Living in the moment with our loved ones may sound trite, but it works.

Everyone's talking about the meltdown. No one understands it really. People understand bits of it, but it's such a monstrosity that no one can possibly get their head around the huge equation of cause and effect.

Money is going to cost more. The euro's going to be the next US dollar. It's an overdue correction. Oil is down a barrel. Forget trying to understand it. Ride the tiger and hang on. But try to remember what's really important.

The people you love.

We don't know what's going on and we don't know what's going to happen. And we can't control it. But at least at the moment we know that we don't know what's going on.

The truth is that we never know what's going on, what's around the corner. We just think we do. At least now we know we're all corks bobbing in the water. That we're all standing on a floating floor that can be pulled out from under us at any time. We just think it's solid. It's not. It never has been.

When will we stop worrying about money? The moment before we die? Just as we are about to take our last breath, will we be overtaken by a sudden wave of relief that we had enough? Enough money for what? And we're all worried about money. No matter how rich or poor we are.

Financial fireworks are always bound to lead to emotionally vivid times. We humans love to solve a problem by throwing energy at it. Maybe that won't work this time. Maybe the lesson to be reminded of is that ups and downs, wins and losses, and feast and famine are unavoidable parts of our lives.

People are gripped by fear and driven by insecurity. How much can we do about the global economic crisis? Regretting spending those thousands on last year's overseas trip, new car or renovation is pointless. Times are tough. But they could be tougher. And there'll always be someone doing it easier than you. And tougher than you. And guess what? The tables turn when you least expect it.

What can we do? Maybe not bite off more than we can chew. Bring back lay-bys. Bring back saving. Bring back going without. Bring back fixing things. But while we're waiting, enjoy the moment.

Learn what's important. Sounds trite I know, but during this rough stuff we can't just think, "I'll wait until everything's happy and then I'll have fun and live in the moment". You might not be able to afford a holiday, but you can afford a picnic. Times may be tough, but we're still alive.

That's the really tricky bit. To move our focus away from the big scary things that probably won't happen and enjoy what we have - our friends, our families and ourselves. Because these troubled times will pass. But our loved ones may not be there tomorrow.