Photographs, Memories, and Smells?

Smells. What do they conjure, and why do they trigger a moment in time?

My nose perked up reading an article by Margaret Talbot, “Remembrances of Scents Past.” She wrote about a new exhibit at the British Library in London allowing visitors to experience the scents of thirteenth-century women.

Talbot answered my question.

There are physiological reasons why smell can trigger memories more effectively than other senses.The olfactory cortex is closely connected to the amygdala, a part of the brain that processes emotions, and to the hippocampus, a key region for memory. Rachel Herz, a neuroscientist at Brown University who studies smell, told me that it is the only sensory system in which a sensation is produced and consciously experienced in the same regions of the brain where emotions and memories are made.

The wheels started turning as I wondered about the scents that linger, always on the alert to pull a memory from the past.

Fresh mowed grass on a summer day, rainbows arch across the sky. Children jump in piles, stained feet wait for the sun to set, the moon to rise, and are poised to catch fireflies flashing in the night.

Nothing is sweeter than the scent of a newborn as he snuggles against your cheek. You rock slowly back and forth, wishing the moment would last. Yes. It does.

A black and white photo of a bookshelf filled with various books on writing and literature, accented by a small potted plant.

Books. Oh, how I love the smell of books lined up by number, by author, row upon row in a library, in a used bookstore, the musty pages drawing you towards a story.

Flowers shout their scent, inviting in the bees. Their buzzing makes the jasmine almost seem alive, like a song humming within the yellow blossoms.

A vibrant, dense Jasmine bush covered in bright yellow flowers against a clear blue sky.

I long for summer breezes mixed with the salt air—an aphrodisiac to soothe the soul.

Interesting how scents cling to us like the sweat clinging to our skin on a humid, hot summer day.

A song for the smells of summer

A few aromatic thoughts

“Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived.”
—Helen Keller

“Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon.”
—Doug Larson

“Nostalgia is where the past blurs into the present. That’s where all the best scents are to be found.”
― Jarod Kintz,

Gentle waves lapping against a sandy beach, with clear blue water reflecting sunlight, creating a serene coastal scene.

I always welcome your thoughts, so please leave a comment

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And always—