Image generated using Gemini, with prompts created by ChatGPT. *"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."* Tolkien's opening line has always resonated with me because it captures something essential about human nature: when the world outside gets overwhelming, we retreat to our hobbit-holes. We close the round door, light the fire, and tend to what we know. I suspect many of you are feeling the pull toward your own hobbit-holes right now. The news cycles have been relentless. Whether you're processing national headlines, navigating institutional pressures, or simply trying to stay steady in your own department, your cognitive load is maxed out. There's solid psychological research backing what we all feel intuitively: when people experience chronic stress or threat, they become more rigid in their thinking. We default to familiar routines. We resist new challenges.…