Park in Częstochowa, Poland

A park is a conflicted space. It is a place where people can come to feel close to nature, to breathe in the fresh air and to appreciate the quiet beauty of the natural world. And yet, it is also a place where people come to picnic and to play, to laugh and to yell. The sounds of children at play can sometimes seem like an intrusion, a reminder that this is not truly wilderness but rather a manmade space. And yet, without these sounds, the park would lose some of its charm. It would be a place of stillness and solitude, rather than a place of life and vitality. In the end, the park is what we make of it. It is a reflection of our desire to find balance between our need for connection with nature and our need for connection with each other.