During a recent trip to northern Iran, there was a difficult path next to the forest cabin I had rented. It led down to a pond. The path was steep, and I had to walk all the way down every day to reach it. But what waited for me at the end of that path was one of the most fascinating and beautiful places I had ever experienced. A completely untouched pond, surrounded by nature, right in the middle of the forest. There were so many interesting sounds there. Frogs, woodpeckers, even lots of eels and very cute turtles. I had chosen that place for meditation. Every day, I would spread out my yoga mat and spend hours sitting by the pond. Something interesting happened every time. When I first approached the pond, all the birds and other creatures around me would suddenly go silent. It was as if my presence made everything stop for a while. After about ten minutes, when I was lying down and they no longer seemed to feel threatened, they would start singing again. I meditated to their sounds. In a way, I was the only human being there listening to them, and they were the only creatures receiving my frequency in that space. Spending time with them was such a funny and beautiful experience. This is also a kind of interaction, isn’t it? You go somewhere peacefully, without harming the forest, sit among these creatures, and enjoy their sounds. Maybe you even find yourself remembering moments from your childhood. It’s amazing how, in cities, we no longer hear these sounds because of all the noise surrounding us. Something else caught my attention, too. The farther I walked away from the pond, the more the sound of the electrical cables above me started to bother me. Because I had come from a place of complete silence, surrounded only by the sounds of nature, I could hear the electrical cables much more clearly. I genuinely feel sad that modern humans haven’t allowed places like this to remain untouched. We destroy forests to build skyscrapers, towers, and buildings where there isn’t even any real peace. When you’re in an environment like this, you realize how much your body needs this kind of calm. How much your soul needs a place without electricity, where your phone has no signal and you’re surrounded by complete silence. It’s like when the electricity in an entire city suddenly goes out. That’s when you really understand what silence means. All the noise disappears, and all that’s left is you and the sounds of nature. I think all of us need this experience from time to time. To get out of the city, find a place somewhere in nature, and simply listen to its sounds. We need to stop destroying nature and stop leaving our garbage in the environment. The next generation, wherever in the world they choose to live, needs a healthy environment and clean nature. But we constantly come across garbage left behind by people in forests. Or forests that are bought by large companies and corporations, which then start building on that land. We’re constantly moving further away from something our very nature as human beings depends on. For me, experiencing a landscape like this and finding this kind of silence isn’t easy. It’s almost thirty hours away from where I live. Even when I’m exhausted, I make the entire journey with love, just to rent a cabin in the middle of the forest and take that one-hour walk. It’s not an easy walk, either, but eventually I reach that pond. To hear those sounds, to find peace, to meditate, to pray, and to reconnect with who I really am. To remember what kind of person I am. Because in the chaos of the city, it’s often difficult to find yourself. Even if you sit alone at home, you might still not be able to experience the same quality of peace and meditation that a place like this can offer you. We’ve become so distant from the places that can help us feel better and improve the quality of our lives. It’s incredible how much better we feel when we spend hours in an environment like this. A place where all the signals disappear, and you can finally connect with the world around you. ⸻ About the Artwork & Creation Process The original photograph for this artwork was taken by Nastaran Najafi in northern Iran during the summer of 2026. The figures were painted by Nastaran Taghdimi using the Japanese Sumi-e painting technique. The overall composition was created by Nastaran Najafi, and the GIF animation was generated with AI. Artists: Nastaran Najafi & Nastaran Taghdimi Photography: Nastaran Najafi Painting: Nastaran Taghdimi — Sumi-e technique Composition: Nastaran Najafi GIF Animation: AI-generated Format: GIF Dimensions: 1536 × 1024 pixels