"Sigh"

More than you know.

Douglas Adams, Where are You Now?

We're all losing money. We're all concerned about losing our job, or at the very least, losing our present financial status.

But concern does not have to be acted on in panic.

Douglas Adams, the late, great science fiction writer and, in my mind, great philosopher saw total global collapse through the eyes of his anti-hero Arthur Dent, in the "Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" series. And while there was a lot of nonsense in the prose, there was also a lot of wisdom. Paramount was Dent's penchant for looking on potentially devastating circumstances with a droll detachment.

Believe it or not, this corresponds with ancient Buddhist tenants of detachment. And the good thing about this is that it allows you to take a step back from the situation and breathe. It is in that breath that wiser decisions are made.

And in the words of my good friend Anurag Asthana..."Do Nothing". Those words, while seemingly simple, go through my mind often, in times of distress. Things do resolve. And no, it does not mean ignoring the situation. It means, at the moment of panic, stop, take a step back and regroup. From this place, a wiser choice will emerge.

That's why I'm not worried that Congress will come up with a better way. A better plan not built out of panic, but more grounded in wisdom. It's not too late.