Good morning Blind Wisdom seekers!

Do you think that death has a smell? For me, it’s around the smell of the celebration of a life i.e. a funeral. I’ve been to many funerals in my life. Some happy, some sad, some tragic, some inevitable but in the main the smell is constant. I know this smell is not international for if I attended a funeral in Japan or Cairo this would be quite different I’m sure, but in Dunedin the smell of death is flowers and savouries! I don’t know if it’s common to other western parts of the world but if someone dies in Dunedin their funeral usually involves many flowers and many Coupland savouries! Round potato top mince savouries, plain mince savouries along with long, tubular sausage rolls. The smell of savoury pastry is a comforting smell now at the time of death and one that I am grateful for.

Yesterday I attended a funeral of a childhood friend, Dayne Lome, she was only 51, far too young and beautiful to die. Today I am grateful for her life and grateful that her family emigrated from Samoa in 1967 and for moving into a house, just up a driveway from ours!

This week my senses are grateful for the following:

1 the feel of the dew on the hand rail yesterday morning when I came back from my 6 am walk!

2 the smell of perfume at Dayne’s funeral yesterday! It smelt like a special occasion!

3 the sound of Ray’s voice as he gave his sister’s eulogy. Beautiful!

4 the sound of the beautiful Samoan singing towards the end of the service by the mainly Samoan congregation!

5 the feel of Ray’s hand as I held mine out to reach his as he passed by on the family’s way out! We clutched each other’s hands so tightly. He is my oldest friend.

6 yes, that smell! Flowers and savouries!

7 the taste of the muffin I ate with my sister Amanda after the service somewhere in a mall! I don’t actually know where I was but yesterday it didn’t seem to matter. Funeral’s put things into perspective.

8 the feel of the braille dots Margaret and I used to package up my next book to send it away to have it’s forword written! Watch this space!

9 the taste of the lamb stew we had for tea the other night! Yum!

10 the sound of my nephew Alex telling me stories last night. He’s 19 today and we dropped his birthday money off! How do they grow up so quick??ly?

I may not see but I can smell

And taste and touch and listen

And when I do this every day

I find my optimism!