The Nose Knows

Blog 2727 – 04.17.2023

The Nose Knows

I read some years ago that many of our memories are tied to smells. Try a little experiment, next time you are having trouble recalling the who, what, when, or where something happened in your past, instead of going through the alphabet hoping some letter will provide a link to recall the piece of stored data (that rarely if ever works as our mind is not ordered alphabetically) instead run through your list of smells, pleasant and otherwise, to discover a link and recover the memory that you are after. The nose knows.

You will be surprised as most of us are to find that instead of the Dewey Decimal System or some more modern computer filing system that our mind hooks things it wishes to record and remember by associating them with certain smells.

Dogs they say have very sensitive noses, sensitive enough to track people down by the scent of clothing they have warn and the trail of smell left behind like a signature. Dog’s noses are so finely tuned to differentiate between smells that they can even detect the smell of cancer when it has barely begun to grown.

If we trusted our noses more we too would be better detectives and know instinctively when “something is rotten in Denmark” or “just smells funny.” The milk and most foods smells off even before we can taste the spoilage. Our noses are like the king or queen’s food and wine taster, our first line of defense preventing us from ingesting things unpleasant or even poisonous.

We are as unique and different as our noses and our tastes. Some say “free you mind and the rest will follow” others “sometimes you cannot believe your own eyes” still others point out how often we just hear what we want to hear. I say trust your nose, it will steer you clear and true. It will also help you avoid sticky smelly messes that you have gotten into in the past and help you recognize the sweet smell of success and good things ahead. The nose always knows.

Your friend and fellow traveler,

David White

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14JF7gFDRx2hEASUd6zXhvXIgOu-_14ic/view?usp=drivesdk

The Nose Book

Where have all the flowers gone -The kingston trio(lyrics)