Rediscovering Happiness: Exploring Wholesome Moments That Warm the Soul

The Joy of Home-Cooked Meals
Firstly, having a good, normal meal is a wholesome experience for me. It should be hot. Honestly, I’m not someone who easily likes things — that wow feeling after having something is very rare for me. Believe me, I eat mostly everything. But to find something I truly enjoy and go back to eat again and again is very rare. Nevertheless, I love having normal, home-cooked food with nominal spices. Like the time I made khichdi once, and my flatmate had recently brought this pickle from her hometown — oh my, it was so good. Having simple, good, hot food is incredibly satisfying.

Unfiltered Conversations with Friends
Moving on to the next point, the conversations I have with my friends in our WhatsApp group are precious to me. The talks that occur there are raw, with no filter. We speak our hearts out, with no judgment. It’s a mishmash of random stuff going on in three different lives. Even if we meet only once in three months, it always feels like we met just yesterday. Whenever we do meet, it doesn’t feel like we’re meeting after ages, even if we are. So, yes, the conversations we have are incredibly good, pure, and soulful. We often joke about starting a podcast. I think every girl has a group like this — where voice messages flood in if one of us is in any kind of crisis. They offer the most unfiltered advice you need.

Mother’s Warmth
Talking to my mom genuinely makes me happy. As I stay far away, spending time with her physically is precious too. But just talking to her over the phone brightens my day. It’s so wholesome. She just makes me happy. And honestly, whatever I am, it’s because of her. I owe her everything I have. Whenever I think about my future — whatever my end goal may be — my one and only goal is always to give her the happiness she deserves.

Creative Escapes
Decorating my room is another thing I love. Even though it’s quite compact, every wall has something on it. I dedicate my Saturdays to this — sometimes two to four Saturdays in a row. I love finding stuff, getting it printed, cutting it out, and pasting it — all the craft work. I do it with so much dedication, whether it’s 3 a.m. or 10 in the morning — I’m 100% involved in it with my full concentration. And lights — oh my God — my obsession with lighting. You can’t match it. I love lights. I have six different lighting setups in my room, each in different corners, with different shapes and colors. Trust me — I love decorating and stuff. Not just my room, but I also love decorating for people’s birthdays — mostly for my brother. I might be exaggerating, but he once cried seeing the decoration.

Bonding Over Dinner
Having conversations with my flatmate at night while having dinner is another wholesome experience. We talk about our days — what was good, what wasn’t, what went wrong. We discover new details about each other every night. We also discover new things that exist in our respective cultures that the other wasn’t aware of. I look forward to it every night. If I’m going out, I feel guilty, as I won’t be able to listen to what happened in her day. It’s like a good venting out session, a therapy session, a discovering session — call it what you want. I cherish that.

Finding Comfort in Lighthearted Movies
Watching rom-coms is incredibly wholesome for me. In my previous organization, there was a post that went out every Friday — “Know Our Employee.” One question was about our guilty pleasures, and for me, it’s watching rom-coms. They’re so wholesome. The whole movie is cute, with mostly no very strong emotions. They’re usually just 90 minutes long, which means they’re short and not unnecessarily stretched. They often have fun banter involved. The best part is that they always end on a happy note — so cute. I just feel good after watching rom-coms. I know people will argue that they mostly lack a storyline and that most romcoms are the same, but in the end, I just feel hugged watching them. It lightens up the mood.

Finding Peace in Scenic Views
Watching scenery and views from viewpoints is another incredibly wholesome experience for me. As a child, we used to draw scenery, and now, when I’m actually at a beach, just staring at the ocean — seeing the waves coming and going — it’s incredibly therapeutic, whether it’s daytime or nighttime. And if there’s a sunset happening — it’s just magical. The same goes for mountains — I love seeing the lights on small houses, big bungalows, shops, and the occasional towers here and there. From afar, everything looks so peaceful and small. You just get the feeling of wanting to stay there forever if you could.