Sometimes I stare at the piano, but other times I listen to Doug and Cheryl when they read books out-loud to one another in the evenings. Last night, Doug was reading The Treasure of the Superstition Mountains, by Gary Jennings. Here are 3 curious facts I heard about gold:

–One ounce of gold can be beaten out to the thickness used for gold-leafing statues and domes to cover 183 square feet.
–A single gram of gold has been drawn into a fine wire two miles long.
–Gold can be hammered to .0001 millimeter in thickness.

According to The Money Show gold is attractive next to dull interest rates and rising inflationary pressures. (The Surprise Gold Trend for 2012, by Brittney Barrett)

According to the Bible, gold is a temptation to make false images or gods.

According to Zen Kitty, gold is a part of creation, to be respected for what it is and for what it isn’t.

When it comes to “things” it helps to know what the thing is AND what the thing isn’t. This keeps us balanced and focused.

Examples:

• –The human body is a symbol of an extraordinary individual. But the body is not separate from the universe.
• –Religion is a means of discovering truth. Religion is not truth in and of itself.
• –My fur is soft and soothing to pet, but it isn’t intact, in other words, I leave a lot of cat hair around on the floor.
• –A healthy body is nice, but it isn’t our spirituality.
• –Gold is elegant and durable but it isn’t a source of beauty or happiness.