On noticing good/bad but not attaching to it

Several years ago I had this thought. I was considering smells and what they really mean. I smell things and sometimes they smell beautiful and sometimes they smell nasty. So as I was thinking about this I was trying to decide why a smell can smell "bad." I mean some smells can make a person nauseated.

I remember when I worked at Holly Sugar how strong and unpleasant the smell's were there. I was sick one day and walked into work. The smell hit me and I immediately ran to a trash can and threw up.

So back to the topic. What is a smell. From what I understand it is small particles of the substance that you are smelling. So why do we decide that one smell is bad and one is good?

When we sence that we are smelling something a signal goes to our brain and says "you are smelling oranges" or "you are smelling poop." We then make a judgment and say "that stinks" or that smells nice.

So I remember several years ago talking about this with my sister Ameris and trying to explain it to her. Most smells that smell bad are not physically bad for you but some are. It would make sence that smells representing harmful substances would be perceved as bad, but things like Sulfer are precieved to smell bad and sulfer is actaully good for you. Your body needs sulfer to survive and you body has a large amount of sulfer in every cell. Sulfer is good for your skin so why does it "stink."

I felt then and now that when we judge a smell it is due to a learned pattern or societal, inherited, or family teaching where we have decided something smells bad from programming and not from the substance actually smelling bad. Afterall Dog's dont seem to think anything smells bad. All smells to a dog just seem interesting.

So fastforwarding to today.....

I am reading Tolle's "A New Earth" and he just said "Some sounds may be natural -- water, wind, birds-- while others are mad made--. Some may be pleasant, others unpleasant. however, dont differentiate between good and bad. Allow each sound to be as it is, without interpretation.

The unplesent sound I thought if is the car driving by with bass shaking my house. However the bass is not the "unplesent sound." The unplesent sound is the guy driving it that is so rude and is blowing his own ear drums and has no respect for others. But is he really the problem. I judge that sound, not on the basis of it being a musical rythmic in tune and even interesting sound, but I judge it based on pre concieved notions about its creator. (Gangster rapper guy)

So Tolle has been telling me for a few days not to not judge but to just notice and when noticing recognize the peace inside and the "nothingness inside" as you observe.

This made me reflect back on smells. I tend to judge so much, and yet I used to believe that I did not judge at all. My eyes have been opened. I judge every smell, every sound, every thought, every event and I decide how to label this thing. Events happen in life. From now on I will notice the event, enjoy it if it is enjoyable and observe it if it is enjoyably. But if I am enjoying it I will understand that it is just an event, it does not last forever, and it does not define me.

I am not the event, I am the partaker of the event, Who I really am is a Son of God enjoying a beautiful creation that he has blessed me to recognize.

Perhaps next time 2a.m. comes by with a trunk rattling bass low rider I will see that God created that person, the ability to hear, and wonderful music to listen too and remember that good or bad I can just recognize the true source of life and not get caught up in judgment.