by AllTimeJeff 31 Replies latest jw friends
Depends what your point of reference is. I found this site after six years out, anger had long since dissapated. Being a JW will always be a large part of my life . . . no changing that . . . but I like a lot of the people here.
If anything this forum takes me back as much as forward . . . but it's gratifying to be of some help and encouragement to those early in their journey and in a bad place. I helped more than a few people into the cult . . . seems only right to help a few out
Welcome back!
Hi Jeff, it's good to hear from you again! I hope life has been treating you well since you last checked in.
I always felt (speaking for me) that my mistake was thinking I needed to "save" JW's. YOU don't need saving.
It's not an easy lesson. It sinks in more and more as the years go by. As much as I'd like to, I can't unilaterally "save" my kids (or my Ex, or anybody else besides me) from this cult. They're old enough to be responsible for themselves, one already is legally an adult and the other not far from it. I cannot make their choices for them, and if I try to, that will almost certainly cause the opposite reaction. (Just like "worldly" youths, they are no longer little children and resent being treated as such)
What I can do is to be the best, authentic version of me that I can. Not pretending just to get by, not letting anger get the better of me.
What I can do is to be there for them if they ever have questions, or want to leave the organization, or even (especially if) they don't.
What I can do is love them unconditionally, whether they remain Witnesses, or if they leave, even if they relapse. No strings attached, just love them for who they are--not what they believe.
What I can do is follow the Prime Directive of Parenting: be the example I hope they will follow. In the long run, nothing will work any better than that.
I'm here because I need people who understand me.
That is so true, and that's why it's great to have you back here (even if only for a while).
We need more comments along your line of thinking. Thank you.
It's good to see you back.
Howdy, yes, I agree, to each his own. What may strike your fancy may not strike mine or others, but it doesn't give me the right to say your wrong. Welcome aboard.
1975
Nice to see you on here again Jeff.
It's two years since I started my exit, and 6 months since I was DF'd.
I agree we don't need to save JW's, but I believe we can provide a softer landing for those jumping out of the cult.
It's quite a paradigm shift, isn't it?
All those meetings... all those hours of field service...
... and 99.99% of the people around you neither know nor care about the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society and its beliefs.
Hi Jeff,
Don't think we've met, since I arrived here while you were having time out. I'm sure you're right. I'm learning it's fatal to try to persuade them or explain to them why they're wrong. That's what enabled them to catch me in the first place.
Mad Sweeney
I think sometimes - I admit it in my own case - active criticism of the Borg is as much a part of one's own healing process as it is to accomplish any real change among current JWs. If some are helped out or learn something from something I say or post somewhere, that's great, but even if not, it helps me just to say it. At some point I won't need it anymore, I suppose. Right now it is quite cathartic.
I can see that's exactly where I am, even after the short time I was with them. I threw myself into it. It was intense. It took over my life. Extricating myself even after after so limited a time is much less easy than you'd expect. I can Run Like Hell just as people advised me to do when I first arrived here, but it still catches up with me and even invaded my dreams the other night!
So I really value the sanity here.
The point IS and has Always Been..
KFC.. Molson.. and.. Women dipped in Chocholate..
..................... 
...OUTLAW
