Taking Life for Granted

We find ourselves in the middle of a Medical crisis with everyone running scared, as if the world is about to end. We've tended to have the thought that we are somehow above the fray. We are just human beings and not gods. We can get sick and die from an invisible bacteria, germ, or virus like one that spreading around the world today.

But here are a few things to remember about living. We have five senses; sight, hearing, smelling, taste, and touch. Some also include two other minor senses, the sense of space and the sense of danger or fear. We take our senses for granted most of the time, but now that we are in the middle of this pandemic, you should take time out to appreciate these God given gifts. Especially now, when I wake up in the morning, I try to smell the air and take a sip of water so that I can taste it. These two senses are a key in determining if you might have the virus.

As for the other senses, sight is often taken granted; it's easy to wake up and see things. Well, not so much if you have glasses or contacts and have to put them on, but you know what I mean. But appreciating your sight is important.

The sense of smell is really the one sense that we really don't appreciate. Unless you have ridden a bike and breathed through your nose, you might not learn to smell and appreciate the scents or aromas around you; the benefits that come from inhaling incense or essential oils, or the scent of rain after a storm, fresh laundry hung out to dry. There was one moment when the sense of smell saved our house back in NJ. The fan behind the refrigerator was blowing out of smoke and we didn't a fire alarm going off to warn us. I smelled the smoke and then we called the Fire Department. They came and put out the fire. So try to smell more often as it is really a good thing, most animals and mammals use this sense more than their sight.

Next is our sense of taste. We eat, but most of us don't take the time to relish the taste. We really eat for consumption, for hunger, but if you try to eat for the taste of the food, it's a different experience. Try to taste your coffee or OJ in the morning, or chew your food and taste the different ingredients, the spices, and the texture and the way being cold or hot makes a difference.

Last of the major senses is touch. Touching someone's arms or cheeks or lips is such an important part to being human. We take life for granted but now that we are into social distancing, I miss this the most. To have someone there to touch me and to feel their warmth in their hug and the closeness between us is what I miss. So much is conveyed by this sense. It is truly the one sense that connects us as humans. Don't take it for granted.

I read an article, and the link is provided below that also discusses the sense of space and the sense of fear. I'll leave those for you to read. The point I'd like to make is that this virus has given us an opportunity to see through all the bad and to be thankful for what is good. It starts with appreciating what our senses are telling us.

So please, don't take life for granted.

https://www.livescience.com/60752-human-senses.html