When Gold Isn’t So Solid
Insights from a new study and a forgotten charger
I’m away this weekend, traveling lighter than usual — and by lighter, I mean I forgot my laptop charger.
Suddenly, the lack of such a seemingly small and simple technical support device throws me all off my game. Annoyance arrives at the door, with panic hovering behind — and, with that, I wonder: How attached am I to things working the way I expect them to? How rigid is “my game?”
With only my phone, how could I integrate what I planned to be an impressive array of year-end insights, packaged up with emotion, humor, and an inspiring call to action? What happens when we have to improvise?
Well, I had saved a couple of articles about gold, which inspired insights about how what’s most precious may not have the permanence we’ve associated with it. I can share those:
- For centuries, gold has symbolized a wealth that transcends the material world, as evidenced by its inclusion in ancient graves and tombs: Oldest Golden Artifacts Ever Found
- Gold doesn’t tarnish. It doesn’t corrode. It’s been regarded as the ultimate constant — unreactive. But one study recently found that under very unusual conditions, extreme pressure and heat, gold may be more reactive, more changeable, than we once believed: Creating Gold Hydride
Gold, like so much else in our world, may not be as fixed as we thought.
There’s something oddly comforting about that. As this year closes, many of us are navigating moments that feel a little… off-kilter. Routines disrupted. Assumptions questioned. Long-held habits asking to be re-examined. The things we rely on — internally or externally — may not be as solid, or as limiting, as they once appeared.
And maybe that’s not a problem to solve. Maybe it’s an invitation:
- To notice what we cling to.
- To loosen our need for certainty.
- To stay curious about what’s actually possible — beyond the accustomed stability If gold can change under the right conditions, perhaps so can we!
Here’s to entering the New Year not fully charged, not fully certain — but open, adaptable, and quietly ready for transformation.
