1. A Note from Shawn

It feels a little surreal to be thinking about simplifying tools to write about as I wait for the phone call from my sister saying she’s finally gone into labor. Perspective changes so quickly…

As the Chief Bru-Hah-Hah around here, I’ve decided to shake things up a bit in honor of my sister and of remembering the miracles of life. Far from being a distraction from the mission of this publication, it is in fact, a potent reminder of the importance of knowing what needs to get done, doing it, and then shifting gears to other priorities. Life priorities.

Next issue we’ll dive back into the specifics of mastering your workflow and cultivating your flame. Today, open your heart and say hello to new life!

XO

Shawn Tuttle
Chief Simplifier, Project Simplify

2. Featured Quote

“Birth is the sudden opening of a window, through which you look out upon a stupendous prospect. For what has happened? A miracle. You have exchanged nothing for the possibility of everything.”

— William MacNeile Dixon

3. Lifestyles of the Natural & Professional

How do you prepare for going into labor? Checklists? Coaching? Visualizations? Never having had a baby, I write from my perspective as a Simplifier (not to mention that of an Auntie to be!) As such, you know I’m all about planning and preparation.

In the context of workflow, even though preparation varies from person to person, it’s a fairly logical process that anticipates a fairly consistent set of outcomes or possible distractions. Email management, scheduling strategy, and paperwork are, for the most part, predictable.

In the context of preparing for going into labor, there likewise is a set of logical, fairly predictable preparations that can be made ahead of time. Packing a bag, having certain phone numbers at your fingertips, and having the other kids and/or pets cared for is simply a matter of making arrangements.

What’s nearly impossible to prepare for, however, is the context of emotions. Experiencing the intense reality of this life-giving event cannot possibly be comprehended ahead of time.

Since it is such a rare event, simply being aware and present to everything happening seems the best place to be. Even if the body is there, it’s an open mind that makes the memories.

This goes straight to the heart of why simplifying and organizing are such important endeavors—baby coming or not. Life is meant to be lived fully. Experienced with all senses. Embraced with zeal!

Too often we get caught up in minor details at inappropriate times. This pulls us away from being present and usually bumps us up into a head space that has little appreciation for the adventure at hand. The great thing about details and logistics, however, is that they can be anticipated ahead of time.

Emotions on the other hand… they happen when they happen, planning be hanged.

Emotions are one of the beautiful (even when painful) delights of being human. They root in the heart and burn in our memories. They bring meaning to our relationships and life to the mundane.

Having a baby is, in one sense, a very ordinary occurrence. What makes it such a spectacular event is our ability to transcend the biological process and lose ourselves in the sacred manifestation of birthing.

Beginnings. Naivete. Vulnerability.

How much more human can we get than when, disconnecting from our daily habits, we allow ourselves to be touched by such a light being…

This IS the why, isn’t it? Why we work and get stuff done? Take care of details, push through our ToDo lists? So that we might have sublime moments of being human?

We have to remember though—lest we become so caught up in Doing that we forget about Being.

If we wait for those precious few occasions, such as a birth, to let ourselves be overcome with awe, then we miss out on life the other 99% of the time. Why not shoot for 3%, 8% or 12%?

A new life coming into the world is a fantastic reason to step away from email, lists, and schedules. It’s by no means the only reason.

I invite you, I challenge you, I summon you. Find a moment of sacred in the midst of your mundane today. Let yourself feel it, appreciate it, marvel at it. Let yourself be moved by the magic quietly unfolding around you.

Let your heart open to the mysteries of life.

Thanks for reading!

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