Take things slow. Look around and enjoy.

I wanted a change of scenery, for quite a while I have been thinking of driving up north towards Scotland and just enjoy the views that the drive would have to offer. But alas, I am not very careful in following up my plans. 

It seemed a very much ordinary Sunday for me,  but around noon I decided that I need to go out of the little town. I had essentially lost the will to be adventurous, may be it is the weather. The short days seem a bit too gloomy. 

Over the past few months, I have found a new hobby. Fragrances/aftershaves/perfumes, however you want to put it. The notes are a good representation of the mood, if you match them rather than randomly splashing a few sprays, you end up feeling well expressed. After all, expression is all about pouring out how you feel and well-resonating notes of a fragrance can make all the difference. 

I want you to imagine having to choose the notes to align with your mood, the weather and occasion, it would certainly make you more expressive but perhaps without using much words, you would let your presence speak for you. 

I chose Patchouli Ardent, it is one of those fragrances which brings me sheer joy, the feeling of being content as you I take a whiff of the ever-developing notes and the calmness and soothing effect it brings. 

I had found an area of outstanding natural beauty about a hour's drive away, this was my destination. The voice from the navigation application was my guide. It took me 20 minutes to find my way out of town and about 20 minutes before the scenery would start to change. 

It was a bit chilly, I had looked at the forecast it was going to get colder as the day would progress, and at some point it was going to be sub zero. 

A sudden chime from the car's infotainment screen, it was 3 degrees celcius outside. I turned the heating on a bit more, the warm air blowing through the vents would caress along the wrist where I had sprayed the fragrance. 

I would breathe in the beautiful notes, the notes were earthy and subtly sweet; indeed they had matched well with the scenery in front of me. The sun had finally found its way out of the clouds for a while, it was just beautiful. 

The roads were nearly empty, and I was leisurely driving. 

I had the thought of stopping on the side of the road, park the car and just look around but I was in search of the perfect place to take a break. 

The bendy roads, just imagine driving on those roads and as you would be shifting down a gear, feeling the acceleration as you power your way out of a bend, and you inhale the notes of patchouli-rose-cedar with hints of leather and musk. You would smile, you would enjoy.  

The only thing I wished more from yesterday's adventure was that I should have stopped. 

If you ever watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off, you might be able to recall 

 

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

That is the key lesson. Take things slow, look around and enjoy more.