When the Senses Remember

 Have you ever stopped in your tracks because a song, a scent, or even the weather reminded you of something from your past?

This wasn't yesterday!

Yesterday, I was walking my dog on the beach. It was cool and damp, and the ocean was angry. Almost immediately, I was nine years old again, living in our house by the beach. Outside, the wind howled and the waves crashed, but inside, I felt cozy, warm, and safe while the storm blew around us.

And what about a scent?

The smell of warm chestnuts roasting on the streets of New York City in winter takes me back even further—to when I was a tiny girl living in Germany. Snow was falling during the Christmas markets, and the wonderful smell of chestnuts roasting at the vendors’ stalls filled the cold air.

And songs—so many songs.

Music can take us back to a particular place, but it can also return us to the person we were and the emotions we carried at that time. A few familiar notes can awaken feelings we may not have visited in years.

Our senses hold so many memories. They are tucked away until a sound, a scent, or a change in the weather opens the door.

Listen to your senses. Allow those memories to visit you once again. You may be pleasantly surprised by where they take you—and by how they make you feel.

 What song, scent, or kind of weather transports you to another time?

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