I put a smell on you

We are all looking, sometimes loudly, mostly quietly, for a place where we can recognize ourselves.

A place in life.
In society.
Within ourselves.

What sounds banal is in fact a highly complex psychological process: we are constantly shaping our self.
A self that fits. It fits the expectations of others, but also our own dreams, fears, and contradictions.

Some people do this through language. Others through clothing. Some need music to feel themselves.
And some, perhaps more than you think, use scents.

Not as an accessory.
But as an expression of an inner attitude.

Who are we when no one is looking – but someone smells us?

Perhaps this is the true essence of our eternal search:
We want to be seen, but not seen through.
We want to belong, but not disappear.
We want to be special, but not alone.

Scents give us a space in between.
They are not masks, but windows.
They tell us what we (still) have no words for.

Maybe that's exactly what it is in the end.

That we do not stop searching for ourselves,
because we have learned that our own place is not a fixed place,
but a movement.

A smell.
A decision.
A changing self.

And sometimes, but only sometimes, a fragrance fits so well,
that for a moment it feels as if you have arrived.

Author: Kristin Matousek