Happiness is a Scent Away
We can find happiness on Mondays, too. Ready?
We want lives of happiness sprinkled over us, with days of great bliss interspersed throughout our year. Sure, we can have momentous days of falling in love, becoming engaged and the happiest of all are wedding days. That event is an exclamation point in our lives; all cake and rings and vows of love.
Some of us are lucky enough, if so inclined, to find out we’re pregnant. And the wonder of that new person being made and molded inside is happiness most of the time. Certainly delivering a healthy baby is the best day, though many of us travel through days of worry and concern. I did, but even when my youngest had eye issues, I found so much to celebrate and enjoy. He turned out well.
But what about today? Another Monday making us face down the long work week of another four days of long hours, hoping to make enough to pay for the groceries and gas and heat. But wait!
In the middle of work we have to find moments, minutes of bliss. Look outside if at all possible. Even in the bleak winter days the trees show off their true shapes, and the stark beauty begs to be noticed. Find a cloud. Find the sunshine if you’re lucky. Run your hands across the green grass outside, and when you come back in look at the photos of your family that make you want to work harder.
No family? Make one. Well, not that way, but create your group of friends who do life with you. Friendsgiving. New Year’s. My daughter has a group called, “Mom’s Club” which includes a decent amount of guys, and none of them are moms, go figure, but they hang out.
Anyway. I thought of a huge mood lift. Scent. Smells. Fragrance, though don’t think perfume, I beg you. Rather, think of opening a sachet of lavender. Real dried lavender. Rosemary is wonderful also. If you’re at work have sachets to breathe in a happy scent for you. Coffee beans? Chocolate? Well, that can do double duty, since eating chocolate boosts moods.
Can you take a walk at lunchtime, enjoying the soft spring air? Breathe in the pollen, um, flowers and trees. Smell the rain long before it arrives, and come inside smelling of freshness and air.
At home it’s easy to light a candle. I’ve always lit one after dinner to rid the house of a foodie smell. But there is nothing happier than feeling famished and coming into a kitchen full of spices and vegetables being cooked. Bacon with coffee on a coolish morning is a bright bubble of instant happiness.
You might want to experiment with candles, diffusers, sprays and lotions. In the mornings I shower with my lime and basil soap, followed by layering with lotion in lime and finishing with a walk through a mist of cologne. Just once, though. Find your scent, the one that fits you and makes you smile. Use it.
Then focus on your home, where a candle next to your reading chair creates a happy and soothing feeling. I do choose very scented candles, and one of them evokes the special fragrance of a willow tree in a warm summer breeze as it’s lifted up and through the gossamer curtains puckering in that wind. Find your dreamy world. It’s not what’s really going on, but if we could have that daydream, then we’d reach out and feel peace. Serenity.
Happiness comes in so many forms. We don’t need a full day of utter happiness, because that’s heaven to me. How about snippets here and there? Find a path and take it. Run in the rain. Take in the softness of a diffuser next to your bed as you drift toward sleep. Sip a fragrant tea at night to soothe yourself. Those scents will become part of who you are, and we’re meant to enjoy so much of life’s purity and beauty.
It’s a Monday. But this might be the week you decide to bring a lightly scented soap into that hot shower or bath with you. Start it off right. Make your coffee before your shower, so you have time to savor the flavor as you get dressed and ready. Fill your senses with the wonder of flowers, real flowers that actually smell.
And open your windows and hearts to the new season full of hope. It’s light out long enough after work that you can cook outside, drink wine in the garden or on the rooftop, or pull some weeds while listening to the cacophony of birds nesting and moving toward sleep. Maybe taking a quick 30 minute run or walk is your speed. Embrace the little moments. They might not feel spectacular, but I felt so tired the night of our wedding. I can only take so much bliss at one time.
Let’s both grab those minutes. Enjoy yourself just a little bit more.
Have a happy week. It’s all yours for the taking.
