There’s a big part of us that doesn’t like chaos: we want order and simplicity.

• When we feel overwhelmed, we might beat ourselves up and try to look for a system to get things under control.
• When plans don’t go how we hoped they would, we feel like we’re on unsteady ground, and we start criticizing ourselves or feeling like we’re doing things wrong.

If we could do that:

• We would be Ok with the feeling of overwhelm, and not need to panic or feel bad.
• We would simply take the next step and focus on one thing at a time.
• We could put our work out into the world and accept the fact that we will be judged.
• We could be with someone’s upsetness, giving them compassion rather than worrying about whether we’ll be Ok.
• We could meditate, go for a walk, exercise, eat healthy food, deal with our finances, and do all kinds of other simple, helpful actions that we put off when we feel stressed about chaos.

Notice when we’re feeling chaos and then use it as a kind of meditation, to breathe and then relax.

• Notice when you’re feeling chaos. You don’t have to look for it. The world will always give us enough chaos to practice with.
• Pause.
• Breathe. Deep into your belly, slowly, letting yourself relax with each breath.
• Then learn to relax with this feeling of chaos, uncertainty, fear, anxiety, shakiness, groundlessness.