Water, Nature, and Humankind

When your soul is weary and your body feels cold

Sometimes, I find myself repeating something over and over absent-mindedly. There are so many people who come and go, crossing paths, yet few of them exchange a feeling of warmth, making me feel lonely. Then I think to myself, "Am I living a zombie-like life?"
In Warm Bodies, a film directed by Jonathan Levine, body temperature is what distinguishes humans from zombies. Humans have a beating heart so their body is warm. But the heart of a zombie does not beat, and its body is cold. Humans have both warm body and warm heart. They exchange love and feelings. On the other hand, cold-bodied zombies are cold-hearted, brutally attacking and killing each other.
Interestingly, the hypothesis that underlies the film is supported by facts that have been proven in scientific research. Many psychological studies have found that the body and heart are closely connected, and that they affect each other. In other words, if your body is warm, you become warm-hearted. In Korea, when we are single and we feel lonely, we say, “I feel cold on one side.” This expression is not just a metaphor. When you are alone and lonely, your body actually gets cold, leaving you feeling cold.

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The quickest way to warm up your heart

Warm Bodies is a story about zombies that are saved through love. The life of a zombie is boring and lifeless. R played by Nicholas Hoult is a zombie wandering around aimlessly. While hunting for food, R encounters Julie (Teresa Palmer) and falls in love at first sight. The moment R sees Julie, his heart, which has stopped beating, begins to beat again. A love story between a zombie and a human begins. The more R loves Julie, the more warm blood circulates through his body. His body becomes warmer and warmer.
How great would it be if our dream love comes true for us when we are living like a zombie? But the reality is not as lovely as the movie. No one pays attention and gives love to someone who lives like a zombie. If we are to be loved, we need to get out of our zombie-like state. But the question is how.
The quickest way is to get our body warm, and the easiest way to do that is to eat warm food. In fact, our subconsciousness tells us to get our body warm when we feel lonely. This is why we automatically look for something warm to eat when we feel lonely. According to a study, people who have been isolated are more likely to want a hot cup of coffee or a warm bowl of soup rather than iced drinks. This is a subconscious behavior in an attempt to ease the psychological coldness caused by a feeling of loneliness.
If the warm food is mixed with good memories, the comforting effect becomes even greater. What we call “soul food” or “comfort food” often comes with specific memories associated with it. Chicken noodle soup is a typical soul food for most Americans. When a child suffers from a cold or feels sick, the mother will likely cook a warm bowl of chicken noodle soup. It is equivalent to Korean chicken porridge. A study shows that just thinking of warm chicken noodle soup makes people feel less lonely. What is interesting is that this warm-up effect is found only among those with stable and solid parent-child bond. In this sense, the soul food that consoles and comforts us is made with the warm memories we share with loved ones.

The
Heart-warming
Effect

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The soul food that consoles and comforts us is made
with warm memories we share with loved ones.

My Soul Food

When life sometimes doesn’t treat me kindly, I go to the ramen place near my house. The soup of the instant noodles is great, but the croquette* made of potatoes is a real treat. I dip the freshly fried croquette in the sauce and slurp down the warm soup. Then my body quickly gets warm and I begin to unwind and relax. Croquette is one of my soul foods. My mother would get up early in the morning when I was still sleeping and make warm, crispy croquettes for me. I did not realize how much of a hassle it was to cook croquettes until many years later. It is something you can do only out of love. My mother passed away and I can no longer eat the croquettes she makes for me, but the warm memories she left for me live on in my heart. Even the croquette I eat at the ramen place in my neighborhood can make my heart warm. Speaking of soul food, it reminds me of my mother smiling brightly at me. I guess I will eat croquette today.

Croquette

It spells “croquette,” but Korean people pronounce it as “goroke.” And just like that, the word or the food takes us back in time to our childhood. My mother always called it “goroke.”

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