Magnets

How does a magnet get its magnetism? J Yeah I know, here I go again with one of those trivia questions (or maybe to some a trivial one), but anyhooo, since we’re here let’s continue. Have you ever thought about it? What makes a magnet a magnet? What material is mixed into the metal in its liquid state that gives it that magnetic attraction force and power? Or is there some process it goes through after it is hardened that makes it attractive to some and repellant to other metals? Magnetic attraction. North and south poles attract while south repels south and north repels north. Hmmmm. But I don’t think this is a “rule” we can depend upon in relationships, for it seems that opposites attract and attack, I mean repel each other, while like personalities attract and attack each other too. J It just depends on what’s happening in the mixture of the character of the parties involved. Magnetic attraction or magnetic attacktion. A new word from my “Allnthejeans World Dictionary”.

This magnetic stuff got me thinking of love in all its forms between God and humans especially, but as well as horizontal love between the genders, family members, friends, etc. Everyone has a different model and thus a different definition and understanding of “love”. How is this so? It’s because of the amniotic fluid in which we were conceived and the “oxygen” which we “breathed in” starting at conception throughout childhood and into adulthood. Our understanding of love was modeled for and to us by our parents and authority figures, the most important people in our lives. For many of us these models were balanced, but for most of us they were not.

For instance, if you grew up in a household where affection was little to nil, then your understanding and experience of love is one that is absent of affection. So maybe when you see people who are very affectionate you may feel a little uncomfortable or even exasperated by all that outward and public display of “love”. Or maybe if you were raised in a very affectionate environment between parents and children and between siblings, you cannot conceive of not giving and receiving affection in your relationships. Maybe you are the “touchy-feely” type and you may feel that people don’t like you when they don’t reciprocate affection.

For others love has been modeled as severity and abuse of all sorts – “I love you” while I’m hitting you or punching you or . . . The earlier in life this type of “brainwashing” occurs, the more difficult it becomes for the person to see a different type of love as more desirable and healthy. I asked the question “when did the magnet become magnetic”? I think the answer is “at the very beginning”.

I recall in science class our teacher rubbing two metals together. One was magnetic while the other was not, but it became magnetic, temporarily, because of the magnetic one. But after a few moments it would lose its magnetic powers. Sounds like a super hero story doesn’t it? J The magnetic one had the power inside of itself while the non-magnetic one did not. The magnetic one was the one that did the pulling and drawing, while the non-magnetic one was the one being drawn and pulled.

Hmmm, our upbringing, background, culture, etc. prepares and primes us for the world positively and negatively according to what is “modeled” for us as “normal”. Across the races, generations, countries, great culture divides normal will be different for everyone. But to me, what is (should be) “normal” for everyone is the pure love of God. This love does no harm to the person mentally, emotionally, affectionally, spiritually, physically. This love is only for the benefit of the one being loved. So if what is normal for you or me is not beneficial for us and those we affect, in all of these areas of the soul, spirit and body, then it is not good, and it is not NORMAL. To me, it doesn’t matter from what country you originate. For something (or someone) to be Normal, it must be for the good of the entire person, and for everyone involved, for what is inside of us either attracts others to us, or repels them from us. Who knowingly desires to attract what is abnormal? Hmmm. Anyhoooo again.

I was talking with a friend recently and we discussed the reality of some negative things that happened in real time that really should not have happened in the life of a mutual friend. As we discussed what she experienced and what we knew about her, we realized that her upbringing set her up to experience the negative events to which she exposed herself and endured. The “negativism” (ingredients) of the situation was already inside of her drawing her towards another negative situation, like a magnet. Because of her past – the environment in which she was raised, the love model she knew - her present situation thus, was “normal” to, and for her, even though she did not like it or desire it. It was what she “knew,” it was what was familiar to her. She was already magnetized for it, from the inside.

So when we observe friends and family in certain situations and life scenarios of maybe abuse, alcoholism, drugs, religion (positive and negative), molestation, positive and healthy love relationships, etc. and we wonder “how” and “why”, we know the answer. Somewhere back in the beginning – in their “once upon a time. . .” is the answer to these questions. But you remember, all “once upon a times” do have a “happily ever after.” J I do believe in them even if the “B” to “Y” is filled with wicked witches with poison apples and magic mirrors and mean stepmothers and jealous fairies and wizards and dragons and . . . Yes I have to believe that things don’t have to remain the same and that we don’t have to end where we began or even leave by the same door we came in. A change IS gonna come. As a matter of fact, everyday, as long as we are willing to change from the inside out, our change IS come. It IS upon us. It IS within us. The power to change our love model, our magnetism is within us.

In order to change the type of people you are attracted to or who are attracted to you - who are not good for or to you, you must be willing to change something inside of you which attracts them. Those character traits that are in them which you have no desire for in your space you must first be willing to evict from yourself, from your own character and personality. There is a lot of truth in the cliché “it takes one to know one.” This is why so many people get involved in one-night stands or short long-term relationships, because of that immediate first meeting attraction (i.e. love at first sight. Yeah right. Maybe, and maybe not). There is something common inside the persons pulling them towards each other like magnets. Given time, the true personality of each person gets revealed and depending on what happens next, either they stick together and work it out and help each other to grow and mature, or they abuse each other and stick together and hurt each other, or they abandon one another right away.

Those who realize that the negatives in the other person are too strong for them and that they don’t have the “resources” to invest in any type of relationship with that person will jump ship right away. For many others, we stay and endure, wink the eye and turn our heads to things that are not life and death, until we realize that the person has begun to turn on us and the friendship (or whatever type of relationship it is) isn’t going to go anywhere positive or good for all parties involved, in every area of life, but only one is getting his or her fix at the expense of the other.

If we want to attract positive people for the duration of our lives, meaning we don’t want them to just come and go, then we must make sure we are the types of persons we want to attract. I’m not talking about the beautiful clothing and jewelry, ones gifts and talents, money and jobs etc., but we’re talking about the inward character. This is not a “self-help” blog topic because we did not “get here” by ourselves, so it stands to reason we will not be able to change “all by ourselves.” We need help from outside of ourselves to come and reside inside of us to transform and change our magnetic attraction, our love model so we can know the difference between the good and the bad, the sour and the sweet.

The Bible says about one of the prophets, when the angel told his parents they would have a baby, the child was only to eat “sweet” things so he would know to reject bad things. You see, it happens at the beginning, for permanent magnetism and not just a temporary one. But since most of us (none of us) did not “get it” at our “once upon a time”, God has made it possible for us to start again, to be “born again”, to receive a new name, with new blood (a spiritual blood transfusion to change us from the inside out) to change our inner magnets so we will desire and be drawn to the good, and reject the bad.

There was a man named Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees. He was an important Jewish leader. One night he came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a teacher sent from God. No one can do these miraculous signs that you do unless they have God’s help.” Jesus answered, “I assure you, everyone must be born again. Anyone who is not born again cannot be in God’s kingdom.” Nicodemus said, “How can a man who is already old be born again? Can he go back into his mother’s womb and be born a second time?” Jesus answered, “Believe me when I say that everyone must be born from water and the Spirit. Anyone who is not born from water and the Spirit cannot enter God’s kingdom. The only life people get from their human parents is physical. But the new life that the Spirit gives a person is spiritual.” [John 3:1-6] (The Healing Bible)

And I get my hope from these words everyday: “Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!” [II Corinthians 5:17] (The Amplified Bible) As long as I stay in Christ and He stays in me and I allow His nature and character to change mine to become more like His (by the fruit of the Holy Spirit), my love model will change, transforming my magnetic powers J. And I will become the Sister Wonder (thanks Jua) I was created to be! Now what color cape should I wear?

Peace.