Did you 'break the rules' full force? Did you go celebrate a birthday? Buy xmas decorations? Have a smoke? Maybe you got a tatoo? Had a one night stand perhaps?
What did you do? If anything.....
So you're out - first thing you did was.....
by wantstoleave 39 Replies latest jw friends
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jookbeard
pretty much , not a lot, I was invited to my Aunt's place for the first Xmas after I was out , didn't really enjoy it after all I was 28 years of age living alone, so did not go at all overboard with partaking in every banned thing that Dubs cant do , Xmas/Birthdays/Easte/Smurfs are all great for the kids
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wantstoleave
I was thinking how my brother has been out for about 4yrs now, and lives with his girlfriend. Yet, he will not celebrate birthdays/xmas because he says he still believes the truth is the truth, just that he cant practice. He was stumbled so many times and hurt, so his faith has been shattered. However, I wonder how his girlfriend (soon to be wife) will be once they have children. She says its no bother, about celebrating etc. But I wonder.
One time when I was talking to him about me wanting to leave, he talked me out of it. He told me 'the world' isnt all its cracked up to be, that I need to stay being a witness. I told him I wanted to celebrate holidays etc and he told me not to be stupid lol! It must be hard for him being not in the world, but not out of it completely either.
Besides disappointing my parents if I left, I know my brother would be upset too - even though he's not been a witness for so long now. Plus I am not close to any of my worldly family who live nearby, so I would feel odd and like a stranger if I were to go start celebrating holidays with them. My family was basically the outcast from the worldly side of the family once my parents became witnesses. So we've never gotten to know them as such.
If I were to leave, I would literally have noone. Yet I rely on my parents heavily to look after my children when I work etc. This is really tough!
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SnakesInTheTower
I think the first big thing (other than being here of course) was registering to vote and voting this last national election.
Snakes (Rich )
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Black Sheep
Put a thousand miles between me and my parents, bought a packet of fags, got a good paying job, made some new friends, took a trip, smoked some weed, got drunk, put $5 on the Melbourne Cup, lived on a beach, went hunting and fishing. Just normal every day stuff.
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wantstoleave
Yes, forgot about voting!
On that topic, who here thinks its wrong that witnesses are allowed to go to a polling booth, have our names ticked off the list, even go into a booth and pretend to vote - marking the boxes wrong etc so it becomes invalid but are NOT allowed to vote? Sounds very deceptive to me.
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AK - Jeff
It was not like walking thru the gates at DisneyWorld for me. I loved being a Jw - I was not seeking to leave. So when I discovered the whole thing was wrong, I left, but it was more like walking out of the gates of a cemetery. Sober. Thoughtful. For a long time.
I have resumed, over a rather long time now [I left in 2004, DA'd in late 2006], a more 'normal' lifestyle, whatever that means. Big events were my first B-day celebration at age 50, my first American Flag hung on my house a couple years back, and voting in the national election last year. Of course along the way I have slowly reformatted my hard drive and cast out unused files, but my operating system is still pretty similar to before. Except that I have fewer friends in my physical world and more in my cyberspace.
'Worldly' lifestyles never much appealed to me. Perhaps I was too old when I left to find drinking, chasing women, or wild parties to be of much interest in my case. Though my choices in those areas mentally are shifted, the judgement is gone, I just have changed very little from outward appearances. Internally, I am not the same man at all.
Jeff
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Black Sheep
Voting is no longer a DF offence.
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awildflower
I might want to do all of the above! But I've also been looking to donate blood, regester to vote and do some volunteering!.........wf
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awildflower
P.S. The first thing I did though was celebrate my daughters 13th B-day and my son's 19th B-day which was on the 4th of July. Two celebrations in one! And I'm looking forward to at least carving a pumpkin this year for Halloween. Just always thought that would be fun. X-mas I'm still not crazy about. To commercial for me.......wf