This is a post about, you should excuse my language, feelings.

I've been a writer for most of my adult life, which is pretty much synonymous with saying I'm not rich. Over the last months I've watched my modest savings shrivel dramatically.

At times like this it's hard not to get caught up in anxiety. My mind has a mind of its own, and right now it seems to want to do nothing more than to deluge me with fearful thoughts about the future. I know these thoughts aren't useful, but it's not easy to keep them at bay.

My friends are worried, too. Everybody's worried! And with good reason. With the economy and stock market tanking, and unemployment lines getting longer, these are worrisome times.

At another level, though, I'm not worried at all. On the contrary: I'm elated!

Fear clouds the mind and keeps our vision small. There's a part of me that knows this, and this part keeps reminding me to attend to the positives, which, despite everything, outweigh the negatives by far.

For decades we've been careering toward an environmental apocalypse. People with clear sightlines have felt hopeless with good reason. The status quo has its own momentum and until now it's been enough to keep sustainability marginalized and our planet and its populations racing towards the eco-abyss.

And now, with staggering abruptness, everything has changed. The status quo has, to put it gently, lost its persuasive power. The old ways have collapsed, leaving a vacuum that's been filled with improbable haste by an unexpected and extraordinary opportunity. Out of nowhere it has become politically feasible to implement the changes we need to make to create a sustainable future.

Better yet, there appears to be an emerging consensus that we have no choice but to go green dramatically if we are to bootstrap ourselves out of the current crisis.

As if all this weren't enough, there's a third blessing on top of these two. The collapse of our financial system has been accompanied by a dramatic shift in power in the most powerful country in the world. What a coincidence, that at this critical moment in history, the reins of governance have been handed over to a team that appears to have the understanding and expertise to steer us away from the abyss!

Yes, the news is scary. But beyond the fear these are times for rejoicing. Something remarkable—and, indeed, almost miraculous—is taking place.

I try to spend as much time as I can inside this positive awareness, and not in the Anxious Place. Here's what I keep asking myself: would I exchange increased financial insecurity, and even some personal hardship, for a world rescued from eco-collapse?

And of course the answer is, in a heartbeat, yes.