In philosophical realms,there’s been a renewed interest lately in ideas like balance and thriving. These are not new ideas (are there any actually new ideas?) – the idea of balance as a virtue goes back at least to the Greeks. Sometimes we take things out and dust them off because we see a renewed need for them, and it seems to me that might be the case in this instance. As we look at the condition of the world around us, we might be prompted to reflect not only on what’s going on, but how we got here. One of the areas of consideration in exploring that question will likely be “balance” – did we get here in part because things have gotten out of whack in the world in ways that make us uniquely vulnerable to certain types of global events? Are there things that are dis-integrated that need to be re-integrated? Our exploration in the Talky Bit will touch on those sorts of themes this week, and in particular on the idea that what we regard as sacred can deeply inform what we attempt to integrate into a balanced life.