The 5 Senses

We have five main sense.  In case you didn't know.  It's been so long since I learned about them, I had to clarify what they were Tuesday night at community group.  They are, in case you can't remember: Taste, Smell, Touch, Sight, Hearing.  We always have an ice breaker question each week and this week the question was "If you had to lose one of your senses, which would it be?"

Initially it seemed like an easy question to answer.  But as we delved in, suddenly, it turned into a 20 minute conversation about why each sense was necessary and what you would miss out on if you were deprived of one.

Here is how it broke down for me (and about half of the rest of the group):

Sight - NO WAY.  I think that it would be incredibly difficult to be blind.  So many things you couldn't do.  Like drive.  Or watch Psych.  Or Big Bang Theory.  Or New Girl.  Or Raising Hope.  As well as other important things, like seeing the looks on people's faces, the glimpse of a newborn baby, a baptism, a sunset or sunrise, etc...

Hearing - Music is way too much a part of my life for me to give up my hearing without a fight.  While there are some days I wish I couldn't hear my kids fight, there are other things that I NEED to hear.  Like Christmas music.  Or my favorite songs in general.  Or the laughter of a child.  It would exclude me from having to talk on the phone, which would be excellent, but there are too many other down sides.

Touch - At first, I thought this would be my choice.  I started thinking about all the times I am annoyed by my kids rubbing against my arm or tugging on my hand or just in general touching me and annoying me.  Or other people sitting next to me, too close.  Or hugging.  In that regard, it would be awesome to lose my sense of touch.  HOWEVER...I would miss the touch of a baby's skin.  I'd miss the feeling of my children's little arms wrapped tightly around my neck, or their kisses on my cheek.  I'd become a danger to myself and likely cut my fingers off while I was cooking, or bump into everything and fall down steps or have trouble driving because I can't feel my foot to push down on the accelerator, or worse, the brakes!  And while we'll keep this family friendly still, I'll say too that I would miss the "other" kind of touching.  The kind I DO like.  The kind that makes babies.  Adults, are you with me here?  I don't think that I could give that up.  Maybe in another 20 years...maybe.  But not right now.

Now it comes down to taste or smell.  These were the hardest to decide between.  On the one hand, if you can't smell the food but can still taste it, you can still enjoy all the foods you love.  On the other hand, I can't imagine never smelling bacon again.  In some ways, I think that might be worse than not TASTING bacon again.  Additionally, if you lose your sense of taste, but can still smell, wouldn't it stand to reason that your cravings for foods would lessen?  Your tongue wouldn't salivate like it does when you think of your favorite foods.  Ultimately, it would be the perfect weight loss program.  You can keep your sense of smell, enjoy the scents, but not be tempted to eat those things that are so bad for you, because you can't taste them anyway.

So ultimately, once we talked it all through, for me, I'd have to choose my sense of taste.  #1.  I need to lose weight.  #2.  I'd rather smell the foods that I love so much than eat them, because without being able to taste them, I wouldn't be as drawn to them as I am.  Things like bacon, chocolate chip cookies, anything sweet, biscuits and gravy, steak, pork chops, etc...

And not related to food, I would totally miss smelling my Autumn Walk and Holiday Wreath candles.  I might die if I couldn't smell them again!  I'm the kind of person that will open up a candle, or garlic-infused canola oil or spices/seasonings, just to smell them.  It does eventually all come back to food for me, doesn't it?

So what about you?  What sense would you choose to give up if you were forced to?