I’ve spent years telling stories — this is the first time I’m learning to tell one while I’m still inside it.
Within ten minutes of starting out yesterday, we crossed the Mississippi River — a landmark that fills your mind with adventure. Riverboats, Huck Finn, wandering spirits. And just like that, we were in Illinois, feeling confident and close to the finish line.
Then the GPS lost its mind and sent us miles off course. The detour cost us an hour, but it gave us something better: wide‑open fields, small towns, and a version of America you don’t see from I‑80. Places that feel like our vacation cabin — quiet, simple, human. A world away from the interstate, but only a few miles off it. In one of the many hamlets across America.
The Census Bureau says nearly half of America’s towns have fewer than 1,000 residents. Forty‑two percent have fewer than 500. These are places where people know each other, help each other, and walk at their own pace. Where life isn’t about accumulating things — it’s about accumulating moments.
I’m reminded of an old friend who gave away everything he owned except what fit in one suitcase. Extreme, yes — but the spirit of it resonates. Our daughter’s business says the same thing in a gentler way: for everything you bring in, let something go. Out here, that philosophy feels natural. Life is lighter. People seem lighter too.
After our detours, we rejoined the under‑construction interstate and eventually reached our next Harvest Host: a working farm in Indiana’s Amish Country. They greeted us and offered a list of things to see and do, but we chose to simply be present — to enjoy their hospitality and take a tour of the goats and cows their daughter will show at 4H this weekend.
As the sun set over rural Indiana, a quiet peacefulness settled in. No souvenirs. No shopping bags. Just another experience added to the story we’re living.
Fill your life with moments like that. The other stuff can wait today.
Abhysheq Shukla: Indian author, motivational speaker, and the writer of The Shadows of the Dark Souls, a book of inspirational reflections. He’s part of a modern wave of Indian writers whose short, punchy aphorisms spread widely on social media.
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