[Seasons: Summer XXIV]
Summer is full of strong, memorable scents.
What’s the first one that comes to mind?
Fresh cut grass?
BBQ smoke?
Chlorine?
The fresh cut grass scent is actually a distress signal to the rest of the plant, surrounding plants, and even insects. It’s literally the smell of green leafy trauma.
The BBQ smell is often a mix of burning flesh, fat, and the build up of chard carbon. In too high of doses, it’s unhealthy.
Chlorine is poisonous in almost any amount, though, if diluted on a warm day, is a lovely scent.
If seasonal smells are a warning of danger, then why do we enjoy them? Because they have positive associations. Fresh cut grass means warm weather is here to stay, our vitamin D deficiency will be reversed, and vacation is likely around the corner. BBQ scents are associated with community gatherings, July 4th holiday, and good conversations with friends. And who doesn’t have good memories of swimming from childhood, which explains our affinity for the chlorine scent.
Every season in life, even the dark of winter, has the potential of positive association. Sometimes those associations “choose us” in the way warm weather goes hand-in-hand with cut grass. Sometimes we need to choose those associations. And that requires “reliving” them through commemoration, story telling, and reenactment.
What seasons in your life need positive associations?
