The Smell of Amber

This week a woman came into the store with her small child. She was looking at the incense when I approached her and asked her if she needed assistance. She said no, she was fine but I noticed she had a quiet, pleasant air about her, as if she were daydreaming about something that held deep meaning for her. Not wanting to disturb her, or the moment, I stood quietly as she looked at a small bag of amber. She looked up at me and smiled. I remained present, simply giving her the space to share if she wanted to.

She proceeded to tell me about growing up in Morocco with the rows and rows of tiny shops all cramped together, each one selling their wares, and the smell of amber permeating throughout. I felt like I was there for a moment and could feel this woman's joy brought on by her memory. I was reminded of my own childhood and riding my bike to the local neighborhood store to buy an ice cream sandwich and the latest copy of Mad Magazine. I would sit on the bench inside by the front door, my feet barely touching the floor, eating my ice cream and occasionally looking up from my reading to watch the customers filling little paper bags with nails that they would scoop out of big bins. I always liked the way the place smelled. Even today, years later, I enjoy the smell of hardware stores.

As the woman and I stood there for a moment I marveled that while our specific experiences were vastly different, the joy we both felt was the same. We had grown up worlds apart yet were connected because we shared a basic, wonderful human emotion. And all this was brought together by a simple bag of amber that cost less than five dollars.

So as you go through your day, know that the people that bring joy to your heart, that upset you or that pass by without impacting you in any way are just like you. Oh, the storylines of their lives will be vastly different from yours, but underneath the storylines I think we all have the same experiences of those marvelous emotions that define the human experience. Have a joyous week.

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