The Nose Knows

September 24, 2009
Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us ot the time of trial but rescue us from the evil one. - Matt 6:9-15

Okay, this is a bit of a stretch, but I think this prayer is about how to live as a human, with senses, on the earth. I hope that I learn each day how to live into God's will in this moment, on earth, since heaven is so outside of my realm.

One of the aspects of being human with five senses to remind me of my humanness, is the sense of smell. When I eat, my smell muscle informs my taste buds what's coming up and they get ready. When I hike in the woods, I love to stick my nose into the bark of a tree and smell the scent of butterscotch or of eucalyptis or pine. My smeller reminds me of my humanity.

This day, during my on-call rotation, I had a bouquet of scents to color my work time. The scent of septecemia surrounding the patient in isolation. The scent of starvation hovering around the patient who was too sick to eat and whose family declined the feeding tube. The scent of charcoal that the OD patient swallowed to absorb the drugs he had consumed. The scent of race car fuel from the jeans and boots of the young man who, in the words of his Pastor, "won the final victory and who can breath the sweet fresh air of heaven."

I pray, then, in this way... that through scents that stir my soul I may be reminded of my own humanity and may I be reminded of Love on earth, as it is in heaven.

What is earthly scents fill your airspace in this moment?