Life in Five Senses

An inspiring and practical guide to living in the moment. The number one New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Project turns to the five senses. For more than a decade, Gretchen Rubin studied happiness and human nature, but one day she realized she'd been overlooking a key element: her five senses. Spending so much time stuck in her head, these vital sensations of life had begun to slip away, unnoticed. This epiphany lifted her from a state of foggy preoccupation into a world rediscovered by seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching. In this journey of self-experimentation, Rubin explores the mysteries and joys of embracing the senses as a path to a happier, more mindful life. Drawing on cutting-edge science, philosophy, literature, and her own efforts to practice what she learns, she investigates the power of tuning in to the physical world. From the simple pleasures of appreciating the magic of ketchup and adding favorite songs to a playlist, to practicing daily rituals and attending Flavor University, Rubin shows us how to experience each day with depth, delight, and connection. In the rush of daily life, she finds, our senses offer us an immediate, sustainable way to cheer up, calm down, and engage the world around us. Life in Five Senses is an absorbing, layered story of discovery filled with profound insights and practical suggestions about how to heighten our senses and use our powers of perception to live fuller, richer lives—and, ultimately, how to move through the world with more vitality and love.