Inspiration in the Little Things : The Cozy Scents of Home

An important piece of living inspired is mindfulness.  Mindfulness is about finding inspiration in the little every day things.  Practicing mindfulness and living life with your senses turned on is a great way to experience gratitude! (I’ll be talking about enjoying the sense of smell today).  As you all know, I am BIG on gratitude.  Gratitude is the pathway to a life of true joy, satisfaction, peace and attracting more good things.  This wasn’t always the way I lived, but this is how bit by bit I pulled myself up out of a series of unfortunate events that made life miserable, to create a life that fills me with a deep sense of joy and purpose now.  Gratitude is an act of worship!  What a wonderful way to move in to the season of Thanksgiving…

With the season of Thanksgiving, and all of the upcoming holidays, come wonderful aromas.  That is what got me on this topic in the first place.  One definition of Inspiration is:

” An act of breathing in; an inhalation.”

 

Tonight I was filled with gratitude for the warm and cozy smells coming from my kitchen.  They filled the whole upstairs with a comfort that sank right through my skin and settled deep  in my bones.  It’s that time of year where the air is getting chilly and the comfort foods come out.  I finally got out the Crock Pot Matt bought me a year ago.  I’ve never cooked in a Crock Pot before today.  Standing in the kitchen in my fuzzy socks and Matt’s big warm sweatshirt, I sliced up potatoes and carrots and put them in the Crock Pot with a nice big beef roast and broth.  I don’t know why, but an apple pie sounded like the perfect match to go with, so I popped one of those in the oven too.

Then I took a nap 😀 . (those of you who know me from SARK’s programs may get a smile out of that, since we SARKians are big on naps 😉 )

What a cozy feeling to get up from my nap to be greeted by the glorious smells of pot roast and warm apple pie!  I stopped and stood there and just inhaled.  I’m sure I had a smile on my face while doing it.  Being fully present, I could really relax and feel deep satisfaction for the simple joy of the cozy scents of home.  There is a term I’ve coined for this called “Living Meditation: (Let’s Get Little)” (which is also a section on my blog).

I call it living meditation, because it is not the kind of meditating where you have to go sit cross-legged in a corner somewhere and be silent for goodness knows how long.  It’s not the sort of meditation you have to make TIME for (although regular meditation is a great relaxation tool!).  It is the sort of meditation that just requires a pause, an awareness of the present moment, and a “thank you God” of gratitude as you bask in the pleasure of it all.  As far as the “Let’s Get Little” part from the phrase I use, that is referring to the present moment wonderment little children naturally have.  It’s about getting “small” and seeing/feeling things with a sense of awe. 

That is just what I was doing today as I appreciated the meal we were about to eat!  There is something about certain smells that evoke memories.  Especially memories of home.  Memories of Mom or Grandmas and the comfy cozy smells in their kitchens too. Those memories waft in and mix with my creations, as I make my home cozy with scents of its own.

Here are some of my favorite smells in the world (aside from pot roast and apple pie 🙂 ) : 

• Homemade bread baking in the oven
• Cinnamon anything.  Cinnamon rolls baking.  Mulled cider. Cinnamon on a hot bowl of oatmeal with milk.  Cinnamon Toast!
• Warm ooey gooey brownies fresh from the oven
• Fall leaves and Fall air.  What is it about Fall air?!  It has a smell of its own!
• Lilacs in the Spring.  My favorite flower.
• Freshly washed sheets on a newly made bed.  Fresh towels too!
• Bonfires.  Crackling wood burning in a fireplace.
• My husband’s Cologne (which by the way is Very Sexy for Him by Victoria’s Secret and also the Very Sexy Platinum.  It is um..SEXY! 😀 )
• Vanilla anything.  Vanilla extract, Vanilla cake batter.
• Sunscreen and Sand and Water and all the beachy smells.
• The way the earth smells when it rains.
• Babies and Puppies and Puppy Breath hehe

Something to think about: Do you take time to stop and really inhale (with pure delight!) the smells around you?  Take a few minutes to do this each day.  What do you notice?  How do you feel?  Do we take time to have gratitude for our sense of smell?  There are people out there who don’t have a sense of smell.  It is something I don’t take for granted.  If you do this living meditation with this week’s topic of gratitude – The sense of smell, won’t you leave a comment and let me know about your experience?

Also- I would love it if you would join me in sharing some of your favorite smells by leaving a comment on the website or my FB page.  What scents do you love?  What scents bring fond memories and why?  What is the cozy scent of YOUR home like?  I really want to know 😀 

As for me and my Crock Pot experience- the dinner tasted just as good as it smelled.  It was to die for!  The pot roast fell apart and melted in our mouths.  The carrots, potatoes, and the PIE was such a treat.  The best part is the meal itself took virtually no effort.  I think I’m going to love this Crock Pot thing!

Sending you warm and cozy Autumn nights from my cottage to yours,

Rebekah (Bekah)

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