I am happier now as compared to the years I was in "the truth" to a degree that cannot be measured by space or time.
Since Leaving "The Truth" Are You Really Happier?
by minimus 56 Replies latest jw friends
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not a captive
Happier! YES!
Every day Is like a gift.
And God is still there and there is no foggy gloom between us.
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WTWizard
I found life miserable and unproductive while I was in. I found that I was wasting my time repeatedly doing the same old calls and streets, and then they got put back in the pile to become "fresh" territory again. A complete waste.
Beyond this, things were too stagnant. I never had time to do anything else. Most music was off limits. I also had little or no time to play computer games on my Commodore 64, watch good TV shows, or read what I wanted to. Everything was about the witlesses--studying the rags, boasting sessions, field circus, hoping for the blizzard to hit so a boasting session would be cancelled only to see the blizzard fizzle, and so on.
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Denial
yes, i'm REALLY much more happy. fully & completely, without any doubt or second guessing. absolutely and positively!
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minimus
Even if you make a bad decision in YOUR life, you don't have to go to a group of men to "deal" with it.
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2pink
absolutely, in fact, i think i am truly happy for the first time ever!
i was a born in and bought into the whole "life will be good in the paradise but it sucks right now bcs satan is persecuting us" mentality. wow, i wasted so much time with that mindset.
when i first decided to leave the JWs, i truly thought i was going to be miserable like they tell you will happen...but i left anyway bcs i didn't believe the lies anymore and didn't want to teach them to my kids. however, in the past 6 months or so since i have left, an overwhelming feeling of peace and happiness has come over me. i feel like...a real person!
despite the fact that i lost all my extended family and a fair amount of friends to the borg, i love my life now more than ever and appreciate every single minute of it. i am happy for the first time.
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QuestioningEverything
I am so much happier since leaving the truth' it is unbelievable!! My life is peaceful, I don't have that daily fear hanging over my head. I only regret that I didn't leave sooner.
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LongHairGal
I wasn't raised in the religion so I had a 'normal' childhood with my holidays, relatives and mundane happy things that you reflect on. When I joined the JWs (after being totally deceived as to what they were) and the rude awakenings came one after another, I wasn't what you would call happy at all. I felt anxiety and disillusionment. It was never my intention to join a dictatorship. I was simply interested in end-time prophecy. That is it.
I never really accepted all their teachings and took them with a grain of salt. I kept my doubts to myself. I was made to feel that I wasn't 'good enough' because I couldn't go out in service full time. I had to work. I also refused to be targeted to do favors. I think I made some people there angry because they got nowhere with me. I think when a single woman comes into the religion some there must feel: 'hey, we have a live one here', because they expect they will be able to exploit her. The exception to this rule is if the single woman is part of a popular family that is THERE, then she won't be bothered. She is somehow 'exempt'. But, godforbid you come from the outside and have nobody to speak up for you like I did. Then you better speak up for yourself or else you will be trampled on. Needless to say, they didn't like my outspokenness. I think some mousy types were intimidated.
My rude awakenings were the biggest with regard to the culture and mentality. The gossip was horrendous and there was no regard for single women. I had no camraderie with married women, many of which were users looking for single women to do favors for them, imagining that the single person had 'no' responsibilities. Aside from a few kind old souls that I will always remember, I had few friends. I might add that I observed that certain other single women who DID let themselves be targeted by the users and did favors for everybody, weren't necessarily invited everywhere either. They got phone calls only when somebody needed something. So, my 'unpopularity' wasn't necessarily because I was no fool.
I am 'freer' now without going off the deep-end like some ex-JWs. But, I do have residual anger plus a few negative thoughts that pop into my head. But, I am comparatively more happier than when I was a JW. I know enough to never again get involved with another religion.
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truthseekeriam
I'm getting there...