"Dad washes dishes and mom reads the books." This is the type of certainty we need when we are young. Trust me, my son has told me this many, many times. And as we grow older, we test our bounds and find our way to new routines to build an adult life.
And so when forces greater than us crash in all around us, we are left disoriented and uncertain about how to proceed with the certainty and grace we were use to. A day can feel like a week and a week like a year. And while there remain many questions and a long path for all of us, what we can do going forward is develop a clear heart, a sharp mind, and an ability to seize opportunities as they rush towards us.
A sharpened mind allows us to differentiate times of urgency and times of rest. We are able to develop an action oriented poise for urgent situations and then transition into a resting mind with ease and grace. We aren't plagued with open threads of "what if" and "what could", knowing well what we have at hand and that there are circumstances out of our purview.
To develop a sharp mind requires an attenuation to one's bodily rhythm. We can use either the breathe or the heart to do so. Depending on your state of mind and disposition, one may be better than another.
Take time to place your hand on your chest. You may want to place both hands on your chest or one hand on your chest and one on your abdomen. Feel your breath or heart beating. Just stay here and trust the regularity of these. As you sit, allow the tension to fade with each breath. Don't control or force them in any way. Rather, return to the body's regularity.
As your sitting continues, you may find returning your attention to the chest is sufficient for calming you. Or you may find a path opens to bring the awareness even deeper in the body. If this happens, gently guide your awareness down asking all the tension to join you. Bring it through your belly and out of the digestive system and let it meet a place deep under your seat. You may want to adjust your hands to the lower abdomen to remind your awareness to settle here.
As you finish your sit, bring your awareness to a place of loving acceptance and peace. You may find you feel this sensation in your upper abdomen or in your chest. Where ever this is, bring your awareness here.
I hope this was of some help to you. Be well. And find your peace.