Our sense of smell can evoke strong emotions and memories. The scent of freshly cut grass can return us to carefree summers of youth while a whiff of men's cologne could stir up painful memories of an abusive relationship that ended long ago. Smells stick.With that in mind, what is the "fragrance" of your home and its impact on your family? Is it chaotic, tense, and angry or warm, stable, and fun? Although most of us would prefer the latter, we rarely take the steps necessary to sweeten this lasting legacy. By taking a closer look at the legacy we've been given, we can determine exactly what we want to pass on - breaking cycles of hurt to create a new legacy.
For this lesson, you could create a lighthearted page with the focus being your literal sense of smell. I created a page entitled, "Five Favorite Fragrances" and included photos of my smelly faves; the journaling focused on the feelings those scents evoked.
To go even deeper, you could use the journaling prompts on the handout to explore your own childhood legacy. Using a photo from your family of origin and another of your family today, you could create a page that talks about your ideal "family fragrance" and the steps you are taking to make the most of your legacy.
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