Wake Up and Smell the Foliage!

Greetings, Readers.

As I have said before, some things are more easily noticed when using a slower mode of transportation. (Refer to my "When Life Slows Down... Finally" post.) Today, it was an interesting smell that just brought peace to my mind. I got out of work a bit earlier than usual, just as the sun was coming up. So, as the sun came up and warmed the earth, the morning dew began to evaporate off of the grass and trees around me as I rode. As the dew evaporated, it carried with it the various smells of the plants that it was on. At some point in my bike ride home, I came across an area where the scent was so strong, it was almost like a perfume although the smell itself was distinctly natural. It actually made me just close my eyes and enjoy the smells around me for a minute as I rode. (Being careful to make sure I wasn't on a collision course with anything beforehand, of course.)

Somehow, this particular smell reminded me of a time in my youth when the world was still somewhat blissful. Particularly, it reminded me of one summer I spent at San Pedro's Summer Scripture Camp. It was sometime during my middle school years, and my grandparents (who are Catholic - hence, the Catholic-oriented camp) thought I would enjoy going to a summer retreat as a birthday present. (Mark on your calendars, people: June 17th - Coincidentally also the date I started this blog, and the day that my wife and I started considering ourselves as a "couple" before we got married.) It was a great time there, just being relatively away from everything and everyone. Sure, there were plenty of other people there, but no one that I knew. It was also in a pretty woodsy area, so for the most part everything was quiet and peaceful. Like I said, it was a time of bliss, when I had little to nothing in particular to be concerned of, and everything was just quiet and - dare I say - perfect in the immediate environment. One of a few times in my past life that I wish I could just go back and spend the rest of my future in.

So, what about you? Try this: Wake up early one morning, or stay up late one night (depending on what your sleep schedule is like) and take a walk or bike ride around some area near your house that you know, starting just as the sun is beginning to come over the horizon. Give yourself a chance to experience all the smells that are in that environment as they come up to you. Then, write about them and (if anything) what they remind you of.

This should be interesting.

- Iszi