Untangled:
Contemplation And Entanglement
by
Henry J. Sienkiewicz
Henry
J. Sienkiewicz has served in multiple positions within the United
States Federal Senior Executive Service since 2008. His previous
commercial experience was as the founder and chief executive officer
for Open Travel Software, an award-winning software developer focused
on the global travel community, and in the chief information officer
role at three technology companies. He or his companies have
been the recipient of multiple awards for innovations or achievement
in the technology industry. He retired as a United States Army
Reserve lieutenant colonel in July 2008.
Henry holds a bachelor of arts from the University of Notre Dame and a master of science from Johns Hopkins University. He is also a graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College.
In 2006, he completed and published his first book, Centerlined, which dealt with interpersonal and organizational dynamics.
Henry resides in Alexandria, Virginia.
Website | Book Site | Facebook | Twitter
Henry holds a bachelor of arts from the University of Notre Dame and a master of science from Johns Hopkins University. He is also a graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College.
In 2006, he completed and published his first book, Centerlined, which dealt with interpersonal and organizational dynamics.
Henry resides in Alexandria, Virginia.
Website | Book Site | Facebook | Twitter
Genre:
Practical Philosophy/Self-help
Release
Date: April 2013
In a social media-centric, Twitter-driven world we live, the complexity created by the entanglements has caused an overload Called a Walden for the Internet Age, Untangled draws from the rich traditions of both Eastern and Western philosophy to tease apart the hyper-connected web of the modern world and challenges the reader to recognize and embrace contemplation as a way cope.
Through a highly approachable framework and the imagery of a journey through the heartland of Taiwan, Untangled provides the reader with the background of entanglement and contemplation, and identifies and discusses the three pillars of contemplation - silence, stillness and solitude. The book closes with a series of actions that allow anyone to untangled through active contemplation in daily life.
In a social media-centric, Twitter-driven world we live, the complexity created by the entanglements has caused an overload Called a Walden for the Internet Age, Untangled draws from the rich traditions of both Eastern and Western philosophy to tease apart the hyper-connected web of the modern world and challenges the reader to recognize and embrace contemplation as a way cope.
Through a highly approachable framework and the imagery of a journey through the heartland of Taiwan, Untangled provides the reader with the background of entanglement and contemplation, and identifies and discusses the three pillars of contemplation - silence, stillness and solitude. The book closes with a series of actions that allow anyone to untangled through active contemplation in daily life.
Excerpt:
UNTANGLED
A Big Ball of Twine
We learn the rope of life by untying its knots.
-Jean Toomer
As we reached the first stopping point, we opened
our packs and found chaos. The ropes that we had neatly packed were
completely jumbled. The gear we had carefully stowed had been shifted
around; it was an unrecognizable mess.
The jostling and shifting from the simple movement
of the journey caused our coils of rope to transform from a neat roll
to an entangled mess. We thought that we had taken care to pack them;
the journey ensured that we had a mess to deal with.
Our mental backpacks are similar. Sometimes,
regardless of the care we have taken, our world becomes a completely
entangled mess in ways that we had not expected. Our journey ensures
that we have a mess to deal with.
Many writers have used the terms connected
and hyperconnected to describe our current state. I think that
the term entanglement is more reflective of the state of our
condition.
Connection implies that there has been an encounter
but does not imply that the relationship is persistent. As will be
discussed later, entanglement means two or more "things" have
formed some type of permanent bond. This permanent bond is why I
think that the term entanglement is more expressive of our actual
condition.
Entanglement has many layers and many textures. It
may be accidental or intentional. Entanglement may be in ways that
may or may not be are attractive. Entanglement may or may not have
relevancy to our lives. Entanglement may or may not have real
meaning.
Entanglement may be the vines that catch your feet.
Or it may be the limbs that brush your arms. Or it could be the rope
that safely holds you onto the mountain.
Contemplation lets us mentally sort through the mess
of entanglement that we all carry with us and allows us to repack
meaningfully.
Author Interview:
The Avid Reader: What inspired you to write Untangled: Contemplation And Entanglement?
Henry J. Sienkiewicz: I was puzzled. In my daily life I live in a very technology rich environment. In the faces of my friends and co-workers I saw a constant stress as they struggled to deal with the overwhelming nature of a social media driven world. I wanted to find a way to discuss the issue and
The Avid Reader: When or at what age did you know you wanted to be a writer?
The Avid Reader: What is the earliest age you remember reading your first book?
Henry J. Sienkiewicz: I've always been surrounded by books. My mother was a special education teacher at the elementary level, and my father was an avid reader. I can't remember a time when I wasn't reading something.
The Avid Reader: What genre of books do you enjoy reading?
Henry J. Sienkiewicz: As a reader I'm very, very heterogeneous. I will read everything from a serious philosophy text to very light action fiction. A great deal depends on my mood. One of my yearly diversions is to be a reader for the Arts Club of Washington's (www.artsclubofwashington.org) Marfield prize. I routinely read three or four books that are about the arts. The books are a great diversion from my normal reading patters.
The Avid Reader: What is your favorite book?
Henry J. Sienkiewicz: I always have Marcus Aurelius' Mediations on my bed stand.
The Avid Reader: You know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?
Henry J. Sienkiewicz: I don't know if I have a single favourite author. My current favourites are Max Picard, Thomas Merton, Hannah Arendt, and Francis Valloor. The first three authors are relatively well known; the last author is a close friend. Each of these authors try to understand and address the human condition.
The Avid Reader: If you could travel back in time here on earth to any place or time. Where would you go and why?
Henry J. Sienkiewicz: Beyond my total enjoyment of this time and place, I would enjoy experiencing ancient Greece in order to see agora first hand.
The Avid Reader: When writing a book do you find that writing comes easy for you or is it a difficult task?
Henry J. Sienkiewicz: I find writing to be very difficult. I need to edit, re-edit, and then re-edit again. Some of my readers have commented that I am a very "tight" writer because I try to pack a great deal into a small space. Other readers have commented that they would like for me to provide more examples and greater detail. I admit that both sets of comments are correct. I do write in a tight fashion, a fashion that hopefully opens up to the reader over time. I try to avoid highly specific examples in order to allow reader to find their own path through the thicket.
The Avid Reader: Do you have any little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets?
Henry J. Sienkiewicz: I feel as if I am a bit of curmudgeon when I say that I've never been a pet person.
The Avid Reader: What is your "to die for", favorite food/foods to eat?
Henry J. Sienkiewicz: I have to admit to a strong weakness for Peking Duck.
The Avid Reader: Do you have any advice for anyone that would like to be an author?
Henry J. Sienkiewicz: My strongest advice is to find your own voice. Even after two books, I think that I am still discovering my voice.
1 comments:
I think of it often as I live with 7 people.
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