Sorry you were born? (page 3)

LeslieV

We are who we are today, because of life that we have experienced before today.

Look at who you are today....even though most of us missed out on lots of things because of the cult, we also learned some valueable lessons, because we left. This is what we have learned from believing in a cult.... Love unconditionally, don't judge, live life one day at a time, don't live with should have, could have, would have, because there really is no guarantee about tomorrow. Life is worth living. Don't let the shadow of the cult still control you, you are a valuable member of mankind, and deserve to be happy.

You now can become anything you want to be. If there is something that you felt you could not do because you were a JW, then go out and change it. If you need to find help in doing that...go get it. Find a professional to talk to if you need. Your life is yours to mold. We are here for you.

Leslie

delilah

And who we are today, the people who come here and kid around, and lift each other up and offer suggestions, and answer questions, and go looking for core88, we are the result of our past. Aren't we special???

Well said, Changeling.

I'm very glad I was born, even though my parents decided to change religions before I became a teenager. Even though I suffered sexual abuse, at the hands of a family member. Even though I was df'd twice....( God, you'd have thought I'd have learned the first time?!)

Even though I partially raised my 3 children in that cult....thank god we're out now, and have been for over 9 years!! My kids are happy and well-adjusted...

Life is too short, and too wonderful, to worry about the past injustices that I may have suffered.

If I had never been born, I would not be here, married to a super guy, have 3 children and a 2 year old grandson.

I would not know the beauty of nature around me, the wonderful taste of a cheesecake, nor would I know the group of kind, and compassionate people here.........

AND..........might I add, that you guys really are a wonderful group....the way everyone rallied around Core88....I just felt awesome, to "know" you guys....

I'm GLAD you were all born. I love you guys.....

PEC

For the first 16 years of my life, I did wish I had not been born.

Philip

rebel8

Sometimes, yes. Life has been very painful, largely due to the cult and its after-effects. My life is not that different than anyone else's now but I have "had it up to here" with life's past struggles and feel more frustrated/tired with everyday annoyances than non-cultists seem to.

I also feel it was wrong to bring me into the world in the first place. My parents made a selfish, unethical choice when they knowingly opted to create a human being that would probably have a difficult medical condition. They put their desire to make a baby over the well being of another human being. They should have adopted a healthy baby. IMO

The world is overpopulated anyway.

Open mind

Glad to be born.

Sorry I largely wasted the first 1/2.

Open Mind

nvrgnbk

This cult must die!

If you, me, and Gregor went out for some top shelf Tequila, you would thank all the gods for your existence.

I'll never forget all that you taught me about the hyena's birth canal or Watchtower approved landing strips.

Thanks Pope!

You've brightened this sad bastard's day more than once.

PopeOfEruke

Never going Back,

Thanks Mate!!!

I thnk all I need is a new hat!!!

Pope

PEC

You need to get a taller hat.

Philip

Madame Quixote

Be only sorry that CT Russell was born. He was a mistake, not you. Blessings!

Scully

Sometimes I am. It depends on the day and depends on the $h!t on my plate that day.

Pope asked,

"What sort of person would I be today if I hadn't been brought up a JW? Would I be a more complete person, if I didn't have that shadow, that dark cloak of JW-ism that is seemingly impossible to throw off? Or would I be happier?"

Similar to NathanNatas, my folks started Studying™ with the JWs when I was 6, and by the time I was 8, they were fully assimilated into the cult.

Having spent some time learning about social psychology and human behaviour, I am pretty much convinced that the JW lifestyle appealed to my parents because of how it "fit" the mindset that they had been raised with. While I was learning about the family tree, I discovered that shunning family members who do not conform to expectations was the norm, not the exception, and that was without any religious justification for the practice. I'm also pretty much convinced that circumstances at the time made my parents especially vulnerable to being drawn into a cult or other high control group. It provided a social routine and "instant" friendships when we were in a new city clear across the country from our previous home, with no real social network to belong to. If the Hell's Angels or Satanists went door-to-door seeking converts and claiming to promote solid family values, they probably would have been vulnerable to their influence too.

I try to imagine an alternate reality for my life, where JWs were never an influence. I have a good idea of what that looks like, and I try to think of what I can do now to make that happen. It involves more education. Unfortunately, some of those wishes won't come true - I am not going to try to get my family out of the cult - at this point in their lives, to uproot them from the only social network they've had for almost 40 years would be wrong. But there are some things within my reach that I can do - I can make sure my kids have the education I was not able to have. I can make sure that I stop the cycle of abusively shunning people just because we disagree, and I can stop giving power to people who shun by not allowing myself to be shunned by them or giving them opportunities to shun me. I can have the education I want and the job I want. I can plan for my retirement. I can have any friends I choose, not just "good associations" among JWs. I can buy hot dogs and cold cuts without checking the labels for animal "by-products". I can be a blood donor. I can support worthy charities. I can indulge myself in a few luxuries without feeling guilty or as if I am not being "self-sacrificing" for doing so.

If you can imagine what your life might have been like without JW influence, you can then take steps and decide what you need to do in order to make those things a reality.

Sorry you were born?

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