I grew up in a village in India, where life was simple, rooted, and deeply connected to nature.
My days were spent outdoors—climbing trees, running through fields, and picking fruit from orchards. Life felt close to the earth, close to people, and close to something quietly whole.
Village was not just a place for me. It was a way of being.
My grandfather, a dedicated doctor, chose to settle there to serve the community. My father followed in his footsteps. Service, care, and contribution were part of the fabric of my upbringing. Even today, my family continues that legacy.
From an early age, I felt a deep connection to this sense of “village”—a space where life is shared, where people are connected, and where meaning is lived through contribution.
A shift in life
When I moved to the United States after marriage, I entered a very different rhythm of life. New roles, responsibilities, and transitions gradually shaped me in ways I had not expected.
For many years, I lived in the outer world of doing.
Then, around 2010, something began to shift.
I found myself longing to reconnect—not with a place, but with myself.
I began spending more time in nature. I would walk for long periods. I would sit in silence. I began to observe my inner world more closely.
It was during this time that something essential became clear to me:
Connection is not something we find outside of ourselves. It is something we return to within ourselves.
The meaning of Village
For me, Village is no longer just the place I grew up in.
Village is a way of remembering what is essential.
It is the experience of coming back to presence.
It is the recognition that we are not separate from life, but part of it.
Village is what happens when we slow down enough to feel our connection to ourselves, to each other, and to life itself.
It is simplicity.
It is awareness.
It is belonging.
What I am creating
108Village is an invitation to live from that sense of connection in everyday life.
Not by leaving the world.
But by meeting it more fully.
Not by becoming someone else.
But by returning to what is already here.
With love,
Vandana
Village 