The Essence of Life
Have you ever been listening to music and suddenly a song comes back and you are instantly transported to a past moment in time? When the first notes of the song start to play and you get that feeling that you felt at that stage of your life. Not just the memory of what was happening, or a general collage of pictures in your mind, but you are there, in that instant, feeling the essence of the moment. It is almost like reliving it. It can happen when you sit in an old car and smell that smell only an old car can have, of plastic and metal and maybe suntan lotion that is embedded in the seats, or when you smell a certain perfume or cologne and are suddenly immersed in a memory of slow dances at the high school prom and a feeling you had then; an essence of being in that moment.
Interestingly enough, the sense of smell is linked with memory more closely than any of our other senses and the sense of smell is highly emotive. Sound is also linked with memory and emotion and together these two senses, smell and sound (hearing), can invoke highly exact memory recall, almost to the point of seemingly being transported back to the exact moment of an event and the feeling that accompanied it. Thus, the essence to which I am referring.
For many of us those snippets of our past are precious. They may happen in a flash but they make us feel warm just for a few seconds, a bit of a smile and shaking of the head — -”those were the days” we might say to ourselves.
When I hear “Blackwater” by the Doobie Brothers I am instantly transported to riding in my friend’s van with the shag carpeting, chain steering wheel, and bed in the back (Don’t come knockin’ if the van’s a-rockin’!). I feel the essence of the time, which was more than just hearing the music and smelling the joint we were passing. It is a feeling that is impossible to recapture at will.
The essence we feel when nostalgia overcomes us is harder to pinpoint than remembering lyrics to a song, or the summoning up the image of an old friend or place. The essence is a deep feeling, something that transports you to experiencing the soul of what was happening — the ambiance of the time, if you will.
Sometimes it is frustrating because you want to share that feeling with someone else. The special-ness of it, the knowing of how things were and felt. Part of us may not want to revel in the feeling, indulging in memories — ”that is what old people do” we may tell ourselves. Allowing ourselves immersion in the essence of the memory is soothing, knowing that we lived and experienced something special, something that never will be again and is impossible to share with another.
When these fleeting moments come upon you, triggered by a song, smell or taste or even an old picture, allow yourself the small pleasure that comes with it, revel for a minute, be transported back in time and enjoy the essence of life.
