SMELL THE DAY

Have you ever smelled your way through a day? Oh, not a fragrant summer day; that's too easy. I mean a flat winter day? Now that takes a little more effort. But well worth the work...!

Unlike sights and sounds which must first pass through the brain to translate them for us, smells slam instantly into our deepest senses. They're not translated, they're experienced. Right down to our most primitive memory banks. Like the aromatic smell of our coffee and toast in the day's first hours. A medley of scents to stir sleeping recollections of mornings and kitchens past.

Stepping out to meet the day, there's the sudden whoosh of clean Arctic air, subtly polluted with the fumes of nearby trucks and cars, all bouquet-ed by the unhurried rot of a hibernating earth.

Later when you step into the marketplace of 9-5 lives, other smells wreath round you. If only you're willing to distinguish and delight in them. There's the different perfumes of the different stylish women passing by, each fragrance making its own decisive statement. Also, the odors of cigar and after-shave by which each man you meet reveals something secret about himself. Or the distinctive smells to each of your co-worker's clothing which unguardedly tell you something about their times and tastes.

Lunchtimes are little rhapsodies of smells as busy people select from a variety of garlicy, mustardy, deep-fried menus, all commenting on the dietary habits of an overweight restaurant and nation. Still, it's not the weight but the ways of your fellow beings that should be of most interest to your under-used olfactory glands.

The smells don't stop with the setting sun. As you arrive home, the cacophony of aromas persists. Remember to give it some of your best attentions, for it's whispering something. The sweet cedar of fireplace smoke, of animal bodies, and of hot dinners being readied. Finally -- if you're very lucky -- the smell of the ones you love in your arms.

Amazing all these taken-for-granted everyday smells. Today is as good as any day to give your nose the reward of discovery.