The system does have a tight grip on all of us it feels like.

Oddly enough, the first thing that comes to mind after reading this is the "calm" that comes after we get hit by a hurricane down here. It is brief, before we switch to recover mode and thinking crap I hope we saved up enough food and water. But, the power is out... no tv, no electronics, no phones, no work, no school, etc. We have the day to just sit with family and talk, a big change from the usual daily grind. It's also the only time we ever get to see stars in the night sky.

Taking a few minutes to create this same type of "time-out" each day is good. I often wander outside into the garden for a few minutes when the day is hectic. That helps get things back in perspective.