The Gold Standard is a familiar term in the financial world and the very word Gold has come to mean the best.  We think of gold as something outside of ourselves but we can benefit from bringing it inside.  There is gold in us and our loved ones, in our lives and surroundings, in our world.  We can find it everywhere.

What is best about us?  What character traits shine?  What do we do really, really well?  What would Mom and Grandma point out about us?

When a person is in love,
it shows.  It is not something
that can be hidden. 
Like gold itself, love glows. 
Lovers have found the gold in each other.

Too often we concentrate on what we need to improve rather than acknowledge what is already golden. I'm a big believer in self improvement but we need to begin from a foundation of self-worth.  There is a big difference between having a pot belly and being ugly.  Recognizing good skin, straight teeth, strong muscles, beautiful eyes . . . whatever is already wonderful . . . can help us feel better about ourselves and make exercising to tighten abs much easier.

By all means, we need to keep improving.  But first, we need to be grateful for what is already golden - in ourselves and in those we love.

Think about lovers.  When a person is in love, it shows.  It is not something that can be hidden.  Like gold itself, love glows.  Lovers have found the gold in each other.

In the beginning of a love relationship we are simply unable to see any trait that does not shine.  While it is impossible to sustain that adulation of discovering the gold in our beloved, we need to keep that memory alive.  The gold doesn't fade - we remove our gaze.

What do we love about our family?  Are there odd balls among us?  Of course.  Why should we be exempt?  But we can find gold dust in some, nuggets in others and gold bars in those we admire most.

We need to decide that life is ever so much better when we focus on the gold in our lives - ourselves, our inner circles, our community and world.  What we focus on grows.  Let it be on whatever shines.

Jean Loxley-Barnard has been a writer all her life and studied both sociology and psychology at George Washington University where she earned a B.A. Her company, The Shopper, Inc., encompasses all the Loxley-Barnard family publications - The Shopper Magazines and Doctor to Doctor Magazine. She has been in the advertising, consulting and publishing business for 39 years.