..Which has Caused You the Most Grief in Your Life..The Outside World or Watchtower World?.. (page 6)

flipper

OUTLAW- Great thread. Indeed I have had MUCH more grief in life from the WT society and JW world than I EVER have had in the outside REAL world ! Witness fmily members shun me , I rarely if EVER get a call from my JW siblings or JW daughters - I had to fight for my freedom to escape the claws of the WT beast ! They chased after me like the U.S. Government chased after the Indian chiefs Chief Joseph, Geronimo , & Sitting Bull. Traveling 80 miles from THEIR location to harass me and my new wife 4-5 years ago. Even after I stopped attending meetings 4 years prior to that !

The silver lining is my 80 something year old JW parents still respect me and my wife. They are lovely - but they would have been ANYWAY without the JW mindset. My siblings always were JW's from birth , they know nothing else. It's still no excuse , my siblings are basically dickheads .

I have a wonderful NON-Witness father & mother in law who treat me like their own son and would give the shirt off their back for Mrs. Flipper and I. Have a great non-Witness brother in law who I get along with great ! A wonderful inactive, non-Witness son whose love for me and my wife is unconditional and is thicker than life itself ! Peace out, Mr. Flipper

NomadSoul

Let's see. Growing up in the JWs I didn't have any friends since there were no kids my age in the KH.

I wasn't able to date girls I liked because they were worldy. I had to break up with the one whom you could say was my high school sweetheart because I didn't want to be destroyed in armageddon.

No sports or music.

Family activities was only limited to "field service" and meetings.

I was discouraged of applying to college.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I kind of made up for that time in my early twenties when I made new friends and a couple of great relationships. Although most of my friends have married and moved on I thank them for being a part of my life when I needed them.

I still have a great family that went through the same things and we support each other. I have a great job and have more time and money to do the things I've wanted to do. And there's a lot of things I still want to do.

NewChapter

I am so happy the guilt is gone. They forced us to constantly look at our negatives and work on them. We were always reminded how easily it would be to fall. We had to question every motive. No one told us to look at our strengths and make the most of them! And if one of our strengths did transfer to the ministry then it was worthless. Everyone had the same calling-to be ministers. Not everyone was cut out for that, but it was the only acceptable career. Then the guilt doubled because we were repeatedly told that we were the happiest people on earth and that fruitage of holy spirit was joy.

Misplaced guilt is one of the most destructive emotions. They handed it out like skittles. I often reflect on how calm I am now. If you know me in RL, you know I'm not a calm person. But compared to how I used to be, I feel like I'm soaking in a hot tub sipping wine everday.

I'm sooooo glad I left.

jdhf

To be honest I never felt good enough as a witness.. I would chastise myself constantly over not being perfect.. who can really be like that.. live like that?? Its not normal life at all. I do miss some of my friends though that I loved lots and It's probably better they live away from me. And having lived in a 'divided' home, I was rarely invited to anything. I have some amazing friends now...some who have left the borg...and admittedly some who don't know I've left. Life is hard enough without us all feeling like we're not good enough...or not living up to a ridiculous standard. And never mind the hypocrisy..that's another thread. :)

OUTLAW

Again..

Thank you all for your comments..

I`ve read each and every post all of you have made..

As much as I thought I knew,I have learned alot from this thread..

That is the Value..

Of being able to Speak Freely with no WBT$ Restraints..

........................;-)...OUTLAW

Nickolas

I aborted my citizenship in the Watchtower world well before it could cause me grief, at least directly. The Watchtower world precipitates feelings of contempt, disgust, disrespect, incredulity, scorn, pity and derision, but not grief. And whatever grief I have had in my life has had nothing to do with the outside world and everything to do with grief I have foolishly allowed others to bestow upon me and grief left in the wake of losing someone beloved. If you seek and achieve intellectual and material independence then the first kind of grief is what you choose to accept or reject, the second kind you just cannot escape. It is just the way it is.

That said, if you rephrased your question to ask which has limited my enjoyment of life the greatest, Watchtower hands down.

..Which has Caused You the Most Grief in Your Life..The Outside World or Watchtower World?..