Many of us have kept some kind of cloth from our beloved’s life after they pass. I ha my father’s “little green sweater”. I have some of my mother’s crocheted throws. I have some clothing of Man Hans. When I feel a need to be reminded, I will draw these swatches of cloth to me and still, after two decades, one decade, their scent is still there. It opens my heart in some way.
Funny story, well, sad story, is, that, in the rush, the clothing I saved of Man Hands were his joke shorts and one sock of a pair he had at the end. I do not sniff them for memory, but it does remind me of the laughter we always shared. My youngest maternal sister gave me a throw that my birth mother crocheted. I wrap myself in it to remind me that I do belong to a tribe. The scent of rain. Newly mowed hay remind me of my father. A warm barn full of milk cows on a cold night reminds me of my grandfather. Chrysanthemums remind me of my grandfather’s funeral. Peonies remind me of my mother’s glorious garden. It is flowers that evoke memories of my mother and make me feel close to her. I think flowers are most evocative.
Smell is key to memories of person, place, thing, events and can be medicine as well.
When one is depressed or anxious, you can burn frankincense in order to enlighten oneself to an artistic way of healing those feelings in artistic expression. When you are trying to bring a long past memory into focus for expression in art, you can use oil of grapefruit or rosemary to help you. My favorite is holy wood/ palo santo to ease me into a more fluid intuitive work.
What scent is most evocative in helping you move more easily into creating?
©Carol Desjarlais 5.22.23
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