Have you ever had a kid who asks endless questions from the backseat? Now I know why. Backseats are the best thinking space, and children know this. Debates, arguments, ideas and deep questions all start at the backseat. I was the “child” at the backseat on a 34-hour drive across 9 states in the USA and here are the random questions that pop up whenever I am not asleep.

1. If you ran out of salt in the midst of a desert, what would you do?

2. Do animals think vehicles are also animals?

3. If I have a land in the middle of the desert, what address do I give? How do I receive mail?

I know Google has answers, but we didn’t have internet while traveling. Speaking of which, here’s another question:

4. How do you find answers if you are stuck in the middle of a desert?

I hear you saying these are pretty silly questions, but I’ve never been in an actual empty desert before that goes on for hundreds of miles and it was quite fascinating to see horizons on every direction. National Geographic has presented deserts as picturesque, with a sunset at the horizon. What it didn’t show was the feeling of emptiness and sense of loneliness.What if I actually live here, with no one around for miles and miles? What if no one can hear me no matter how much I scream?

They say that no man is an island (or a desert) and yet we are slowly drifting into a culture that seeks to be islanders and nomads.

Look around.

Some people live in “deserts” and have removed themselves from being too attached. We fear relationships and we fear commitment. On the other hand, some people want to move away from “deserts”. They feel that they struggle alone and that no one cares. This is worse than living in  desert without a street name and worse than running out of salt in the teepees.

Cities are full of people. People with downcast faces. People with headphones, oblivious to what is happening around. People looking down, checking what is happening to other people in other cities through the virtual images on their devices. People who avoid people. People who would rather not be with other people. We live in cities but we feel deserted. We give lots of spaces to one another. Which brings me to my next question:

5. If people like spaces so much, how come no one wants to live where there is a lot of it?

Well, we don’t want to live in deserts where there’s no Walmart for miles. So we build walls around us. We build tiny spaces. We hate intruders and shove anyone who invades our spaces. We refuse to listen to the cry next door, a cry from someone who was screaming for help.

Maybe we just have to leave our tiny spaces behind and take a few steps toward the next door who was crying for salt, or simply needing a friend.

So, my last question was:

6. If you were to choose between living in a desert with a few good friends and family or living in a city with no one who cares, what would you choose?

You don’t have to choose. You can be wherever byou are and love those who are around you.

*Right after the 34-hour drive from California to Michigan, I wrote a 500-word reflection on my phone. Then I forgot to save it. I should have spent that time talking to the people around me. How ironic!