Sensitivity 9/25/2022

By: Jennifer Richardson Holt

There are certain things that always get to me. And when I say get to me, I mean have a deep and profound impact.  I can be exposed to these certain elements countless times and every time, the weighty emotion they merit astounds me.  I often wonder if I am an enigma, or more accurately, just weird that experiencing the same thing over and over can still inspire such emotional stirring.  I would understand if we were talking about some gargantuan life-changing event but no. We aren’t. These are the simplest of things that might not even make most people pause much less be moved. Yes, I am thinking it could be due to my generic brand of strangeness but I am completely comfortable with that if it is in fact the case. So today I take you on a journey of the senses. Not just any senses mind you, but mine in particular.  You’ll learn what stokes the fires of my imagination and I’ll probably reinforce my sentiment of being, shall we say, unique. Hopefully you’ll find it strangely endearing if nothing else.

I suppose sight is the easiest to pin down.  Of all the senses the eyes seem to take their fill first very often. In considering what visuals stimulate the most in guttural response, I have to rely on one of my absolute favorites; morning mist.  There is just something about seeing clouds hovering low to the ground that stirs something within the core of my being. It could be in the heat of the summer, which I loathe, but in those early hours when the light already begins to grow a bit too intense, there it is. It is in this unnecessarily early brightness when the moisture of the air that will soon be oppressing us with miserable humidity does something otherworldly.  The air filled with almost unnatural amounts of water captures the glow of the sun and makes a hazy glow. I see it and though I know it means a day that will likely be unpleasant to experience unless done so from a heavily air conditioned indoor environment, the very atmosphere set ablaze in a white-gold glow almost, not quite but almost, makes up for it.  And in the glorious fall, the mornings are cool and the brief respite causes a completely different look in the early hours with blue tinted white clouds that seem to seep up from the earth itself. I cannot possibly see this enough. I would be an achingly boring photographer because the mists of the wee hours would make up far too much of my portfolio.

For the sake of time and word count, let us move to the ears. I am fairly certain I am not alone in that I find the sound of a babbling brook intoxicating. They certainly don’t put it as an option on most sound machines for its lack of appeal. When I hear it I am immediately transported to the mountains.  The sound of water dancing against stone fills me with ideas of ancient peoples coming to it for the life it provided. The very idea that I can set foot in those same frigid waters that have provided for people and animals for centuries has an appeal that I cannot explain. A well-known children’s movie (that is just as wonderful for adults might I add) says that water has memory. I think they may well be right because I seem to be able to share in those memories at the mere sound of a stream cutting its course across the land and it sounds like peace but with power and gentle relaxation but brimming with life.

Smell and taste are next.  I will list them together as they are so entwined as they become difficult to separate. And as I review my notes I realize I have jotted far too many about these senses.  Apparently the fragrances and flavors that invigorate my mind are many.  To choose one of each will inevitably leave out many that are equally important but here I must.  I shall list something of which both the smell and taste will present undeniable impact; baked goods.  The smell of bread baking will fill a place with a perfume that has the strength to almost change a house into a home.  There is so much nostalgia and comfort in it.  Like other meaningful moments, you almost can’t appropriately take it in with your eyes open.  It can even be more involved than just bread and make it a cake or pie or some other level of confection and the impact is the same. It is a hug taken in through the nose that goes straight to the heart.  And once you partake of the glory that comes from that oven, you cannot help but wonder if the stomach is the housing for the soul.  How does partaking in deliciousness incite such weighty feeling? I cannot truly say but I think we all have experienced it. You might be closing your eyes right now remembering.

For touch I shall look no further than the softness that is attempting to rest its heavy weight upon my arms as I type.  There are those who enjoy fur both on and off of its owner and I shan’t get into the ethics of that but I do understand the generic softness appeal. Personally, I prefer my coats on creatures that can return some form of affection with my strokes.  For instance, as I sink my fingers into this thick black warmth upon my arms I know that I will receive reciprocation in a loving head butt which I will kiss upon contact.  While fur in any context is warm, I find it far more charmingly so when it has its own heat built in. Throw in a purr and I assure you no stole or coat can compete.

Maybe the things I have listed aren’t so outlandish after all.  Everything I have written about here affect me to the point that I want to write about them.  This seems to be my typical method of operation. I am inspired and want to capture what has impacted me be it in word or photograph so that I can lavish in it at will.  I don’t know that either word or picture ever really do these things justice as the actual sensual experience. Truly, they likely don’t but I suppose it cannot hurt one to try. The world is crowded with things all around us that are revel worthy. We just have to stop and take time to cuddle the pet, listen to the brook, watch the mist, taste the treat and smell the flowers…or bread as the case may be.