Feb 2007 Love and Prejudice

There was a presumably Muslim fellow in the gym on campus. He was working out as was I, maintaining my ultra-elite athleticism. I wanted to talk to him, and I hoped to catch his eye, but he avoided my glances. I am often unfriendly because my own prejudices intimidate me. I am convinced that Muslims hate me so I ignore them. The more logical response would be to reach out and make peace, but prejudice is not logical. I did not find opportunity to converse with him, but the event was still significant. I wanted to talk to him. I looked on him with a compassion that suddenly almost made me cry, and I have discovered it happening increasingly, and towards lots of people. I have been praying for love for a long time, and while I have made observations as to what love must be like, it is only recently that I have felt love growing exponentially within, that I have noticed compassion welling up, on the verge of overwhelming my own introverted personality, and my isolationist propensity. Maybe Father never fixes something about us without also showing us, in spite of our disappointment, where the problems lie. My lack of love was obvious to me, but my prejudices much less so.