Want to Be More Human? Tap Into Your Five Senses

Take Them for Granted

“See something once—really see it—and it never looks the same again.”
– Gretchen Rubin

Be quiet.

What do you hear around you right now? By paying full attention, are you surprised at how many things you notice that you hadn’t noticed before?

We often fail to notice the everyday sounds because we don’t have to. We’re wired to listen for the exception sounds: the baby waking up, the microwave beeping, the siren behind us.

But ordinary sounds aren’t the only things we take for granted. We also do it with ordinary sights, smells, tastes, and touches.

When author and podcaster Gretchen Rubin got a wakeup call about her vision after a bout with pink eye, she decided to stop taking her vision for granted, as well as her other senses.

“I woke to a profound truth: I had my one body and its capacities right now, and I wouldn’t have them forever.”

She began an experiment that day to get out of her head and into the world. She writes about it in her newest book, Life in Five Senses. (Although she mentions we have more than five senses, the big five are her focus in this book.)

“Explicitly training my attention on the smell of a shoe store or the lobby of my daughter’s school gave me a sense of being present, of being exactly where I was, right now. When I was going somewhere, I wanted to take my body there with me.”

Even though I’ve loved Gretchen’s previous books, I confess when I first heard about this book on the senses, I thought: Kinda interesting, but this one’s not for me.

But then I caught her enthusiasm about it on her podcast and I rethought its intimate connection with my One Word of the year HUMAN.

Isn’t becoming more aware of our physical senses a quintessentially human thing to do?

So I’m doing it. I read the book with my eyes, but I’m living it out with my body.

Pay Attention Through Your Senses

When I watch TV now, I’m apt to close my eyes during the commercials to listen for background music. When I eat M&Ms, I might leave a couple in my mouth longer than normal to savor the chocolate. When I go for a walk, I actually see the diverse shades of green in the lawns, I hear the multitudes of birds in the trees, I notice the air on my skin. I identify when it’s garbage day by the smell of trash cans on the street.

Gretchen’s truth is my truth:

“This experience is now, it’s here; and it’s also past, never to be repeated.”

To enhance your self-knowledge about your senses, take Gretchen’s online Five Senses Quiz here. By answering a few questions, you’ll identify your most appreciated and your most neglected sense.

To no surprise, my most appreciated sense is taste. I do savor Cadbury Creme Eggs and my mother-in-law’s strawberry cake.

But my most neglected sense? Smell. Apparently it’s the sense I turn to the least for pleasure and comfort, meaning I’m leaving an avenue untapped.

To increase my mindfulness about pleasant smells, Gretchen suggests appreciating the scent of laundry detergent; visit a fragrance counter and sample five scents; simmer spices on the stove; recall scent memories from your grandparents’ kitchen. And eliminate bad smells from the fridge or below the sink or in a garbage can.

An unexpected angle in Life in Five Senses was Gretchen’s emphasis on using our five senses to enhance our relationships with other people.

“Just as we’re always looking for other people, we’re always listening for them, too. Particular areas of the brain selectively pick out and activate at the sound of the human voice.”

Here are highlights from Gretchen’s “Manifesto for Listening” in the book about improving relationships through hearing:

• Show my attention: Turn my body and eyes to face the other person.
• Don’t rush to fill a silence.
• Ask clarifying questions; paraphrase or summarize to show that I understand—or not.
• Respect what other people want to talk about.
• Don’t jump in with judgment or suggestions.
• Stow my phone.
• Listen for what’s not being said.
• Don’t avoid painful subjects.
• Let people talk themselves into their solution rather than supply my solution.
• When in doubt, stop talking.

So whatever you’re doing right now—seeing, listening, tasting, smelling, or touching—notice more, and you’ll appreciate more.

Enjoy being human by taking full advantage of your senses.

More Highlights from Life in Five Senses

SIGHT
“Our brains combine information from all our senses, but when a conflict arises, sight usually wins.”

HEARING
“I could shape my auditory environment both by adding sounds I liked and by eliminating sounds I didn’t like. Just as I did periodic sweeps of my apartment and office to clear clutter, I needed to clear clatter.”

SMELL
“Just one minute of deep breathing can make a smell start to recede. When I walk into a coffee shop, I enjoy the smell of coffee, but before long the smell fades.”

TASTE
“In general, if we haven’t had a positive eating experience with a food by age twenty-five, we probably won’t embrace it.”

TOUCH
“We explore the world with our hands. There’s a big difference between a zoo and a petting zoo.”

What is your most appreciated sense? Underappreciated sense? Have you developed a favorite food since age 25? Share in the comments.

Thanks to NetGalley + Crown
for the review copy of this book

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