Love In Bloom Blog Hop & Giveaway

Love in Bloom 

Giveaway Hop

Featuring Lighthearted/Contemporary Young Adult Romance

& Sweet, Clean Adult Romance

Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Portrait of a Book

May 16th to 22nd

Love is in the Air! Welcome to my corner of the blogosphere! It's a blog hop and the rules are simple, fill out the Rafflecopter and enter to win, but first...Check out the book description and enjoy a small excerpt :)

Happy Hopping!

Giveaway:

Beneath Southern Skies by Terra Little 

Contemporary Romance

Published by Harlequin Kimani

Released on March 19, 2013

Paperback - 224 Pages

Book Description:

A little Southern comfort goes a long way…

To the world she's Vanessa Valentino, the poison-penned gossip columnist and blogger, but back in Georgia, she's just Tressie Valentine. After digging up one scandalous secret too many, she's forced back home to the sleepy town she thought she'd left behind forever. And now she must face Nathaniel Woodberry, who became her sworn enemy when one of her stories hit too close to home. Yet for some reason, Tressie can't turn off her longing for the irresistible investigative journalist.

Nate can't believe Tressie's back to wreak havoc on the close-knit community they both grew up in, and he can't help holding a grudge against her past deeds. But soon the commitment-wary bachelor discovers that the Southern belle is still a compassionate, loving woman. Nate finds himself drawn to her and he can't stop thinking about seducing her with a healthy dose of down-home passion. But can he stop Tressie from making a mistake that could destroy their hometown—and their blossoming love?

Excerpt 

The shower.

It was going full blast and she was singing along with the water’s spray. No, that wasn’t quite right. Actually she was singing—horribly—over and above the water’s spray.

The sound of her voice scraped across his nerves like fingernails on a chalkboard, spiking his irritation level into orbit. Without stopping to think about what he was doing, he barged into the steamy bathroom and snatched the shower curtain back.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he bellowed.

She turned just as a blast of cool air slammed into her skin, and then visions of warriors rushing in for battle flashed before her eyes—big, strapping men with bulging muscles, bloodthirsty expressions on their faces, and mighty swords slicing through the air. She saw herself being impaled to death and then buried in a shallow grave deep in the woods, where no one would ever find her. She saw, as plain as day, the likelihood that no one would even bother to look for her because the sad fact was that she wasn’t the most popular person in the world and she had no real friends to speak of. Every questionable deed that she’d ever done played before her eyes like a movie. Her killer would go unpunished and her death would be in vain. The public would probably celebrate once her true identity was revealed. They would—

Oh God. She was going to die.

Partially blinded by soap bubbles and completely on the verge of hysteria, Tressie opened her mouth and did the only thing she could think to do under the circumstances. She screamed at the top of her lungs.

It seemed like an eternity, but it really took only a few seconds to wipe the soap bubbles from her eyes and focus. When she did, the first thing she saw through the steam was a pair of gorgeous hazel eyes staring into hers. Expanding her gaze to a wide-screen view, she took in a pair of perfectly shaped lips and a dimpled chin, thick eyebrows and smooth pecan-brown skin. Something in her brain eventually clicked and she recognized Nate Woodberry, but that didn’t stop her from continuing to scream like a banshee. The only difference was that this time the sounds she made were intelligible. “What the hell,” she shrieked frantically as she snatched the shower curtain from his grasp and wrapped it around her body, “are you doing in here?”

“I rang the bell. You didn’t answer.” He was the epitome of calm.

“So you just walk right on in and make yourself at home?” She slung her wet hair back and out of her face and shut off the water. “Idiot! Hand me a towel from over there, would you?” She snatched the towel he handed her and only released her death grip on the shower curtain long enough to make the trade. The fact that he had undoubtedly seen more of her naked body in the past thirty seconds than her doctor had in years burned her skin to a cherry-red crisp, especially since he hadn’t so much as given it a second glance in all that time. So much for cutting back on sweets and working out like a demon.

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After you fill out the RC Form above, click below to move on to the next blog:

Black Lion Tours & Giveaway: Beacon of Love by Allie Boniface

"Beacon of Love" (Hometown Heroes Series)

by Allie Boniface.

​​Quick Facts                                        

                                           
Release Date: May 6, 2013.                                

Genre: Contemporary Romance.                                                    

Formats: All digital formats.   

 Book Synopsis



Welcome to Lindsey Point, Connecticut: suspicious of outsiders, loyal to tradition, and absolutely devoted to its local legends.

Enter Sophie Smithwaite, feisty travel show host, in town to film an episode about Lindsey Point’s haunted lighthouse. But digging into the story of a tragic murder-suicide and love gone wrong reveals startling connections to Sophie’s own past. When a gorgeous local handyman fills in behind the camera, Sophie’s life gets complicated by more than just her family history.
Part-time paramedic, handyman, seasonal Santa-Lucas Oakes does it all–except get attached. He’s still reeling from the death of his best friend ten years ago and the more recent infidelity of his ex-fiancee. Yet despite Sophie’s big-city nosiness and her insistence on chasing long-dead ghosts, he’s drawn to her.
But mixing with an outsider means questioning people and traditions Lucas has always defended. When a series of attacks seem to be connected to Sophie’s investigation, both Sophie and Lucas must decide if they are willing to risk everything to uncover the town’s secrets…and their own.

GOODREADS

PURCHASE

Excerpt 1

​

“Wise ass.” Sophie backed into the street before he could grab her. “I’ll see you later!” she called. “I think Lon said something about meeting tomorrow morning and--hey!” She squawked off the last word as Lucas lifted her off the ground and onto his shoulder.

As if she was a bag of flour.
Or a damsel in distress.
Or his damn cavewoman.
About a hundred thoughts raced through her mind, and it took all she had to keep them from coming out in biting words.
“Why do you have to be so stubborn?” he asked as he carried her back to his truck, parked in front of the bar. He wasn’t panting, not out of breath in the least, as if she weighed close to nothing. “If anything happened to you, Lon would kill me.” With one hand he opened the passenger side door. Only then did he lower her to a seat inside the truck. His hands slid down her arms and settled her hips into place.
Oh yum. All her scathing thoughts of thirty seconds earlier vanished. She shifted on the leather. There was room for him on this side of the cab, she was almost positive. If not, she’d make room. In about two seconds.



The Author

Allie Boniface is a small-town girl at heart who's traveled around the world and still finds that the magic and the mystery of small towns make them the best places to fall in love and find adventure. From the New England coast to Rocky Mountain hotels to tiny European bars, she's found more character and plot inspirations than she could ever count. Currently, she's lucky enough to live in New York's beautiful Hudson Valley with her own "Hometown Hero," a guy who can fix, build, drive, and grill anything and is the epitome of the strong and silent type.
When she isn't writing love stories, Allie is a full-time high school English teacher who gets a kick out of helping her teenagers negotiate the ups and downs of writing along with the ups and downs of life (because, really, she's still trying to do the same thing!). And while she'll continue to travel far and wide, Allie knows there's really nothing like coming back to the place where the people who have known you forever welcome you home with open arms.



Find more about her at: 

WEBSITE

BLOG 

FACEBOOK

Twitter: AllieBoniface1

PURCHASE BEACON OF LOVE HERE.

Tour Giveaway

​

• $10 Amazon or B&N gift card (winner's choice)
• winner's choice of any ebook from Allie Boniface's back list

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Untangled: Contemplation And Entanglement by Henry J. Sienkiewicz

Untangled: Contemplation And Entanglement

by Henry J. Sienkiewicz

I hope you enjoyed our week with Henry. I think we all need to slow down and "Untangle" our minds from the rush of life :)

In Closing:

Untangled is a book of theory and philosophy. However, one of the concerns that some readers have expresses it that there aren't a tremendous number of concrete examples used to guide thevreader. I wanted the ideas to rest on their own. I’ve been asked if this was this was a consciousvdescription. At one point, I write, "I also do not presume to offer a concrete series of steps.

Our journeys all differ." The fundamental concern is that while there are indeed a multitude of paths, journeys, and many "right" ones, many may want trail markers. The structure of Untangled was very much a concrete decision. The first two sections, which make up the first

half of the book, discuss the topic of entanglement and contemplate. I use the second half of the book to explore some trail markers, and insights. I didn’t want to put forward so many concrete steps that I mentally locked the reader into only thinking that there was one path to take. I fear that many writers offer what they consider definitive, universal steps that lead their readers to a pre-set destination. The world is so large, so beautiful, with so many destinations. We have free will, we need to exercise it.

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

Genre:  Practical Philosophy/Self-help

Publisher:  DogEar Publishing 

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. 

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.

Follow The Tour Here

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Untangle Your Mind Week - Day 4 with Henry Sienkiewicz - Untangled

Untangled: Contemplation And Entanglement

by Henry J. Sienkiewicz

Classically, it was said that the unexamined life is not worth living, but given the constant flow of entanglements, is it even possible for us to examine life? How much stimuli bombard each of our senses every second from touch to taste, sound to sight.  We can’t cast aside the connectivity and the technology. Today a fifteen year old with a smart phone in Africa has more information at their fingertips than the President of the United States had 15 years ago. The enablement and empowerment that comes with technology has the potential to make the world fundamentally better. However, social media and the like also have given us dozens of new ways to grab our attention. We can barely go a minute without our phone buzzing at least once. We constantly check our Facebook account or Twitter feed. Active contemplation, the type of contemplation I focus on in Untangled, lets you find the distance to focus on the things that ultimately matter. For, we can’t focus on everything at all times. I think that is actually one of the problems we face in our current condition. To use one of the analogies from the book, we are surrounded by many voices. We have to filter and pick one voice to actually listen to. Untangling lets us find the distance in order to understand, to truly engage, and to fully live our lives. The book begins by describing the problem, discusses the attributes of contemplation, and ends with a number of thoughts on how to approach untangling in everyday life. The intent for the book is to be highly, highly approach. While it would be helpful to have some grounding in philosophy, I don’t think that it absolutely necessary. The reader can use the references and citations as a starting point, and as a way that they can explore how to untangle.  

 

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

Genre:  Practical Philosophy/Self-help

Publisher:  DogEar Publishing 

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. 

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.

Follow The Tour Here

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What did  you untangle from your mind today?

Day 3 with Henry Sienkiewicz - Untangled (Trailer Promotion)

Video Presentation Day :)

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

Genre:  Practical Philosophy/Self-help

Publisher:  DogEar Publishing 

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. 

New Excerpt:

What Was Entangled?

Man is a knot, a web into which relationships are tied. Only these relationships matter.
—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

In order to make camp, we had to go into our backpacks. We pulled out the entangled coils of rope. It took us a while to sort through the mess and figure out which rope was which. We had to identify each strand and slowly unwind each.

Our lives have similar strands, which we need to slowly unwind. To try to understand what entangles us, I use the model set forth by Shakti Gawain in Creating True Prosperity. Gawain used four categories which, for these purposes, I’m calling the ropes of entanglement: relationships, spiritual, physical, and career. As I outlined in Centerlined, we need to explore each of these in depth.

Relational ropes are the entanglements that we have with those around us—our families, our friends, our healthy relationships, our unhealthy relationships, our physical relationships, our virtual relationships.

Spiritual ropes are the entanglements that we form as we discover and explore our ontological nature. What do we believe in? Is there a God? What do we profess?

Physical ropes are the entanglements that we create as we strive for mental and physical well-being and fitness. They could be the illnesses we have; they could be the pains we carry. They can be our exercise regime.

Finally, career ropes are the entanglements that we find as we embrace our professions. Do our professions give us a sense of real achievement? Do our professions provide long-term value?

These ropes continually envelop us. They are not bad. They are not good. They simply are. They are simply a part of us, and we need to understand how we react to and embrace them. 

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What did you think of the trailer? What struggles boggle your mind in life?

Leave a comment and let us know :)

Chatting with Henry Sienkiewicz - Untangled Book Tour & Giveaway

BK: Have you always known you wanted to write, or did it just happen one day?

HS: First, I want to thank you for the chance to have a conversation with your readers. I still struggle to think of myself as a writer. I’m very much an observational, heterogeneous integrator. As an observer, I try to ensure that I’m aware of what is going on around me, and where the seams are in the fabric of what I’m observing. As a heterogeneous writer, I try to pull inspiration from highly, highly diverse sources. But, at the end, I try to integrate all of them into a comprehensive work.

BK: Untangled is meant to be thought-provoking. What sparked the idea to write such a book?

HS: On many levels Untangled was a reaction to many of the things that we all deal with on a daily basis. It was a reaction to the confusion caused by the stuff happening around us, or in my words our daily entanglements.

BK: Tell us a bit more about the 3 pillars of Contemplation.

HS: You are hitting the heart of the book. The literature of contemplation is wonderfully rich, from the mystics to the philosophers to simply people with perspectives. In my own quest to understand, I wanted to find some common pillars. Those pillars are silence, stillness, and solitude.

Silence is our embrace of a space that allows us not to just filter the noises out of daily life but to remove the noise. We have white noise surrounding us almost all of the time. We allow ourselves to be constantly distracted by the ticking of a clock in the background, the hum of the computer, the “bing” of an e-mail, or the siren’s call of an instant message? To paraphrase the Swiss philosopher Max Picard, silence is the mostly unrecognized source of our own beings.

Stillness is an intentional slowing down. Stillness slows us so we see details. Stillness slows us down so we can see the nuances. Stillness slows us down so we can see the depth of the world around us.

Solitude means being able to find the space to think by yourself. Solitude means finding yourself. Solitude means finding your own trail among the entanglements.

All three are necessary in life. All three are needed so that we can engage in life rather than being merely entertained by it.

BK: How complex is Untangled really? Can anyone use this book?

HS: I wrote Untangled to be approachable for anyone who is struggling with the complexity of daily life. I’ve been absolutely astonished at initial reactions. The immediate reaction when I describe the book is a story about how much the other person relates to it.

The readers’ reactions have been even better. I’m had many people tell me that they don’t normally sit down and read philosophy. In this case they did. For many, they read and have gone back to re-read it. I constructed the chapters to be easily understandable within a narrative that everyone could relate to and it appears that I achieved my goal. Most of the readers found it a wonderful read, that gave them a way to think differently.

While it would be helpful to have a slight grounding in philosophy, I don’t think that it is absolutely necessary. The book can stand on its own or the reader can use the references and citations as a starting point, and as a way that they can explore their own trails. Additionally, the book trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A3Trh5BlEw) provides a great introduction to the topic.

BK: What do you hope readers will take away from your book?

HS: I want to concurrently provoke and inspire. I want the reader to put the book down, think about it, and pick it back up in order to reread a passage that caused them to pause. I want the reader to use some, not necessarily all of it to make their lives better.

BK: What do you like to do when you're not writing, or contemplating?

HS: I truly enjoy the arts. I sit on the Board of Governors for the Arts Club of Washington (www.artsclubofwashington.org), the oldest non-profit arts organization in Washington DC.

BK: That is very exciting. I love art myself. :) What is one thing readers would be most surprised to know about you?

HS: In both books, I would like to think that I’ve opened myself up a great deal to the readers. However, one thing that most readers would be surprised how little I’ve been able to travel in the last decade or so. When I was in the airline industry I was able to travel a great deal more. The last ten years have been focused on the first book, starting a software company, and then going into federal service. I’m looking forward to a time when I will be able to travel more.

BK: Using your first name as an acronym, describe your book.

HS: Can I use the French version of my name? H: Holistic E: Engaging N: Nuanced R: Respectful of the reader I: Insightful

BK: What's next for Henry Sienkiewicz?

HS: As I indicated, I’ve been a bit overwhelmed by sheer amount of positive reaction to Untangled (www.untangledthebook.com). I’m starting to pull together the notes for two more books. The third book is geared towards general management principles. The fourth book is still in the very early stages, but pulls some of the ideas that have surfaced in both Centerlined and Untangled. Your readers can follow me on Twitter at @hjsienkiewicz.

I just want to close by, again, thanking you for the time to have this conversation. Untangled is available in the major ebook formats, on the major on-line bookstores, and on the book’s own website – www.untangledthebook.com.

BK:  Thank you so much for chatting Henry. I am looking forward to the rest of this week, as we spend more time together. 

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

Genre:  Practical Philosophy/Self-help

Publisher:  DogEar Publishing 

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. 

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.

Follow The Tour Here

a Rafflecopter giveaway