The Beauty of Noticing

There’s a certain way my body knows when something is right.

Not because it’s loud.
Not because it’s expensive.
But because something inside me softens and quietly says yes.

It might be the way the sun paints a soft, glittering canvas across dewy morning grass.

Or...the first quiet signs of spring pushing through the earth – warm yellow daffodils blooming as if on cue.
The familiar scent of my favorite coconut lilikoi lotion, whisking me straight back to Hawai‘i as I take a moment to nourish my skin.
The taste of my morning coffee, rich and grounding, transporting my soul to a place of warmth, comfort, and calm.

The sound of a slack key guitar gently soothing my soul.

These moments don’t announce themselves.
They shimmer. They make me sparkle from the inside out.
And when I notice them, I feel more alive.

A big part of what makes me me is my love of sensory experience.
Not as stimulation for stimulation’s sake - but as nourishment.

Sights.
Sounds.
Scents.

Tastes.
Textures.
Atmosphere.

The way something feels in my body matters just as much as how it looks.

For a long time, I thought this was simply a preference.
A love of beauty.
A tendency to romanticize the everyday.

But there’s something deeper happening - something biological.

There is real science behind why sensory experiences can feel so deeply satisfying for certain people. And it turns out, this sensitivity isn’t a personality quirk at all - it’s a form of neurobiological wiring.

Humans vary in sensory sensitivity and reward responsiveness. Some nervous systems are especially attuned to:

Color

Texture

Scent

Sound

Taste

Subtle emotional atmosphere

 

For these people, sensory input isn’t background noise - it’s fuel.

This kind of wiring is often found in people who are highly creative, emotionally intuitive, aesthetically aware, and deeply regulated by beauty, ritual, and environment.

When something looks, sounds, or feels right, the body doesn’t just notice - it responds.

So what’s actually happening in the brain?

First, there’s dopamine - often misunderstood as the “pleasure chemical.” Dopamine isn’t just released during big highs. It’s released when something feels meaningful. When something aligns with who you are. When you anticipate a moment that feels nourishing or familiar.

Your brain is constantly asking:
Does this matter to me?
Is this aligned?
Is this worth paying attention to?

When the answer is yes, dopamine flows - not as a rush, but as a quiet signal:
Stay here.

Then there’s serotonin, which brings a sense of calm happiness and emotional warmth. Sensory environments that feel intentional, beautiful, and familiar - places that feel like home to your nervous system - support serotonin. This is why some moments don’t just feel joyful; they feel deeply soothing.

And then there’s oxytocin, which surprises people.

Oxytocin isn’t only about human connection. It’s about felt safety and emotional bonding. Your brain can form oxytocin responses to places, sounds, scents, textures, tastes and rituals. That’s why certain locations feel comforting. Why certain music feels like belonging. Why certain experiences feel like they wrap around you.

You’re bonding emotionally with sensation.

Finally, there’s the vagus nerve - a major regulator of the nervous system. Gentle sensory input - natural sounds, warmth, visual harmony, rhythm - activates the parasympathetic state. The one that says:
I’m safe.
I can breathe.
I can soften.

So when a sensory moment feels good, it’s not indulgence.
It’s regulation.

This is why sensory joy feels so core to who I am.

For some people, fulfillment comes primarily through achievement.
For others, through connection.

For people like me, it comes through presence.

Beauty plus sensory awareness equals emotional fuel.

I’m not chasing intensity.
I’m chasing attunement.

That’s why Aloha & Co. has always felt less like a brand and more like a state. A sensory state. A reminder to come back into the body. To notice what nourishes you. To let joy be quiet, embodied, and real.

This is also why Hawai‘i resonates so deeply with me.

Not just as a place - but as a sensory ecosystem.

It’s saturated with color.
Rich with scent.
Rhythmic.
Tactile.
Emotionally symbolic.

For certain nervous systems, environments like this provide a full-spectrum experience of dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin - layered together in a way that feels deeply alive.

Some people need that level of sensory nourishment to feel fully themselves.

And that’s okay.

So no - you’re not “extra.”
You’re not indulgent.
You’re not avoiding reality.

You may simply be biologically wired to experience joy through sensory meaning.

And when you honor that wiring - when you let beauty, texture, sound, and atmosphere matter - you become more grounded. More creative. More regulated. More you.

That isn’t aesthetic fluff.

That’s neuroscience meeting soul.

And this journal is a place for noticing those moments.
For honoring them.
For sharing them - quietly, intentionally, joyfully.

I’m so glad you’re here. ✨

-        - Michaela w/ Aloha & Co. aka Love & Friends