scent of a wild rose

The other day I was taking a walk in nature, as I liked to do, only on that occasion my mind was rather busy: busy with thoughts. I don't remember what I was thinking about – nothing of any great importance, I suspect – and it was enough to distract me, so that I was not really appreciating the beauty of the nature around me, until that is, I smelled the scent of a wild rose. It penetrated me, and it stopped my thoughts dead in their tracks. They were gone instantly, and my mind was still. It was quiet. And suddenly I was in the present moment again, present with that divine scent of the wild rose, present with what was there before me.

And moments such as this, when we are truly present to our senses, to the moment, here and now, these moments are precious. These moments are when we are most alive. The thinking mind is a distraction from this.

So it is beautiful, a wonderful gift, when one of our senses interrupts the thoughts. It's as if my nose were saying to me, pay attention to this divine smell. It's much more enjoyable than those boring thoughts going round and round in your head. And my nose was quite right. The scent of that wild rose was divine, heavenly. It immediately lifted my spirits, and it brought me back to myself, to being. And in truth nothing more is needed for us to live our life in a wholesome way. So I give thanks to that scent, the scent of a wild rose.