Golden Threads
Dust always blowing about the town, Except when sea-fog laid it down, And I was one of the children told. Some of the blowing dust was gold... ~excerpt from A Peack of Gold, Robert Frost
A universal symbol of luxury and value, Gold's true worth lies in its less publicized qualities: malleable and durable, heavy and soft, fragile and strong, pure gold is durable, non-reactive, and resistant to corrosion, oxidation, rust, and tarnish. No wonder Gold is considered a "Noble" metal - we seek these same qualities in the most noble versions of ourselves.
Although Gold is called a heavy metal because of its high density (each of its atoms is individually very heavy), gold atoms slide past each other relatively easily, which makes the metal soft and malleable. Gold is so soft that one gram of it can be beaten into a sheet covering nearly a square meter, mirroring the flexibility and resilience we so often strive for in our lives.
In his poem "A Peck of Gold," Robert Frost evokes the promise and disappointment of the California Gold Rush. The narrator's echoing line, "I was one of the children told, some of the blowing dust was gold," parallels a nation's focus on the outward trappings of wealth, a nation that would one day falsely proclaim "its streets were together than apart. As with the most beautiful gold alloy, the paved with gold."
Gold tells the story of my ancestors, drawn to the American West by the Homesteading Act of 1862. After making their claim in Paradise Valley, MT, along the banks of the Yellowstone River, my mother's family was met with an influx of gold miners and pros- pectors following the discovery of placer gold in Emigrant Gulch in 1864. Dedicated to "proving up" their claim, my ancestors turned away from the shiny allure of the gold rush in favor of creating a home for generations to come. I live on this land today - each golden sunrise and sunset a testa- ment to the values of those who came before me. Just as prospectors found veins of pure gold in sandstone and shale, real wealth is found deep within. It wasn't the discovery of gold that made my ancestors "wealthy", but their tenacity, flexibility, community, and strength. Their ability to bend to the whim of nature and meld with the land foretold their destiny.
Considered too soft for everyday wear, pure gold is traditionally alloyed with other metals for greater strength and durability. The most common metal alloyed with gold is silver. SilverBell Global has always been about the value of relationships and community, and my last name, Silver Bell, exemplifies the idea that we are stronger durability of silver tempers the softness of pure gold to create a metal bright enough to gleam with promise and strong enough to withstand daily wear and tear. The ethos of valuing self doesn't mean we put ourselves above others, rather it upholds the recognition that only through valuing oneself can we connect authentically with others. From its physical properties to poetic symbolism, gold powerfully reflects our human experience: inner strength and resilience through valuing self, partnership, and community. Throughout history and in the smallest moments in our own lives, Gold's true worth lies in its ability to reflect these noble and utterly human qualities within us.
Make new friends,
But keep the old,
One is Silver,
The other Gold'
~from The American Songbook, sung in the round and based on the poem by Joseph Parry 1841-1903
