Attraction is what draws us to something. If you are a fisherman, then your lure or bait needs to attract the attention of the fish. If you are a retailer, your advertising needs to attract customers. If you are looking for a significant other, then you need to be attractive to another in some form or fashion.
What we find attractive is most often culturally determined. Some cultures admire certain bodily features more than others. Some social groups find certain characteristics more attractive than others. Regardless of what group you may fall into, that group often determines for you what is attractive.
These attractions are things we often need to learn to overcome. We are all attracted to clean new babies. We are not attracted to the homeless person with an alcohol problem. That aroma is not attractive. We are all attracted to things that remind us of our mothers or grandmothers, like cookies she baked or a perfume she wore. We are not attracted to the things we often encounter in nursing homes.
In traveling to other countries, I have often encountered smells and sounds that were not attractive, but my hosts did not notice at all. That does not mean they were all bad things, it simply means that they were different, outside of my daily routine or daily experience.
St. Francis talked about Prime Attractors. Those persons, those lives that draw people to God simply by being experienced. That sort of attraction is not something you can put on or learn. It is, instead, something you have to live out and simply be. To become a Prime Attractor is a lifelong process. It is not taught, it is simply done. Living daily in the Presence and giving one’s life away daily is part of the process of becoming a Prime Attractor.
Even more importantly, is remembering that forgiveness is instantaneous. Perhaps this is most important. Being a Prime Attractor is not about being perfect, it is about letting the world see in one’s life, the goodness and godliness that is always present. That usually means letting go of the less attractive things that are also part of us. You see, we are all called to be Prime Attractors. What is holding you back from being that attractive?
TMM