Memory triggers
Image by Vesna Zivcic from Pixabay
I read somewhere that smell is one of the strongest sensations we have, and that it is strongly connected to memory. Indeed, I can easily remember the smell of things, when I was as young as my own son is now. And perhaps even further back in time than that. I do not know whether this is true or not, but if smell is one of the senses that evolves first and that it serves an important function to protect us from danger, it makes sense to me. This weekend I had several strong memories wash over me induced by odor sensation. Combine it with some auditory sensation and you can get very powerful memory triggers.
We have had an unusually persistent winter/spring in the North this year. It is almost June, and there are still big collections of snow lying in shady areas around the forest. But this weekend I think summer is officially upon us if we disregard the snow. Warmer temperatures and plenty of moisture in the ground and you can literally watch nature kick off this year’s cycle from one day to the next. It is almost as if you can see the leaves unfolding through the window with a cup of coffee in your hand.
Our lawn has awakened and was ready for its first visit by the barber. I love moving the lawn by the way. It is such a well-defined problem with a clear start and end, and I especially like that when you are done you have finished and completed a task to 100%. Quite the opposite of my line of work as an engineer where project time horizons are often measured in years. I guess that’s a significant contributing factor that I am craving for some simple problems in my daily life, i.e., tasks that can be completed in one single session.
Fire up the tractor, and before long you can smell the odor of freshly cut grass. I am hard pressed to think of a stronger que that we are finally in the summer season. Of course, I can just glance in my calendar and check today´s date, but the smell makes it real. I felt so happy that we can officially let go of winter now.
The next giveaway wasn’t smell, but sound. These weeks, the birds return, and you are presented with an orchestra of wonderful sounds. First the grass smell, and minutes later when I turn off the noisy tractor and go for a sunny forest walk with my Labradors, I can hear all these birds. If those things don’t make you at least a little bit happier then I don’t know what would. I am now waiting for another strong summer que, which is the singing swans. They are my favorite. Some early mornings you can hear their singing echoing over the mirror flat sea. The background noise level is zero and the humidity is high, so acoustic conditions are perfect. Words cannot do it justice.
I also know an exceptionally effective way of numbing your senses to all the delights described above. Grab your smartphone. It will shift your focus away from the singing birds and the smells of summer. Remember that the sensory bliss of the first summer day like the one described above, you only get a handful of those days in a lifetime (best case scenario). So should you decide to scratch the screen like a cat with its scratching surface/toy, make sure that the content you are consuming is very, very important. In that case: Go for it, grab the phone.
I often face a similar internal dilemma when watching my kids doing something off-the-chart funny or cute. Should I grab my phone and take a picture/video, or should I just observe and enjoy the moment? I guess a little bit of both could be the best bet. Those “Kodak moment” pictures and videos can really cheer up your day when you’re out on business travelling, for example. And in that regard, it is probably OK to not be 100% present all of the time.