There was a time when folks would get together and talk mostly about their hobbies and interests. They might talk mainly about their families, their romances, or their latest adventures. Now, more and more, it seems that when we get together, there's one topic at top of mind: our particular gloss on just how bad things are in the world. This Sunday we gather to talk about thinking as a spiritually formative act, and we consider an ancient technology that might help us be prepared to greet a challenged world with energy, rather than run ourselves ragged forecasting its end.