Can we respond to reality without concepts?

The chickweed on my window sill is green because I have a concept for green. 

My Ph.D. matters to me because I have a concept for a Ph.D. 

Money works because of the concept of money. 

To look at the world differently - which I believe we must when we strive for a just and ecological future - we need to rethink some concepts, let go of others, and embrace new ones. 

Yet, the process of reinventing concepts requires a state of having no concept. I wonder if that state leads to chaos on a societal level? In my personal life, it usually does. How then can we navigate the moment of chaos?