sMeLL

I was having a weird attack of sinusitis some nights back. Both my nostrils were blocked and I couldn’t breathe properly. It was like having a really bad bout of flu, or after a session of intense crying. Neither of which I had nor did.

I have always thought that our sense of smell is a particularly unique and important sense. Because it is tied up so closely with breathing, with keeping our life going. In fact, I have written a whole story about smells and smelling. I quote a paragraph:

“It’s interesting how smells are woven so intricately into a part of our existence. More so than the other senses put together. For smells are tied up with our breathing, tied up with that which sustains life. You can shut your eyes, cover your ears but you can’t stop your breathing, can’t stop yourself smelling the life that is going on around you. We need to breathe to keep alive, and the sense of smell comes as a necessary part of each breath we draw. There lies a tenuous connection, between living and sniffing.”

That was many years ago. At a time when I was still naïve. At a time when I still believed in fairy tales and happy endings. And I suppose, that was what I needed at that time. Some kind of hope to hang onto. Some kind of smell to lead me home.

For no matter how difficult it gets, the trick is, keep breathing.
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