31 Days of Learning to Breathe: Aromas

It's fall and there is just something wonderful about all the aromas that this season brings forth. I love going into stores and smelling candles, wishing I could bring every one of them home with me. I love lighting candles in my home, or putting essential oils in my diffuser. I love baking yummy pumpkin muffins, soups and stews. Smells that permeate the home and just bring peace with them. A pleasant fragrance just has immense therapeutic effects, wouldn't you agree? The opposite is quite true as well. Unpleasant fragrances can make us cringe, feel sick, and want to run for the hills. 

One year I had read that you could roast garlic in the microwave. I thought I'd give it a try. BIG mistake. Thankfully the microwave was on a shelf in the garage, but the smell was horrible. It took weeks to get it out. Not pleasant whatsoever. 

From food to candles, environmental aromas (we have a dog food factory in our small town....not always the best smell, we also have farms, sometimes good smells, sometimes not so much...have you ever smelled silage?), cut grass, fresh rain, to who knows what else. We are bombarded on a daily basis with aromas. Both literal fragrances and "aromas" that we take in other ways. Some of us are more sensitive than others, but we all experience them on a daily basis. 

Do you stop and take in the smell of the flowers on your walk or in your yard? Do you take for granted the aromas of dinner cooking or dessert baking? Do you love the smell outside after the first rain or after the lawn has been mowed? Or are you too busy to stop and enjoy them. 

On the other hand, are you someone that carries negativity around so much, that the aroma  you put off is putrid? Or are you someone that brings a pleasant fragrance wherever you go?

When I was younger I tended to be very sarcastic. Sarcasm can have it's place I suppose, but there is a fine line between appropriate and inappropriate. I learned how sometimes my sarcasm and the sarcasm of others made people feel and decided that wasn't something I wanted as a part of my life on a daily basis. Personally, swearing is very off putting to me. Especially the F-bomb. To me, it is a very unpleasant fragrance. To someone else, not so much. 

There is always a variety of aromas swarming around Facebook and the news. Which ones are you seeing smelling more often? Which are you allowing to infiltrate your heart and mind? I've learned to use the unfollow and hide button a lot more. I watch my local news, but not much else. I try to focus on the positive around me. It's better for my peace of mind. Have you ever read someone's posts that always seem to go from positive to negative, like a yo-yo! It can be draining, sometimes I want to say "make up your mind, or make some changes". Things will not change if we do nothing about it. Even if it's just in our attitude. 

What do you want to surround you? What kind of aromas are you emitting? What aromas are you breathing in? 

Ponder these questions and the quote below. 



With Joy Unquenchable,