There’s another terrific thing about having friends who see things in other ways. There’s a universe of sounds, sights, and smells out there that we don’t always notice, or take the time to pay attention to, let alone to enjoy. If you’ve got a friend who can show you something new to hear, see, or smell, your perception of the world expands to a whole new horizon. It helps you feel better about yourself too, experiencing new things in new ways. And being out, on a bright and beautiful morning, with a friend, on Lyall Bay beach.

Manifesto
01. Every day is a fresh new day.
05. Every day is now. The present moment.
14. Every day the ordinary can be the extraordinary.

The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest.
– Thomas Moore

I woke tired, even after a good nights sleep. The origins of this tiredness lies deep within my being. My soul is crying out “nurture me, stop ignoring me” and I need to start listening to it. Fortunately we have a long (as in 3 day) weekend ahead of us – maybe … I’ll make a start today, but where do I begin?

I thought about the long To Do list Lynsey and I had talked about for this weekend (as always the list is longer than can realistically be achieved in the time available to us). It included endless household chores like cleaning, dusting, washing etc. I wondered how doing all these things was going to connect me to my soul and make me feel more alive, more energised.

Sarah Ban Breathnach, in her inspiring book Romancing the Ordinary writes about the sacred endeavour of housekeeping. She views these these mundane tasks as a way of bringing balance between the sensuous and the spiritual. Let’s face it, our homes are sacred spaces (well, our home is to us), and by giving them the attention they deserve we are honouring a need in our souls. I love this quote from Sarah’s book:

In places and people, we seek that elusive feeling of being welcomed. We want our houses and apartments to be warm and nurturing and beautiful, but they are sometimes territories of chaos and confusion … Yet, the haven the soul seeks is close at hand, within the stove and the cupboard, on the bookshelf, and in the closet. With the eyes to see it, and the hands to create it, we can recover the home that the soul desires.

Source
Anthony Lawlor, A Home for the Soul: A Guide for Dwelling with Spirit and Imagination, cited in Breathnach, S.B. (2002). Romancing the Ordinary (p.211-212). London: Pocket Books.

So first things first, what am I going to make for lunch (yes, we slept in and missed breakfast – technically I was making brunch). Lynsey headed for the garden and I headed for the kitchen.

There is something comforting about the kitchen. It is a room laden with memories, endless sensual experiences and boundless creativity. Our kitchen is the centre of our home, whether it is just us or when we have friends and family around. People congregate in our kitchen (oh how I dream of having an open plan kitchen that melds into our other living spaces without the current walls that separate it off as though it needs to be hidden) – Lynsey and I cook, our guests sit, we have music going, wine and food on hand to whet the appetite – it is nurturing and loving. There is laughter, loads of talking and generally it is a place where everything is right with me and the world. Nothing else matters when I’m in the kitchen except what I’m there to do.

Today I created a tantalising mushroom soup (I know what you’re thinking, chicken soup is the soul soup – oh well, today I created a new soul soup that was equally as nourishing and nurturing), tasty baked cheese puffs with avocado, tomatoes, and some wonderful New Zealand cheese to go with them.

The smells of the cooking infused the house. As we sat down to eat I felt warm, loved and comforted. I hope my waistline wasn’t too drastically affected by the experience.

A meal shared in a welcoming environment definitely soothes a tired soul.

Now onto the cleaning …

Manifesto
08. Every day choose to bring about change.
12. Every day love yourself.
29. Every day eat, drink, rest, work, exercise, play, love, create for your own good. And the good of others.

Nothing can cure the soul but the senses,
just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul.
– Oscar Wilde

It was a short walk to my destination. I needed to leave the building where my office is located to get there. As I walked out into the fresh air I was overwhelmed by its smell. There was a crispness and freshness about it. I stood there for a few moments and breathed it in. As the air infused my body I felt different, I was suddenly re-energised and far more aware. My senses had become aroused. It was as if someone had slapped me on the face and said, “wake-up girl, look at what you’re missing out on”.

As I walked I smelt:  car fumes (a toxic blight to my being), perfume (on a woman walking past me), cigarette smoke (I had to walk through it), coffee, food cooking, the staleness of entry ways and doorways, me on my jacket as I took it off … so much to take in.

Later in the day I got up to make myself a drink. One of my colleagues had just come back from the supermarket where she had bought a packet of herbal tea (grape and pomegranate). She asked if I’d like to try it. I decided to give it a go.The second the first drop of hot water hit the tea bag I smelt (and could taste) grape flavoured bubblegum and lollies which I don’t like and normally avoid. It seemed such an artificial smell. I could imagine a chemist manufacturing it in a laboratory and I couldn’t connect it to the luscious, winey smell of grapes I knew so well. It didn’t even smell like pomegranates. This concoction was all wrong based on its smell.

I walked back to my desk and let the tea infuse before removing the tea bag and actually taking my first sip. I wasn’t disappointed – the tea tasted like it smelled, artificial. I didn’t like it so I left it sitting there and didn’t drink any more of it.

Another colleague walked past my desk. She stopped to talk to me.

“I can smell cat pee but I can’t work out where it’s from,” she said. “I have been sniffing my clothes trying to work out if my cat has peed on them. I don’t how it would have managed to do that though because my clothes are stored in a high cupboard that the cat can’t get to.”

I listened but couldn’t add anything. I have never had a cat and I don’t know what cat pee smells like.

“I can smell it too,” chirped in another colleague. “I have been sniffing all my things trying to work out where the smell was coming from. I thought one of my cats may have pissed on something.”

I didn’t understand why they were involving me in this conversation.

“Do they think I smell of cat piss?” I wondered.

After considering all the options my colleagues decided that it was my grape and pomegranate tea that smelt like cat’s piss – yet another reason not to drink it.

I don’t often think about, or pay much attention to, the smells that flood my senses on a daily basis. Do you? I would even go so far as to say that I completely take for granted the fact that I have the ability to smell. I suppose it doesn’t help that my nasal passages are often clogged up with gunk due to allergies and the many pollutants that live in the air that I breathe in.

I find it interesting how each of us associates something different with the same smell. Smells have an amazing power over us. In an instant they can connect us to places, people, events and emotions that are held within our memories. We shouldn’t ignore our ability to smell. Imagine what life would be like if you couldn’t smell. I know I would hate it. I love the effect certain scents and aromas have on my sense of wellbeing.

Manifesto
08. Every day choose to bring about change.
30. Every day use all your senses. Touch. Smell. Taste. Hear. See.
32. Every day have a laugh.