William F. Aicher

04/03/2009 In Life, Technology by William Aicher

Lately I’ve been trying to put a lot more focus on the idea of balance. In particular, finding balance between nature and technology within everyday life.   I’ve always been a lover of both, but beyond personal interest I am a strong believer that finding an equilibrium between the two of them is key in having a prosperous existence in today’s world.

At home this has not ever been too much of an issue, as I make an effort to incorporate life in my home and yard (I have several cats, a large freshwater aquarium, a variety of bird feeders and a fairly robust flower garden area). At work, on the other hand, I never really gave it much thought until recently.

I’ve been working at Musicnotes for almost nine years now, and while I always tried to make my office have a definite feel of me (family photos, batman figurines, a Harley Quinn snowglobe and some old music press photos from The Beta Band and Wilco), I never reallly paid much attention to the idea of balance. Lately, however, this has changed.

The concept of balance between technology and nature has been on my mind quite a bit lately, and it’s definitely a major theme in The Unfortunate Expiration of Mr. David S. Sparks, but it’s something I’m finding to be quite important in a healthy existence – both for myself as well as for humankind.

Rather than try to save the world, however, my focus lately has been on fixing my world. As I already stated, my home has this balance – but my working environment did not. And, since I spend the majority of my waking hours in my office, this imbalance in favor of technology is doing a disservice to my own well-being.

So what did I do? Exactly what I suggest every one of you do – find a way to bring balance to your environment. For me, that meant bringing in elements that had been missing. There simply was no life where I was working, and there was no positive flow of energy. So what I did was rearrange my office, following a few tips of feng shui, including situating my desk so my back was no longer to the door, incorporating some lush plants  (I’ve learned cactus and bonsai are serious no-nos), and setting up a small saltwater aquarium in an eight gallon biocube (a lot of work and patience, but absolutely worth it).

The result? I am much better able to take a step away from my technological and Internet-focused day to zone out (some people might call it meditating) while focusing on these very organic distractions. They bring me back to equilibrium with life, and calm my nerves of their everyday pressures.

It’s therapeutic, to come back to nature once in a while. I recommend you all make a similar effort. You won’t know anything was missing until you do, but once you’ve done so, you’ll feel much more whole.