{"id":3163,"date":"2023-07-03T03:37:55","date_gmt":"2023-07-03T07:37:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/a-five-senses-portrait-of-my-dog-barnaby\/"},"modified":"2023-07-03T03:37:55","modified_gmt":"2023-07-03T07:37:55","slug":"a-five-senses-portrait-of-my-dog-barnaby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/a-five-senses-portrait-of-my-dog-barnaby\/","title":{"rendered":"A Five-Senses Portrait of My Dog, Barnaby"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Profit<\/a>
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In doing the research for my book Life in Five Senses<\/em><\/a>, I tried a bunch of different exercises.<\/p>\n

I went to Flavor University. I tried making a non-Newtonian fluid out of cornstarch<\/a>. I went to \u201cDinners in the Dark<\/a>\u201d to eat a meal blindfolded.<\/p>\n

One of my most enjoyable and thought-provoking exercises, however, was to write a \u201cFive-Senses Portrait.\u201d<\/p>\n

I decided to make a five-senses portrait of my husband Jamie. Crafting that portrait helped me to focus on the concrete reality of Jamie\u2019s presence and also on my favorite memories of him; it helped me to appreciate both the present<\/em> and the past<\/em>.<\/p>\n

After reading my five-senses portrait of Jamie in my book draft, my editor said, \u201cGretchen, I think you should write a five-senses portrait of yourself, as part of your author bio for Life in Five Senses<\/em>.\u201d So I did! It appears at the end of the book.<\/p>\n

Since that time, I\u2019ve made several five-senses portraits.<\/p>\n

Make a Five-Senses Portrait<\/h2>\n

With a five-senses portrait, we tap into each of our five senses to create a detailed portrait of a person, pet, place, or experience we love.\u00a0It\u2019s simple. For seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching, list five favorite or notable associations. I\u2019ve written my portraits by myself, but I\u2019ve heard from many people who have created a five-senses portrait as a group activity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Elizabeth and I talked about this idea in episode 387<\/a> of the Happier with Gretchen Rubin<\/em> podcast, and readers reported on many additional ways they\u2019ve used this idea:<\/p>\n