Perseverance — Page 10
10 – the story of al-haj Rashid ahmad american I said, “No. I used to weigh 180 pounds. ” Surprised, he asked, “How is it possible you could weigh so much with such small bones?!” I said, “I don’t know but I did. ” He told me to stand in another line where I was asked by a fourth doctor why I was standing there. I said, “I don’t know. I was standing there and there and I’m standing here. I’m standing everywhere. ” He took my papers and stamped them with a “4F” which stood for psycho-neurosis. Their inaccurate evaluation of me indicated that I was psychologically unfit to join the army. I proudly took the incident to mean I outsmarted them. SEARCH FOR GOD After graduating in 1942 I began to give some serious thought to religion. I would go to any and all organizations to see how they would function and what they could offer in terms of guidance. The church gave me no satisfying answers to my questions about life and God. I then turned to politics. I realized it was the same kind of life that I was already living – lies, deception, gambling and cheating. I then turned towards a private Mason organization. I completed the application but they refused to grant me my request because of my character. Ironically, I knew the very person who communicated their denial to me was a bigger crook than I was. I noticed that there was one thing in common with all of these organizations – money. The dollar was supreme and seemed to be their god.