August 31 - Sight and the Sense of Smell

As I indicated last week, here are a few thoughts about sight and the sense of smell. As I wrote then, although I don’t believe that other senses magically take over when one sense is lost, I do believe that we become more attentive to those other senses.

Because my sight isn’t all that it could be, I do listen more carefully and surprisingly, I find that my sense of smell has been heightened. I have always enjoyed the perfumes of spring flowers, but now I often find that I can use my sense of smell to help orient myself in a shopping mall. I can’t see directional signs or even the displays in shop windows, but if I am at all familiar with the mall, certain scents will help me in figuring out just where I am. For instance, I know where the coffee shop is in relation to the beauty salon, and the aroma from the coffee or the scent of hairspray or other beauty products are easily identifiable. I can also recognize my position if I smell the pungent odour emitted from the shoe store, or the wave of cosmetics and perfumes from the entry of the larger department store. I can usually find the food court and even identify whether the booth is selling pizza, burgers, Asian foods or cinnamon buns.

Truthfully, when I could see everything I don’t think that I paid much attention to all of the scents around me.  Now I find that my sense of smell is a useful tool.