The Scent of Happiness

ORIGINALLY POSTED: 2/15/2009.

I've been out of town and a bit out of sorts. In an attempt to rebalance, I’d visited a Starbucks to soothe myself with a Chai. I experienced a very unexpected benefit…the minute I walked in the store, I smelled the coffee (which I don’t drink and generally don’t even like the scent of), saw the crowd sitting, standing, chatting, drinking, doing, and being…and felt - at home. I don’t mean back in town, at my home, I mean at home in my soul. And before I get a bunch of complaints about how I’m falling into the Starbucks “marketing” trap, I want to encourage everyone to think about this for a minute.

It was a feeling, brought on by sensory cues, that reminded me of my truth. A scent, sights, perhaps colors or the sounds…I was taken from the rush of what was to the pleasantries of what is.

Perhaps someday I’ll create environments (my own home, a bustling and peaceful yoga community center) that I can constantly visit and in which to live to support and nurture these feelings, this way of being.

And yell at me all you want, but until that point…there’s always Starbucks.