I first discovered this song back in high school; Nightwish being the first band I ever listened to that wasn’t something my parents showed me or that was on the radio. I didn’t know it yet, but I first listened to the band in the middle of their premiere of album 8, Endless Forms Most Beautiful. Eventually I listened to the entire album and discovered track 10, The Eyes of Sharbat Gula. Comprised mostly of sounds that fit right in at meditation retreat, I had no idea what or who the title was referring to? It wasn’t until a few years later when a Google Search directed me to the source of the name, one of the most famous National Geographic covers of all time.

Sometimes called the “Afghan Woman”, even if you’re not familiar with the title, most people are familiar with the image. The cover shows a young woman from Afghanistan in a scarlet red shawl, on a green background with piercing green eyes. It wasn’t until decades after Steve McCurry took this iconic snapshot that Nat Geo conducted a search to find the woman in the portrait; after months of searching, they discovered it was a woman named Sharbat Gula. When looking into her eyes I get goosebumps and a shiver, something unexplainable.

At some point I a copy of the magazine at a thrift store and knew immediately that I had to have it. It’s still one of the coolest things on my bookshelf. I listen from the song time to time when I’m trying to relax, or need something to calm my nerves. The children’s choir near the second half is very enchanting and beautiful.