Place of Mind

Victoria Goluch

Composition 101

McGuire

30 September 2019

Making Sense of the World

To perceive is the act of immediate or intuitive apprehension of the senses, or mind; a sort of cognition or understanding. Even with the possession of such a complex and intricate tool such as cognitive thought; we as people continuously perceive the world to be filled with the simple tones of black and white. The ability to use and understand our senses is taken for granted, leaving a bland or “normal” notion in the perception of our surroundings. Adaptation to this concept leaves us to believe that the sensual reality of our environment is bizarre, deviating, or even strange. Realistically we are surrounded by the beauty of sensual illusions. We process things with a basic mindset, suppressing the delicacy of truth lurking beyond our expectations. The simple application of our natural senses such as smell, sight, and sound allows us to truly open our eyes and absorb all the intimate charm the world has to offer.

Smell is the most primitive sense within the human body. To have a sense of smell is to create and rehash memories, allow flow of positive energy, and enhance the ability to appreciate emotion. Though referencing a flower shop may seem cliche, I find that it plays the part of a perfect example when demonstrating the importance of sensory identification. When walking into Willow Florist, I never thought of its importance. Personally, the the senses of the floral shop always seemed to conveyed a elderly feeling. Though I typically saw the same sixty-seven year old lady propped up on her stool, I never acknowledged the intimate meanings behind each floral category. I realized each individual floral smell had its own meaning. The clean and refreshing scent of fresh lavender has the power to enhance your performance and improve your attitude if there is something that you are stressed out about. I, along with thousands of people around the world, have been using lavender as an aromatherapy for years as it has a strong healing properties that have been shown to reduce stress levels. When alone or combined with other scents, it can greatly impact your environment because more of your attention is being spent on your original task instead of being stressed out or irritable. Jasmine, similar to lavender, is used to calm nerves to those who feel a constantly overwhelmed. Not only does it reduce those feelings of stress, but it actually is able to stimulate feelings of positivity and energy. Peppermint is a great tool to be used during brainstorming, as it has been shown to ease the mind, while creating a feeling of clarity. With the use of ambient peppermint scent, you tend to process and compose the best ideas. Without the thought ever crossing my mind, I realized that the natural smells I use in my day to day life have meaning. And in most cases if not all, help me through emotional struggles. To take away the sense of smell is to take away aspects of emotion within life as we know it to be.

Sound helps designate our place in the world. If we close our eyes, we might be able to picture a highly expressive musical performance: we might see, for instance, a mouth open wide, a body swaying, and arms lifting a guitar high into the air. Once we start picturing this expressive display, it’s easy to start hearing the sounds it might produce. In fact, it might be difficult to picture these movements without also imagining the sound. Most of us purely strive on sound. I am compelled by it, provoked by it, and moved by it. I am inspired by it. And most importantly, I feel connected to it. It reflects something profound about who I am and my experiences with the world. To think sit and think about the top trending bands, musicians, or genres, most people, including myself could quickly reply with a list of beloved artists. My favorite singers captivate me with lyrics that have powerful messages and sounds that touch me in some special way. In fact, I have playlists for just about every situation and emotion that surfaces within my life: a relaxed playlist for a low-key night at home; an energetic playlist for workouts; a somber playlist for moments when I find myself in deep thought; and an angry playlist that I reach for when I feel the need to scream. Given the emotionally charged nature of music, it can be an incredibly effective way to express ourselves and cope with challenging life circumstances. Whether it be conflict with family, ending a relationship, or experiencing trauma, I find that I have moments in which I am brought to our knees with pain, sadness, and confusion. This is particularly true, when I am working towards unleashing the stranger that hides beneath me; working on being more honest with myself. Sound is a sense of self deception, at its most basic level, it becomes a protective mechanism: I make it play the role of keeping me safe and secure. Often unconsciously, I found that lying to myself protects me from knowing truths that would temporarily harm me ego and . As we confront these truths, we are going to feel worse before we feel better. Feeling some discomfort is an inescapable part of the process of becoming more honest with ourselves. In these tough life moments, sound can be a constructive way to express who I am and what I feeling. If I am feeling particularly sad about a reality in my life, I listen to a sound that connects me to that emotion. If I find myself feeling anxious, I turn up the volume in my living room and dance around. Acknowledging my sense of sound becomes a positive way to exploit myself to others, alongside being able to control them as well.

The sense of sight is by far the most intricate and intriguing tool taken for granted on a daily basis. Sight plays an important role in people's lives. "...the image be large enough, that I do not have to study it (this would be of no help at all) , that, given right there on the page, I should receive it right here in my eyes. "(Barthe). Other than emotionally affecting people, it also has physical effects. Emotional and physical stress is connected with our sense of sight because people are quickly carried out by their perceptions. People tend to be affected in everything they see, and these effects involve their performance for a certain period of time due to their perceptions. While perceptions of color are somewhat subjective, there are some color effects that have identical meanings. Specifically connecting this claim to my photograph of my favorite street art, I realized that the colors in the red area of the color spectrum are known as warm colors and include red, orange and yellow. These warm colors evoke emotions ranging from feelings of warmth and comfort to feelings of anger and hostility. Colors on the blue side of the spectrum are known as cool colors and include blue, purple and green. These colors are often described as calm, but can also call to mind feelings of sadness or indifference. Without realization we rely on the sight of color to define our feelings and perceptions.

Without the use of our senses (smell, sound, and sight) the world is bound to be a bland image of black and white. Though, recognizing the sensual aspects of life create purpose to the day to day tasks we perform and experience. We use our sense of smell to convey emotion balances; anxiousness, happiness, grief, and sympathy. Our sense of sound helps execute the struggles and peaks of pride within life. And finally the ability to process sight brings out the vibrant meaning within our environment. Being able to process and understand our senses creates a world of wonder and meaning. While taking them for granted will leave you to continuously question your sense of purpose.