The fragrance of D

The first thing I discovered when I met D was that despite my ‘open, completely non-judgemental’ attitude, I’m just as presumptuous and prejudiced as Nina, Meena, Tina. Sure, experience and age does teach you what to expect, but it should also teach you to expect to be surprised – every time.

So, I wait, expecting another one on the ‘holistic healing’ bandwagon. This one was aromatherapy. I lost my sense of smell some 20 years ago, so that makes me more skeptical than most. Yes, I remember the romance of fragrance and perfume, of heady earth smells and day smells, the scent of fear and passion, the aromas of the kitchen . But if you think you are going to put this into a charming little bottle with one really pretty price tag and I’m going to buy it, uh, uh. Perfume – I understand. Potpourris, diffusers, scented candles, pine floor cleansers – okay – but there are so many of them on the market. What’s different, D? I’m not ready to be sold something again.

So, what is it about D that animates me as we talk, what lingers with me after she leaves?

She is collected and calm, yet her eyes are alert, her posture elegant and she glows. She looks like a woman who owns her own life. She takes in the room as she walks in, making a few adjustments in preparation for this conversation making sure she has what she needs and she can sit where she will be seen and heard clearly, even as she smiles to acknowledge us waiting there. And she begins to tell us about aroma and essential oils and healing and about us. As much at ease in her skin as she is in that saree and shawl, she leans forward gently and talks about the things she knows so well, the oils she truly believes heal people, the blends with which is helping to heal people, the way nature has blessings within itself. Her smile reaches her eyes and did I tell you before, she glows. Yes, she uses her oils and serums. Yes, she has healed herself – out of what sounds to be a really debilitating illness that didn’t respond kindly to long allopathic treatment. Yes, her kids turn to her aromas for their anxieties and their acne. And, yes, she will call me with a special solution for my own little problems.

I realize later what I like most – She Cares – about what she does, who she speaks to and how, who uses her products, why, whether it suits them, do they like it, how can she make it better. In my book that makes her a true professional – and that’s big.

feb 2011