Today I nearly cried. A television programme took my breath away. It is rare for any programme to make be even consider becoming tearful; even ‘War Horse’ did not make me cry, (well not much).
Probably if I had not walked past the DIY shop, I would not have come close to tears. Today I saw man sawing wood, but it was not the noise or the sight that touched my mind and my soul but the smell of the sawdust, and of newly cut wood. Within moments I was transported to a time when making bookends at school, smelling and feeling the wood within my hands, creating and forming something unique.
Then I thought of lily of the valley taking over the garden, of school playing fields with freshly mown grass, of Christmas trees the sap sticky and pungent, the satsuma at the bottom of a Christmas stocking, the fragrance my mother wore when I was a child.
So back to the programme ‘Travelling Blind’ Amar Latif, had arranged a companion to travel with him on holiday in Turkey. He has been blind since he was 18, and his companion Sara has never been a guide before. He wanted to experience all he could through his senses; to listen to the call to prayer, taste the spices, hear the bees in a hive, feel the silk of a scarf and listen to descriptions of the landscape.
Today I was reminded that we experience life through all our senses, and although in some ways we too ‘travel blind’ not knowing what the next day, or week will hold there is a richness we have in the senses which give a breadth and depth to each moment we live. We enjoy a feeling and experience that will often live with us far beyond the moment.
As we travel towards Christmas, we encounter mince pies, and carols, lights and decorations, sights and smells bringing us joy, reminding us of friends and family. Also we experience them anew as if for the first time as we prepare to let the Word become flesh touch every aspect of our lives; opening our eyes to see the richness and diversity around us.