Scented memories

Meadow grasses

On my walk this evening I was suddenly halted in my tracks by the smell of a sweet scent. I couldn’t identify where it was coming from, but it was unmistakable.

And I was just as suddenly transported to other moments, other locations, but the same experience…

There was the time I was waiting at the front entrance of the old SF Conservatory of Music building (at 19th Ave and Ortega) on a warm evening in late spring/early summer. There were a number of plants in bloom, all combining to make a subtle but overwhelmingly beautiful scent.

Then there was the smell of freesias blooming in front yards as my first husband, Randy, and I strolled the streets of Pacific Grove.

Freesias

And the first time I truly understood the phrase “sweet grasses” was on pilgrimage at Newgrange, in County Meath, Ireland. It was summer and we had been blessed with beautiful weather during our time in Ireland. It was my first time visiting England, Wales, and Ireland, and I had never experienced meadow grasses like that. The smell was intoxicating.

And, finally, when I lived in San Francisco, there was a certain kind of boxwood hedge that bloomed in early spring, but with really insignificant flowers. I would be walking along and — just like today — be suddenly halted in my tracks as I tried to locate where the amazing scent was coming from.

If I close my eyes I can almost recapture it, even after all these years.

Dwarf English Boxwood

4 Replies to “Scented memories”

  1. I have gotten to reflect on so much of my own tendencies through the blessing of God, Christ, Guru channeled in these your daily life journey posts.
    Thank you for choosing, being chosen, and being the chose-r touching multitudes of lives through your devotion and discipleship to Master, Swami and this ray of Light.
    My life has been all the more blessed, beyond the ways I have noticed, by the touch of your Light.

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