The Moon is Up by Alfred Noyes
The moon is up, the stars are bright.
the wind is fresh and free!
We’re out to seek the gold tonight
across the silver sea!
The world is growing grey and old:
break out the sails again!
We’re out to see a Realm of Gold
beyond the Spanish Main.
We’re sick of all the cringing knees,
the courtly smiles and lies
God, let Thy singing channel breeze
lighten our hearts and eyes!
Let love no more be bought and sold
for earthly loss or gain;
We’re out to seek an Age of Gold
beyond the Spanish Main.
Beyond the light of far Cathay,
beyond all mortal dreams,
Beyond the reach of night and day
Our El Dorado gleams,
Revealing – as the skies unfold –
A star without a stain,
The Glory of the Gates of Gold
beyond the Spanish Main.
We had a gorgeous full moon the day before yesterday in this neck of the woods and I felt it fitting to share this rhythmic poem with you today. I just love the imagery, particularly the “star without a stain” and the “Gates of Gold” and I cannot help but apply his message to the way I deal with the people in my life.
The “Spanish Main,” that is, the status quo wherein love’s true nature has been bastardized into a commodity, is an all-too-familiar state. Men and women alike have sold themselves for supposed gain, but in the end the duplicity not only gets old, but makes things old.
The need, of course, is to reach beyond that state, to find the “Glory of the Gates of Gold” in each person around you that is “beyond the Spanish Main.” Within each one is a “star without a stain,” a perfect, unblemished whole, holy and true inner reality that can and must be revealed. Your job, above all others, is to seek the Age of Gold, that is, to draw forth the golden perfection resident in each one, no matter how stained they may be on the outside.
Gregory Hake 
Your words point to the big idea from which all else follows. This has been a mantra in the chiropractic world. It is good to see how fostering the expression of one’s inherent gold is the big idea put into action.
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When our lives become so humdrum that we don’t see the gold in our fellows it is like going through the motions of living, like power cords that aren’t plugged in. We rob ourselves but more importantly we fail the purpose for our existence. I believe one of the evidences of fulfilling our purpose is how we treat each other. Opening a renewed opportunity for each by our attitudes of forgiveness for what ever the present may appear and appreciation for the promise we each hold.
I loved the poem and it is new to me. There are so many that have sought to inspire us to greatness. Thank you!
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The typical approach is to judge people, to condemn them and to complain about them. I’ve found this quite distasteful in my own experience and would much rather see how I can 1) realize that I also have areas that need improving 2) that I may not see things accurately 2) to have empathy as I never know what is going on in someone else’s life or what their past experiences have been 3) to see how I can help people see the gold in themselves and always look to express that myself.
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Ah, so true…..what I have seen to be most uncanny in helping people to open up in the best way is when they can see an example of a selfless attitude in motion. This is the kind of attitude in people whereupon repeat examinations, forgives and does not take offense in circumstances where often people do, as the energy is more directed to working constructively. To show that it is actually possible to be above pettiness kindles a deep faith in people – I’ve seen it happen many times and it leaves people thinking, “I have seen the bar raised higher, I perhaps can do it too. I will make the effort.”
To the untarnished stars that light the night – shine on!
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