The Sweet Smell of Nature

Introduction

The scent of plants on a wet early spring morning; the smell of newly mown grass; the first roses of summer; the hot, dry, arid herbs on a scorched mountain — these are just a few of the many sweet smells of nature

The smell is one of the most evocative memory joggers. Not only does it stop you at the time, helping you to extend and savor all that is present, but it also has a beautiful way of reviving memories to sweeten the present. When we remember someone, we very often remember their scent.

We smell their individual pheromones (from the Greek pherein meaning “to carry,” and hormone meaning “to excite”). Pleasant odors make us feel happy, while noxious ones can irritate or depress us. So whether you like the smell of tar, bergamot essential oil, or the latest chemical perfume is for you to decide, but the sensation will change your own body chemistry.

It does this through a portion of the brain that controls emotional well-being, which is originally triggered by the nerves of the olfactory organ — the nose. Essential oils come from all parts of plants and trees: bark, berries, seeds, leaves, and flowers.

They all basically work to balance our sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, relaxing and bringing harmony and equilibrium, clarity, and awareness. This is why they were, and still are, burned in so many temples around the world in the form of incense: myrrh and frankincense from Africa and western Asia, sage from the Western Hemisphere, and lavender from south Europe

Nature and Its Health

Pollution has already affected half of Britain’s trees. Visible symptoms like sparse foliage, broken tops, bare branches, or trees to which autumn seems to come early are the outward signs of complex internal problems.

A survey done in 1991 showed that 56.7 percent of British trees had lost more than a quarter of their leaves. Britain ranks worst out of the whole of Europe: even heavily polluted Poland and the Czech Republic have relatively healthier trees.

A combination of pollution and drought, with ensuing infestations of insects and fungi, seems to be the problem, resulting in the tree’s natural defense systems becoming weaker and weaker. This problem mirrors humans’ own alarming global rise in immune-system diseases and allergy problems