A 5-Senses Portrait of My Canine, Barnaby

In doing the analysis for my e-book Life in 5 Senses, I attempted a bunch of various workouts.

I went to Taste College. I attempted making a non-Newtonian fluid out of cornstarch. I went to “Dinners in the Dark” to eat a meal blindfolded.

Considered one of my most satisfying and thought-provoking workouts, nevertheless, was to write down a “5-Senses Portrait.”

I made a decision to make a five-senses portrait of my husband Jamie. Crafting that portrait helped me to concentrate on the concrete actuality of Jamie’s presence and likewise on my favourite reminiscences of him; it helped me to understand each the current and the previous.

After studying my five-senses portrait of Jamie in my e-book draft, my editor mentioned, “Gretchen, I believe you need to write a five-senses portrait of your self, as a part of your creator bio for Life in 5 Senses.” So I did! It seems on the finish of the e-book.

Since that point, I’ve made a number of five-senses portraits.

Table of Contents

Make a 5-Senses Portrait

With a five-senses portrait, we faucet into every of our 5 senses to create an in depth portrait of an individual, pet, place, or expertise we love. It’s easy. For seeing, listening to, smelling, tasting, and touching, checklist 5 favourite or notable associations. I’ve written my portraits on my own, however I’ve heard from many individuals who’ve created a five-senses portrait as a bunch exercise.

Elizabeth and I talked about this concept in episode 387 of the Happier with Gretchen Rubin podcast, and readers reported on many extra methods they’ve used this concept:

to protect concrete particulars of an individual who has died
to present somebody a present that exhibits how rigorously they’ve been noticed
to protect reminiscences of a beloved place or time—one household did a five-senses portrait of a tenting journey; one other household, of a cottage in Maine they go to every summer season

My 5-Senses Portrait of Barnaby

In honor of my canine Barnaby’s eighth birthday, I made a decision to make a five-senses portrait of him. It’s a snapshot of my expertise of him, proper now.

Seeing

His beloved Abominable Snowman toy that’s falling to items
His second-favorite Jumpy toy
His pet tooth marks on the Fisher Value Tumble Tower that I’ve saved from my very own childhood
His black fur that’s slowly turning grey
The pink metallic bucket that claims “Good Canine” crammed along with his chew toys

Listening to

The well mannered, temporary “Rrrrrf” sound he makes to level out that his water or meals bowl is empty
His excited barking when he spots somebody he is aware of on the road
The deep sigh of consolation he provides after he settles down on his favourite blanket
The sound of his nails clicking on a wooden flooring
The thump his physique makes when he jumps onto the chair in my workplace

Smelling

The shocking odor of corn chips that generally hangs round him (from a innocent micro organism on his paws)
The plasticy odor of poop baggage
The odor of moist fur when he comes inside after being out within the rain
The dusty odor of his dry pet food
The odor that comes from a brand new Barkbox field

Tasting

Bacon
Parmesan
Greenies
Whipped cream
His means to detect a tablet in a tablet pocket

Touching

The nice and cozy really feel of his fur
The stress of his weight when he lies over my toes once we’re each taking a nap
His tiny pet physique squirming on my lap once I held him for the primary time
The texture of his leash in my hand as we go for our early-morning stroll
The tough, chewed-up textures of the rawhides he leaves across the house

One benefit of the five-senses portrait is that whereas it’s inventive and highly effective, it’s straightforward to execute.

One function of the brand new Five-Senses Journal is that it provides house for a number of five-senses portraits, in addition to locations to file every day impressions. (I’m actually thrilled with this new journal! I’ve by no means seen something prefer it.)