Thursday 12 January 2012

Smells trigger emotional memories

photo: Ruth Skiffington


As marketers know when they pipe smells into the mall, our olfactory sense evokes power emotional reactions. Walking this afternoon with my son, I took a deep breath, inhaling in the aroma of horse. What a treat to live in a big city, yet be so close to nature that we sometimes smell the scents from Spruce Meadows, Calgary's world-class, show jumping facility.

Apparently not everyone has a fond feeling for the aroma - I glanced at my son and he had his nose plugged in distaste! When the winds carry the horse scent to our neighbourhood, I feel happy as it transports me back to childhood and many fond memories of my friend's family horses; riding and cleaning them. When she visited the last time we lived here, we toured Spruce Meadows.

This summer we attended an event at Spruce Meadows where we saw these great creatures and the amazing feats of which they are capable.

photo: Ruth Skiffington

What smells transport you to a pleasant emotional memory?

2 comments:

  1. I love Spruce Meadows, I think I need to add it to my list of places to go this year!

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