to sniff out petrichor when we are wandering through dry spells in our lives. We need to take some time every day to just be in our senses, and to use our senses to lead us to cleansing refreshment and renewal when we think that our wells have run dry. We need to learn to trust our whole selves, and not just our minds alone, as without checks and balances, our minds tend to be a little tricky and deceiving.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Sun-Baked Dog Fur

The other day, when I took my dogs out, the two older ones sat down decidedly in the grass, their noses twitching to the scents in the wind. They were making it clear to me that they weren’t going anywhere else, anytime soon. My dogs instinctively knew that they needed a restful sunbath. So they took it. And I followed suit. And it felt wonderful to sit out in the pleasant sunshine, on the soft grass, smelling the earthiness all around us. I buried my nose in the soft, luxurious fur of my collie, Josie. There may be no better scent nor feel in the world, than sun-baked dog fur. This is a type of the easy, simple therapeutic experiences that can make all of the difference in a day, but we often forget to take the time to do them, nor at the very least, to notice that we are doing them. In this way, animals are often wiser than we are, because they are so attuned to their senses, and allowing themselves to bask in their senses.

What are the little things that perk you up? What are the little things that make you excited to anticipate doing them? Really taste and savor your coffee, or the various flavors of your lunch. Really bask in the warm water of your shower. Be really deliberate about what scent of perfume that you want to apply today, and make a point to sniff your own wrist often and delight in the scent mixing and changing with your own skin’s essence. Follow your intuition. Take the time to savor the sensualities of the day.

“Sensuality is the total mobilization of the senses” – Milan Kundera

“To be sensual, I think, is to respect and rejoice in the force of life, of life itself, and to be present in all that one does, from the effort of loving to the breaking of bread.” – James Baldwin

12 Inspirational Sexy Woman Quotes For Strong, Confident Women | Michele  Brookhaus | YourTango

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.