Smelling the sun? Huh? Seeing its light, sure. Feeling the warmth on your shoulders, sure thing. But does it have a smell? How do we know whether it does or doesn’t? The truth is that we can’t really know if its fragrance is mixed in with everything else our nose is getting a whiff of.

During our waking hours, we rely mostly on our vision to supply us with the information about our environment. Smells and noises may strike us as pleasant or irritating, interesting, motivating, etc., but most often only in addition to what we see.

As a passionate gardener, I love tending to my plants, touching them while I weed around them, smelling their soft aroma as I prune, and observing their growth and beauty brings me immeasurable joy. We live in the city, so the sounds that surround me are not only those of nature: I notice traffic, lawnmowers, children, hammers, drums and whatever else is in the air. Most of it becomes background noise while I lose myself in caring for my "children". I take breaks on a beautiful big stone in my herb garden, close my eyes, and listen. I hear squirrels up and down the trees, birds picking up twigs for their nests, bugs moving under dried leaves. The city noise has a steady hum but also many layers of activities. As I listen with my ears, I am also "listening" inside my body and become aware of so much more. And then… I return to this, the visual world as I open my eyes.

Regardless of whether you live in the country or in the city, I invite you this season to take a couple of minutes when you’re outside to simply close your eyes and listen. And feel. It doesn’t take much time or effort.

Every day, every week, every season brings new sensations, new worlds, in fact and you are capable of developing your senses beyond what you thought is possible. What’s a few minutes to discover new worlds?

Enjoy the sun! And the rain.