Solo dates and falling in love with the company of self~A new trend here to stay

 

I am an extrovert who loves meeting people and sharing my heart uninhibited. I trust easily and it gives me immense joy if I find someone whose heart beats with the same frequency as mine and is as energetic and passionate about making this world a better place to live in. But this does not happen that frequently for me because I have entered my forties and have gradually become a recluse. I have withdrawn from exhaustive influencing and choose only a few meaningful projects and life coaching and so I am often alone with my thoughts. Surprisingly, I am gradually falling in love with my solo dates as I enjoy my own company and spend time with myself doing what I love most. 

As a mom, wife and a budding entrepreneur, I am grateful, but life is busy and erratic and whenever I get the slightest chance to steal some time for myself, I dress up and pack my laptop only to sit in a cafe and work peacefully for a couple of hours while sipping my favourite drinks. Such dates are pure magic for me, they soothe and satiate my soul always as I observe and weave characters in my writings and do infinite other tasks, craving my attention in my to-do list.

What I also noticed is that there are several other solo men and women in the cafés working peacefully in quiet corners, while some wait for others to join for a meeting but mostly working by themselves or just enjoying a hearty breakfast or a great salad for lunch. Their age groups vary too. I have seen youngsters and I have seen Septuagenarians. I am not sure if this is a good sign, while some may just come there to enjoy their own company, some might come to mitigate their loneliness but I am glad they decided to come out, that itself is the first step that they embrace life. 

Our generation has a tendency to pull down Gen Z for everything but I would say Gen Z are more sorted than us. They are helping us millennials in being more self-aware and not keeping ourselves last, as is the tendency of us moms. I enjoy my son’s perspective on a lot of things, which is so different from mine and my husband’s, sometimes fighting really hard against them, but then realising their side of the story is truly worthwhile. He has introduced me to a lot of concepts of today’s times, including the concept of solo trips. 

Yes, solo trips are such a vibe these days but with family responsibilities and not everyone having a strong support system, there are very few people I know who have been successfully doing it for years. I have taken a few solo trips and they were good and therapeutic but I have not explored it completely yet. I wanted to know the global statistics on the trend of solo dates(which seem more possible than solo travels), I have been noticing and so I researched.

I figured out that solo dates came into being post-pandemic when self-care and mental health started becoming people’s priority, which helped them gain confidence in spending time alone wherever they felt joyful and relevant, whether they were in bookshops, museums, cafés, gyms, on long walks, a swim, or wherever they wished. Though I love cafés, I have realised that hitting the gym sometimes or my long walks can also be considered my solo dates. I often like smiling at random strangers and getting into worthy discussions with some like-minded souls. I made a friend, Rasna, while flying back from Dubai, and met another brilliant life coach, Shikha, recently in a nail salon. So solo dates also sometimes give us sweet, memorable moments to cherish and rejoice if our auras interact and establish a connection for us, getting pulled to each other. Of course, my safety radar is always scanning who I meet, till I know I am safe🙂. 

Humans of today like to heal from heartbreak, toxicity, or even social media anxiety in silence in their own company, which is so wonderful. Their EQs are high and as long as they are not totally cutting off from human ties, which is the other extreme and are striking a balance. I would say a solo date is good till you are not using AI to replace your human connections and be your yes person forever. Living without human connections is impossible, so saying it again, BALANCE is the keyword both for us millennials and the Gen Z. 

Do you like Solo dates 🧡? 

I need my Baba to defeat Endometriosis & Adenomyosis

 

2026 has otherwise been good to me other than my health. I released a new anthology-my passion project-Brave Inked Emotions Vol2 on Women’s Day with 36 co-authors which can be your priceless companion in times when you feel emotionally low. These are real stories of Indians women and men who have hit their lowest and yet shown unparalleled grit to turn the tide of time in their favour. The book had a dream launch in the heart of the capital city of india at Lazeez Affaire. I am glad I already have had a high in the year to cheer me up during the low. 

 Sorry for digressing from the topic, so I had danced into the new year cheerfully but thereafter my endometriosis and adenomyosis started acting very difficult, painful and bleedy. At first I thought I will bear it somehow like in 2025 and the second  half of 2024 when  I had to discontinue ayurveda but no I could not bear the frequent debilitating pain and excessive bleeding episodes coming so frequently. 

In panic I consulted a flurry of doctors in Delhi but their lack or empathy appalled me and honestly I cannot comment on their professional prowess because for someone having life altering pain the first they need are your kind words. Well, the junior doctors wrote all possible tests for me because the senior ones I wanted to discuss my status showed up only for a few seconds. Some reports turned out scary and I held on to hope trying to release the anthology to keep my promise to my co-authors some of whom were debuting and it was to be a dream come true to them. 

This was all happening between my kid’s 11th Grade AS levels board exams and so I sucked up my pain and decided to go back to my Gynac in Pune who has always been a motherly figure and a compassionate soul. I felt directionless so I also wanted to go to my Baba in Shirdi to show me the way forward and before that I flew to Pune to get myself examined by my doctor who was scared to see my condition. She put me on medication immediately which would prepare me for a surgery around June in Pune. She said she will have to rope in several doctors as this will be a multiorgan complex surgery but sounded so scared herself. 

Though I have my home in Pune, our nephews live there, having no solutions and only a heavy heart I reached Shirdi. My son was soon starting 12th and the only break he got was lost in mom’s treatment and MRIs  and diagnosis, I felt hurt and guilty for my husband too who has emergencies at his work yet both my boys tried. 

In Shirdi I just let the universe absorb my physical and mental agony. I can’t explain the connect I experience with Baba and Shirdi, as soon as I stepped in, I surrendered to Him. I told him to show me the way forward and how I must go about it with no support system and everything being so critical. I am nearing the date but have no solution yet but I trust my Baba and that everything will work out perfectly under his blessings. He will do the miracle I await. 

Everything in Shirdi was pure and divine and little magical things kept happening as I strolled through the streets and temple in the Maayka. From Shirdi I went to Mumbai but my pain has messed up with my mental health so much that I had to cancel my meetings there and though I had a chance to have my book launch  and meet and greet in Pune and Mumbai but I could not. I wish everything happened as we wished. 

Today I wait for the miracle and I trust the universe and baba that I will defeat endometriosis and adenomyosis after almost 2 decades of battling them like a soldier. Since you all my family, my heart, I have to share my side of the story till today will all of you. Do keep me in your prayers and forgive me if I have not responded to you the way you have desired. Have really been through a lot still try to smile as much as I can.

My 9th book, 'Brave Inked Emotions Vol2- A Book by Roma Gupta Sinha' is here with a greater more profound purpose

 

Hello folks, as promised, here comes the most special surprise of the year, I am on cloud 9 announcing the release of my 9th book, ‘Brave Inked Emotions Vol2’ today, which is a precious collection of 36 power-packed voices from across the globe sharing precious, meaningful anecdotes and reflections that teach someone in a similar boat vital emotional wellness lessons. This volume took me the longest time to envision, conceptualise, and weave, and today the fruits of our labour are all yours.

I am also so proud and overwhelmed to launch several first time authors through this book who come from diverse fields and professions and are aged 16-60 so you will have a very special delve into the real world through writings along with many seasoned authors joining the cause to create this strong, with a purpose emotional wellness anthology and here I raise a toast to all of them with a heart full of gratitude to the Almighty. 

Book link: https://tinyurl.com/y7dut4t8

Most people in India, and mostly women, lead a very lonely journey and often conceal their pain even from their parents and closest ones. Sometimes they know the way out but keep enduring, and mostly they don’t. They silently wish for an emotional anchor who can soothe them and guide them when they hit their lowest. 

My endeavour through this book is to be their companion in that lonely journey. When they read about someone else who has also been in a similar boat and has still paved a way out, they feel they are not alone and get inspired to turn around their lives too. 

This book thus brings to you real stories of real people about how they regained their real strength. All stories are inked emotions of our co-authors, where they have bravely shared how they have made lemonade from the lemons thrown at them.

All the stories and reflections in this book are true anecdotes of the authors or someone they know very closely, written in first person, feeling deeply what the other person went through. They are my emotional wellness champions who have bared their souls to help me create different volumes of this emotional wellness handbook. I trust you will give this volume of Brave Inked Emotions as much love as you gave to our first release. The book is also available on Amazon. Will wait to hear from you how you found it💛. 

Micropoetry: Husband's Birthday

 

Happiest birthday, my love, my life 

Raising a toast to you today is your proud wife 

I have seen you grow my one over the past 27 years 

Never giving up, even in times toughest 

Quietly, you have absorbed all your pain 

Keeping us untouched by even an iota of hurt 

But you know my heart beats in yours 

So I know all that you go through and still laugh 

Particularly this year, I can’t even imagine 

How gracefully you have held it all without falling apart and even building afresh 

In a dignified way, day and night, you have worked through the crisis 

And rose like a phoenix from the ashes 

Honestly, with you, it feels 

Life mein kuch bhi ho jaaye, saath mein seh lenge, and accha hi karenge 

I now feel that responsibility as your wife 

To carry the grace and love and wisdom my man has given the world 

You are an embodiment of what a perfect family man looks like 

And silently deep within, I feel so proud 

Just take care of your health for me, my love 

And I am sure the coming years have the much-deserved abundant success and rise for you waiting 

Happy birthday once again, my love

You are and always will be my first love 

I love to live for you 

Always remain my guiding light 

The Rise of the Empath in Me: Reflections 2025

 

Hello, my lovely people, it indeed is the most beautiful time of the year, and like always, here I am reflecting on my past 12 months, which flew so fast. Let’s do it in a fun way this time!

What title would I give to my year 2025?

Well, if I have to genuinely give a book or movie-style title to the year just gone, it surely will be called

THE RISE OF THE EMPATH IN ME

I have always lived on the satisfaction I feel from helping someone in need, no matter how small it is, and this year I embraced it full-time.  I started my blog for this purpose, I started by Communication Skills Academy for this purpose, and I also founded ‘The Endometriosis Awareness and Support Group of India’ for this purpose. I published my 7 books around this purpose, and the emotional wellness anthology ‘Brave Inked Emotions’ that I release across different volumes every year with new and old authors, is again to help people in general and thus has the same purpose. Don’t get me wrong, I am not bragging, I have just tried to plug in every channel to support someone in a situation where I failed to receive the desired help and healing.

So I was always like this, then what was different this year? It was different because this year I embraced the Empath in me completely and unapologetically, shutting down all the voices that mock or question my good intentions, which unfortunately are many and disguise themselves as my apparent well-wishers. For them, my success is gauged by the money I make from that venture, which is just not my aim. I have now picked my battles very selectively with all my heart and soul and work at my own pace to make them more impactful and worthwhile, and so you see less of me. But trust me, if you ever need me genuinely, I am just a call or message away. Try me!

PLOT TWIST IN 2025

2025 was a year of a lot of personal connections I forged while working on my forthcoming books and interacting with the students of my academy. Weaving real people’s real stories with strong lessons brought me very close to them as the subjects needed to be felt deeply emotionally. Some of them were first-time writers, as some were seasoned authors, and others, students of my academy getting launched as teenage authors sharing their emotional battles and lessons to make it easier for someone in a similar boat.

I also interacted with a lot of members of my Endometriosis Awareness and Support Group Community(which has more than 950 Endo warriors), listening to their struggles and pain and trying to get them the best advice to the best of my abilities because I myself am battling stage 4 endometriosis and adenomyosis, who would understand their pain better than me.

Somewhere, handling the emotional wellness of so many people whom I gradually started treating as my own family, I became much more patient, tolerant, caring, and mature, unlike the impulsive me. I passively learned to put their needs above mine and wait.

The plot twist was the new me, the real evolution of the Empath in me, who was and is now always kind and thinking of a way to bring about a positive change in the world as her only mission. This year, I have embraced the Empath in me, understanding that I will still be used and taken for granted by some(perils of being an Empath), but will still benefit the rest, as are my goal. This understanding has made me capable of letting go of people whom I considered genuine friends and forging new lifetime relationships.

A FUN BINGO OF 2025

So yes, I have a full house in the bingo this year, and it brings a smile to my face.

 

APPRECIATION FOR MY SUPPORTING CAST IN 2025

Behind every woman who has a vision are the champions of her cause who silently and passively don’t let her fire die and listen and support her blindly. For me, the supporting cast of my 2025 movie, for whom I have infinite gratitude and who are surely entitled to a national award if at all this movie was made, are

• My brother and my immediate family
• My three best friends and my Guru
• My writers’ community and endo community

They listen to an unending list of my plans, I need to work on, for hours, while motivating and grilling me at the same time so that I don’t lose focus and be me, truly yours, Roma. I will write about them later because each one of them is worth a dedicated space on my blog.

A TEASER TO MY CREATIVE PURSUITS IN 2026

If 2025 was a year of direction and immense, meaningful hard work for me, in 2026, I will hopefully be able to bring to the world the fruits of all the labour in the form of my two books, ready for release. One for my Endo Community and the other for my Emotional Wellness Bravehearts Community.

This year, I have also restarted my Communication Skills Academy for my old students seeking support. In 2026, we will be opening our doors to new students once again. You will hear about all the courses we will be offering shortly. These will be highly personalised one-to-one online sessions.

Thus, my academy, my support groups, and my new book releases will be the forefront of my professional and creative pursuits in 2026! I pray to the Almighty to give me strength to do all of these, desire justice, and that my endometriosis and adenomyosis magically go away forever and not disrupt my dreams.

I am extremely grateful to my most favourite @Blogchatter A Team and the community for the infinite love and support. It is now almost going to be a decade being with them, how could I miss weaving this post for #blogchatterwrapparty? Thank you for all that you do for us.

Lots of love and blessings to all of you, may all your dreams come true in 2026♥️

You are the Calm to my Chaos love

 Happy 20th Wedding Anniversary to us, we officially enter our twenties today 💕💕🧿🧿

For you my customary weave, 

You are the Calm to my Chaos love 💞

Happy happy blessed blessed wedding Anniversary my love 

Life is beautiful every day waking up in your arms 

There is so much of gratitude for these moments in my heart 

That my heart is flooded with uncountable joyful tears everytime I run my fingers through your hair 

Twenty years of being officially married to you, a wonderful soul 

May I get twenty more with you and that would leave me with desire no more 

I am sorry for bothering you with my little irks all the time 

And thank you from the bottom of my heart for always loving me and being only mine 

Sometimes I feel people search for true love all their lives 

And we are blessed and God’s chosen kids to get it so early on in our lives,  as almost teenagers in college 

We have literally grown together in the past 26 years 

So for me my day is not complete until I share it all with you unfiltered 

You are the calm to my chaos love 

You have always held me in my moments tough 

In silence without getting angry 

Giving me space to introspect how to fix things 

I guess today is the day 

When I must thank you from the bottom of my heart

For fulfilling every tiny desire of mine 

Being my father, husband and best friend at the same time 

I have gradually realised 

Why I feel happy when I travel 

Or why I feel happy singing songs on karaoke 

All those moments are precious because you are by my side 

Because you are my happiness

Being with you is my happiness 

Because you the one I am head over heals in love with 

Because you are the one whose validation I only ever need 

Because your one smile makes this world the best place ever for me 

 Because you are my world 

I am blessed to lead a life with you 

And from here I only wish to make every moment worthwhile 💗

How to Feel Happy and Worthy Always - A Simple Mind Therapy

 

Dear readers,

Please accept my heartfelt apology for not writing enough for this space this year, when this is where I have always truly belonged. I promise you will find me here more often now with at least a straight-from-the-heart read, if not necessarily a lesson always.

2025 has been a very different year for me, and I have ventured into territories quite different from my usual self. Nevertheless, everything that happens in life teaches us immensely, and come what may, we must learn to move ahead.

Life is not always a bed of roses; each one of us has his or her up and downs, and there are moments when, despite what we are and what all we do in life, we feel worthless and unhappy. Sometimes our own negative thoughts spiral us down, while sometimes it is the world, even our near and dear ones, who bury us deep, knowingly or unknowingly.

If you ask me,

We ourselves are responsible for our happiness and we must ensure we feel worthy at all points in time.

Never be dependent on others to be happy and to prove your worth because this world is a harsh place; they will break your heart into a million pieces without any regrets more often than not.

To me, our happiness, self-worth, and inner peace are a function of how strongly we have trained our minds. I have lived by it and have often shared this mind therapy with a lot of my friends and students, some of them being housewives, and today I am sharing this simple Mind Therapy with you.

If you are the one who is often hurt by people who cause you mental pain, please teach your brain these 3 simple things and practice them with all your might consciously at the start, soon, the brain will pick up the signals and act on its own, thereby blessing you with a state of perennial peace and happiness.

First of all, learn to ignore

The more you learn to ignore the toxic and disrespectful talks, the happier you will be. Don’t overthink how they said something as harsh as this to you, as it will only enrage you further, stealing away your peace. Just ignore and do not let them steal your peace.

Second be tolerant

Sometimes, the person who insults you or questions your self-worth repetitively might himself be struggling mentally and taking it out on you. Be tolerant with him or her, but don’t let it affect your sanity. Sometimes, to be in such agony in such moments by forgiving that person rather than fighting back is a better solution. Quietly ignore and get busy in what yoy love doing, saving both of your precious time. Withdraw if a similar situation arises in the future. Save your self-worth, choose to be happy; we make this choice every moment. While sulking comes naturally, meditate on being positive and happy always, till this becomes the default state of your mind. Your tolerance may even hurt the narcissist’s ego, and he may silently choose his next target.

The third principle is, be patient.

Over the years, I have learnt to be patient with life. You may have a lot of dreams and may be a genius capable of achieving bigger heights, but sometimes the wait seems endless. Don’t give up, keep doing your hard work with a smile, everything comes to him who waits. Choose the little joys of life, be compassionate, help selflessly, and be patient. Be happy and content. The wait may seem longer, but your time to shine will come. Just lead a life with a purpose and soak in the joy of the little changes you can bring to the world without expecting anything in return. Patience is the key to saving a lot of relations, and it takes time to develop, but a patient person always self-heals and is much stronger at heart.

You must be worthy in your own eyes, and it makes you happy; nothing else matters.

Don’t let the world define your worth or make you sad. Adopt the triple mantra of Patience, Tolerance, and Ignorance and lead a blissful life.