Up until recently the shift has been gradual.
Slowly our environment has become an alternate reality, a synthetic world . . .
And I'd reckon the corona virus will serve to further disconnect us from each other, and the expanses of the natural world.
Despite the title, I'm not here to tell you my opinion about the corona virus or to say that the hysteria is worse than the actual virus. (Well. . . maybe just a little bit. . .)
I just want to open up a platform for us oud lovers to discuss the topic and to keep connected in times of possible isolation.
What's your part of the world look like these days?
Do you have any advice or words of wisdom to share in the current situation?
People are all reacting differently to the current situation, and I think its important such topics are discussed, so I do get into my opinions a bit at the end.
But I also wanted to share the role oud and natural aromatics plays in my life, and increasingly in the lives of my children.
Having grown up in the country, interaction with natural aromatics was a daily occurrence.
The laundry smelled like rainfall or lavender not because of the additives to the detergent but because the clothesline gently spun in the breeze carrying the scent of the surroundings.
To me the scent of petrichor has a meaning of life, of rejuvenation, or further still reincarnation, as the sprouts of sustenance spring forth from barren soils.
And though petrichor is sometimes known as 'the scent of rain' in reality it's the scent of the earth, the oil secreted by the rocks and ground as their pores open to receive the water from the saturated sky. . .
So too in the country the scent of cow pastures are part of the life-cycle, dried and used for fuel or more commonly incorporated into compost or turned into the fields for the nitrogen within. A well balanced compost pile doesn't have the slightest scent of rot, but rather has a warming earthen smell, a smoky moist peat like the thick jungle floor from years of organic matter, layer after layer forming the most fertile absorptive medium for growth and new life. . . all beginning from death.
Growing up the air was light and filled with herbaceous tones of chamisa, puffs of cotton wood floated on the gentle breeze and the distant groaning of cattle carried the distinct scent of pasture.
I can remember the scent (and the taste) of the salt rock for our horse Scheherazade, who escaped a thousand and one times from the ever heightening security of our corral, an incredibly intelligent beast she was. . .
This environment made me the fixative for the composition of my surroundings, the key that held it all together, a unique perspective with an observative mind, and that perfume, that composition that is my childhood memory, remains with me to this day, with lifelong longevity.
The days were filled with outward semblances of florals and herbaceous notes, dry hay and strands of alfalfa in piles heated by the sun with a deep base of tall grasses trampled into the mud by heavy hooves as they ruminated on their cud.
As this daily perfume faded into the night, on occasion circles of Remembrance ensued; pots of sweet mint tea warmed the vocals for poetry recitation sweeter still carrying the scent of gnosis climaxing in euphoric unity as the chalice censer circulated the spiritually uplifting scent that further stirred the soul: oud.
I was completely immersed in nature for the earliest years of my life, and my heart goes out to those who haven't had the opportunity to experience a field with chamisa, lavender and sage. Or massive hedges of jasmine and honeysuckle, climbing roses and wild herbs as they fill the air, and I will do my best to give my children that same experience.
The petrichor of the city streets is far different than the fertile earth and the leaves of the trees as they turn over to receive the key element of life. . . water.
The world and our daily environment is increasingly artificial, and as individuals are more and more isolated the need for connection is increasingly important, both interpersonal connection, and our connection to nature.
Looking back at the freedom of my childhood, I'm disheartened knowing that for so many the small screen is their only window to a perspective of the 'outside' world. In this day and age the majority of my peers have never set foot into a forest, let alone a jungle.
For me the more I am 'cut off' the more I need 'grounding,' connection through any means possible, be it through sharing coffee with loved ones and friends, my houseplants, basking in the sun, or popping open my essentials, the aromatics that connect my senses directly to the earth, the essences and spirits of the plants just for their fragrance and the grounding they provide for me and my children, and the many therapeutic properties are bonuses.
Every time I open one of my bottles if either of my daughters is around, they ask to smell it, and a huge smile crosses their faces as they guess which aroma they're smelling, I'll even let them choose what they want to wear as I believe the subconscious mind knows which essence to choose based on actual needs, just as a child is inclined to the food that possesses the nutrients they lack.
I also apply oud and essentials to my 6 month old son, sometimes a calming aromatic, and at other times something that just smells good. They don't have the opportunity to play outside for hours on end as I did, to tend the garden and the livestock, to turn the compost and experience the fragrant breeze, so I give them an opportunity to connect through the essence of those plants and aromatics. . .
Here in Amman, the government has shut down most public places of gathering, schools are closed, the mosques are locked and the malls are empty, passenger aircraft are suspended and the supermarkets look like designer fragrance labs with everyone walking around with gloves and respiratory masks, and yet despite the hysteria there's an increasing calm, as the streets quiet, the bird's songs are more audible and the children's laughter echoes through the emptiness of the streets occasionally overpowered by the eerie tune of the gas truck as it makes its rounds. . .
In the end I'm very grateful. Even in the worst case scenario that the virus is part of some corporation's trial run at harnessing mass hysteria, a sick marketing scheme by the huge vaccine corps, or a way to further indoctrinate the masses by isolating them in their houses limiting their information to the small screen, I know in the end the lines of electronic commerce will remain open, and will likely thrive, as will the suppliers. For example our courier remains fully operational because they have dedicated cargo planes and the actual parcels are barely ever handled. . .
But in the worst case that the whole world goes into house arrest, I mean 'shelter in place' if my portals into nature have to be delivered by drones, so be it =)
One thing is for sure, now I know what FDR meant by "the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself."
Lot's of love to everyone, I pray you all are well and I'd love to connect here and hear what's happening in your part of the world, and your perspective on the current situation, which we are all in together.
What are your thoughts about the Corona Virus?
Thanks for sharing,
Slowly our environment has become an alternate reality, a synthetic world . . .
And I'd reckon the corona virus will serve to further disconnect us from each other, and the expanses of the natural world.
Despite the title, I'm not here to tell you my opinion about the corona virus or to say that the hysteria is worse than the actual virus. (Well. . . maybe just a little bit. . .)
I just want to open up a platform for us oud lovers to discuss the topic and to keep connected in times of possible isolation.
What's your part of the world look like these days?
Do you have any advice or words of wisdom to share in the current situation?
People are all reacting differently to the current situation, and I think its important such topics are discussed, so I do get into my opinions a bit at the end.
But I also wanted to share the role oud and natural aromatics plays in my life, and increasingly in the lives of my children.
Having grown up in the country, interaction with natural aromatics was a daily occurrence.
The laundry smelled like rainfall or lavender not because of the additives to the detergent but because the clothesline gently spun in the breeze carrying the scent of the surroundings.
To me the scent of petrichor has a meaning of life, of rejuvenation, or further still reincarnation, as the sprouts of sustenance spring forth from barren soils.
And though petrichor is sometimes known as 'the scent of rain' in reality it's the scent of the earth, the oil secreted by the rocks and ground as their pores open to receive the water from the saturated sky. . .
So too in the country the scent of cow pastures are part of the life-cycle, dried and used for fuel or more commonly incorporated into compost or turned into the fields for the nitrogen within. A well balanced compost pile doesn't have the slightest scent of rot, but rather has a warming earthen smell, a smoky moist peat like the thick jungle floor from years of organic matter, layer after layer forming the most fertile absorptive medium for growth and new life. . . all beginning from death.
Growing up the air was light and filled with herbaceous tones of chamisa, puffs of cotton wood floated on the gentle breeze and the distant groaning of cattle carried the distinct scent of pasture.
I can remember the scent (and the taste) of the salt rock for our horse Scheherazade, who escaped a thousand and one times from the ever heightening security of our corral, an incredibly intelligent beast she was. . .
This environment made me the fixative for the composition of my surroundings, the key that held it all together, a unique perspective with an observative mind, and that perfume, that composition that is my childhood memory, remains with me to this day, with lifelong longevity.
The days were filled with outward semblances of florals and herbaceous notes, dry hay and strands of alfalfa in piles heated by the sun with a deep base of tall grasses trampled into the mud by heavy hooves as they ruminated on their cud.
As this daily perfume faded into the night, on occasion circles of Remembrance ensued; pots of sweet mint tea warmed the vocals for poetry recitation sweeter still carrying the scent of gnosis climaxing in euphoric unity as the chalice censer circulated the spiritually uplifting scent that further stirred the soul: oud.
I was completely immersed in nature for the earliest years of my life, and my heart goes out to those who haven't had the opportunity to experience a field with chamisa, lavender and sage. Or massive hedges of jasmine and honeysuckle, climbing roses and wild herbs as they fill the air, and I will do my best to give my children that same experience.
The petrichor of the city streets is far different than the fertile earth and the leaves of the trees as they turn over to receive the key element of life. . . water.
The world and our daily environment is increasingly artificial, and as individuals are more and more isolated the need for connection is increasingly important, both interpersonal connection, and our connection to nature.
Looking back at the freedom of my childhood, I'm disheartened knowing that for so many the small screen is their only window to a perspective of the 'outside' world. In this day and age the majority of my peers have never set foot into a forest, let alone a jungle.
For me the more I am 'cut off' the more I need 'grounding,' connection through any means possible, be it through sharing coffee with loved ones and friends, my houseplants, basking in the sun, or popping open my essentials, the aromatics that connect my senses directly to the earth, the essences and spirits of the plants just for their fragrance and the grounding they provide for me and my children, and the many therapeutic properties are bonuses.
Every time I open one of my bottles if either of my daughters is around, they ask to smell it, and a huge smile crosses their faces as they guess which aroma they're smelling, I'll even let them choose what they want to wear as I believe the subconscious mind knows which essence to choose based on actual needs, just as a child is inclined to the food that possesses the nutrients they lack.
I also apply oud and essentials to my 6 month old son, sometimes a calming aromatic, and at other times something that just smells good. They don't have the opportunity to play outside for hours on end as I did, to tend the garden and the livestock, to turn the compost and experience the fragrant breeze, so I give them an opportunity to connect through the essence of those plants and aromatics. . .
Here in Amman, the government has shut down most public places of gathering, schools are closed, the mosques are locked and the malls are empty, passenger aircraft are suspended and the supermarkets look like designer fragrance labs with everyone walking around with gloves and respiratory masks, and yet despite the hysteria there's an increasing calm, as the streets quiet, the bird's songs are more audible and the children's laughter echoes through the emptiness of the streets occasionally overpowered by the eerie tune of the gas truck as it makes its rounds. . .
In the end I'm very grateful. Even in the worst case scenario that the virus is part of some corporation's trial run at harnessing mass hysteria, a sick marketing scheme by the huge vaccine corps, or a way to further indoctrinate the masses by isolating them in their houses limiting their information to the small screen, I know in the end the lines of electronic commerce will remain open, and will likely thrive, as will the suppliers. For example our courier remains fully operational because they have dedicated cargo planes and the actual parcels are barely ever handled. . .
But in the worst case that the whole world goes into house arrest, I mean 'shelter in place' if my portals into nature have to be delivered by drones, so be it =)
One thing is for sure, now I know what FDR meant by "the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself."
Lot's of love to everyone, I pray you all are well and I'd love to connect here and hear what's happening in your part of the world, and your perspective on the current situation, which we are all in together.
What are your thoughts about the Corona Virus?
Thanks for sharing,
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