Last time, we put our thoughts to how love and hate would smell like. It is true that we associate scents to our feelings and memories. This week, I was invariably drawn to two of the most intriguing emotions- Passion and Jealousy. Both are relentless, whether you observe or experience.
So, what would passion smell like? And what scent would jealousy emit?
Passion
A strong drive for something or someone in particular, passion is one of the strongest emotions one experiences. And by strength, I literally mean the driving force that often makes people push themselves beyond their known limits. Often, it can be felt as a fire within. Before we try to identify the smell of passion, it is essential to feel its essence. Passion can mean so much for any of us. But what it has in common, is the desire. Passion is what makes love the stuff of lore. A passionate lover is one of the unstoppable forces in the universe. That is because he or she wants nothing, not even life, more than they want their love. It is not for the faint or superficial of heart. It is as ingrained as the heartbeat itself. You cannot chose to be passionate. Either you have passion in your life, or you are just breathing.
You might consider this weird, but for me, the smell of passion is the smell of petrol. The one you refill your vehicle’s fuel tank with. The next time when you are at the petrol pump (gas station for my friends from the USA and service station for my friends from the UK), take a moment, put your nose close to the fuel duct and take a deep breath. Feel the intensity of the smell reach deep within you, as if striking chords inside you with electric sparks. As you lift your head from that duct, you still have the smell inside your head, a smell that makes you want to inhale harder, deeper to make the essence last longer. It feels like the very fuel that it belongs to, as if it is waiting to be ignited inside you. All it needs is a spark.
Jealousy
This is a tough nut. All of us have felt jealousy at one point of our lives or another. When I think of jealousy, I think of it as a hybrid emotion, maybe even an abstract one. One of the most difficult to define, jealousy doesn’t really have clear motives. That is what makes it one of the most dangerous emotions to experience. Try to remember a time when you were jealous of someone. And if you don’t have to, let me know who you are so that I can be wary of you. This is not the “I am jealous of that celebrity” or “I am jealous of all the people” jealousy we are discussing. This is a cold, sharp amalgamation of hatred and resentment without any ambiguity regarding the subject, without any shred of positive logic or complacency. Yes, do you remember that now?
For this one, I will have you warm up your imagination cells and be ready to work them. Without visualizing, imagine a cold winter night, with a veritable chill. The air is crisp and silent. You are outside, sitting on a cold rock. In front of you there is a log fire. Do not feel the heat. Inhale the crackling firewood.
The scent is difficult to understand, but not for one second is it harmless. The burning smell raises alarms in your mind even if you do not intentionally inhale it. It is the smell of destruction, of a desire to erase. It is not a smell you consciously want to be around. And if it is around you, it is the only scent you can get. It consumes your senses.
I guess this is how it is said. Jealousy burns.
Image Courtesy: Pinterest.com
Arnab Mukherjee 