I am happier and much more relaxed. My debauchery level was extremely low and non-existent now. I live a normal life and I've raised my children normally also. They are making good decisions and progressing toward complete adulthood.
Since Leaving "The Truth" Are You Really Happier?
by minimus 56 Replies latest jw friends
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rockmehardplace
right now, no. i have good days and bad days. the bad days do not equate with going back though. it is more along the lines of something like this- "i wish i did not drink all that vodka last night. today i am sick and hung over and having a bad day."
when i was in, i would have not had so much vodka, but maybe just a slight hang over.
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troubled mind
YES !!! It is a feeling of relief ,I can breathe now . Like some one else said 'when things go wrong i don't immediately think it is because I did something wrong . The stress in my life has diminished unbelievably . I can honestly relax now and enjoy everything and everyone in my life .
The poor witnesses ...everytime I see someone I know and they Ask how we are doing ? It is in a 'oh you poor baby you left the flock and must be miserable ' type tone .....They have no clue how wonderful it is ! You would think they would get a clue because everytime I have a chance I smile wide and tell them how great we all are !
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WingCommander
You know, this is a good question little red spot. Looking back on my life as a JW (birth to about age 22) I can clearly see that the happiest times with my late family weren't when we were active JW's, it was when we were INACTIVE JW's. This really says something, doesn't it?
As I now know, my family when through up and down periods of activity vs. non-activity. My parents would be zealous and fanatical, then get tired of the hypocritical shit and being told endlessly that they'd never be good enough and quit for many months, even years. Oh they still believed, read the literature, etc they just didn't go for periods. Then all of a sudden something would scare them back into going. It was a viscious cycle.
My only wish is that my father would have lived long enough to see the Org for what it truly was, a publishing company bent on making money off his free labor and time. They don't care one bit about the average person/publisher/drone. You are just a number, and when you die they want your estate. Pathetic and it must make Jesus weep, literally.
I have never stopped believing in YHWH and His Son, Jesus - period. I have not "left" them and I don't think either of them has "cast me off into a spiritual abyss" either. That is just guilt-inducing mind control drivel.
When God's great day comes, this "Organization" trying to prop itself up as a religion is going to have a helluva lot to answer for, and the old "well we did the best we could with what we had" isn't going to cut it. Other denominations of Christianity have the Bible, but that was not good enough, the JW's had to make shit up just like the Mormons.
I am happy to be free from the chains of their oppression. I relate it to how it must have felt to have been a Jew under the Pharisees and then Jesus came along and lifted the burdens from the shoulders and unshackled their faith.
Truly, the "Truth shall set you free."
- Wing Commander
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Quirky1
Happier that I left, yes. Even unhappier that I still have family in. Currently my life kinda sucks..
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mindmelda
If you mean leaving the WTS, hell yes!
It's like getting rid of a plantar wart that hurts every time you take a step. I didn't get rid of God...actually...I access him a whole lot better without the "intermediary" of the WTS.
Wart is right...something you don't need and is a pain in the...foot.
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mindmelda
You know WingCommander, I can totally relate. My family situation was much happier when my parents were less active JWs.
Yeah, it definitely says something about the Witnesses..nothing very good.
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man in black
It reminds me of this story, it was great looking at God with my own eyes !
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Quillsky
We take ourselves wherever we go in life, so if personality traits, bad luck, poor habits or circumstances would have led to unhappy segments of life within the org, they possibly will also do so outside of the org. And ditto with the happy segments.
The big difference is now is there's no additional pressure of the hamster wheel of meetings-guilt-field-service-judgment-dread-watching-your-back and consulting the publications/elders on what is expected, and allowed, all the time.
So now I make my own decisions, and have to really think about how I am responsible for my own happiness and that of those around me, right here, now, today, and also taking the REAL future into account. Not some bizarre cultish fantasy of God killing everyone else in order to create "happiness" for the small minority.
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Scarred for life
Good post, Quillsky. Very true.