Not if, but when...

by teejay 14 Replies latest jw friends

  • teejay
    teejay

    It was nice to believe that we would not grow old, that the earth was beyond harm, and that everything was going to be wonderful someday... Oh to be the ignorant fool again

    What up, tdogg!?? Been missing your posts, dude.

    I can relate to what you said. It *was* nice thinking that one day all our worries would be over, that a kindhearted god would step in and do for us what we have never been able to do for ourselves. To still be asleep, dreaming those dreams, would be nice. Too bad we had to wake up and learn the REAL truth, eh?

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    If all people, upon learning the truth about the Truth(tm), found that same feeling of liberation, this place would carry a lot less pain. Attitude is everything.

    Well said, Six.

    It's another of the advantages of knowing the truth: we really ARE the same, differing only by the trappings that we acquire along the way. If there's a problem between people or nations, it's up to us humans to fix it. Nobody is going to step in and do it for us.

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    I guess that is why a part of me clings to being an agnostic...my shred of hope for something after this life.

    Xena,

    Same here. I hold out the possibility that I'll wake up after leaving here, that there really *is* a tunnel with a bright light at the far end. If so, I have no fear of standing before the judgment seat of the Great Wizard. I'll have a couple of questions.

    The good that I have gotten out of this realization of almost certain death is that I now live my life for today, not for some "fantasy" future. I will have my children NOW, I will explore new places NOW, I will fulfill my dreams NOW and not spin my wheels anymore waiting for the perfect world.

    One of the truly sad facts about those still in the Organization is that they will never have a life... not now or later.

    I think sometimes of a married couple I know who have put off having kids.... a real nice couple who'd make splendid parents. They look forward to the New Order so they won't have the concerns of today's parents.

    I wish I could shake them... wake them up... make them see that if they don't have children NOW they never will. They dream on.

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    gravedancer

    On the other hand we can also realize that "hell I only have one turn" and I sure as heck am going to try and have fun everyday.

    Like Xena said, we have our chance for a life NOW... might as well make the most of it.

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    a topic near to my heart: death! LOL!

    Hello, TMS.

    Gruesomely funny. I can relate.

    Because of our similar histories in the Organization, I can relate to everything you said. I also once thought that having a retirement plan was a waste of good money not to mention an expression of lack of faith in Jehovah's ability to provide. Needless to say, "tend to your retirement plan" is now one of my favorite sayings.

    My wife and I discussed just this morning that we had finished our last bit of unfinished business. Finally, a happy son.

    Good for you... and him!!

    Sort of a euphoria has set in for us. Most everything looks good, smells good and tastes good. Even North Texas terrain with its stark winter dormancy looks good. The goldfinches look good. Mr. Redbelly Woodpecker looks good.

    Since I know what I now know, I try to find SOMETHING to enjoy everyday. People are always hoping for the weekend—"Can't wait till Friday!!"—and I always think, "you better enjoy the Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, too. We only get so many of them."

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    Me and my sister and brother used to talk about what we would do, where we would live, and where we would go when the 'new order' came. I think it was mostly a fantasy escape for us, because we were very poor. We would drive past beautiful homes and hope to live in them in the 'new order'. Oh, the delusion.

    jesussaves,

    Ah! A common pastime of us JWs, especially when we went door to door in the 'good' neighborhoods!! I never saw a house I wanted to live in, though, since I always planned to build my own. I *did* see features I hoped to incorporate, however.

    And funny how everyone wanted their house in that spot in the peaceful meadow with the majestic mountain range in the background and the calm lake in front! I guess no one would be living in flat middle America or in the deserts like in the Southwest. Nope! Only the picture-perfect, postcard setting would do.

  • outnfree
    outnfree

    Hey, Teejay!!!

    MY house would be right here in good old suburbia just where it is!!! (okay -- maybe a smaller house on a bigger lot.)
    But I wouldn't get around to living in it until I had taken a ride -- horseback for the most part -- around the world, exploring anywhere that took my fancy! Sadly, I somehow expected the wonderful architecture (including cathedrals and castles and impressive government buildings -- even Moscow's underground?) and works of art to still be around for me to view!??? Guess I wasn't much the analytical Witness, eh?

    My husband for years has been telling my children that "we're all gonna die." A succinct way of stating our common destiny and our sameness, as you brought out above. I was always smirking in the background saying "I'M not!" I was sure that I was headed for that utopian paradise where anywhere I wanted to visit would be safe and where beauty -- both man-made and divine -- would abide.

    Hah!

    Now I have to come to grips with the fact that I am going to die and so are my kids and husband. We only have here, and now, and each other!

    I still have a problem with procrastination and expecting things to somehow just work out that I think stems from my JW days of "waiting on Jehovah" and expecting to survive the Great Tribulation. (I was self-assured enough to believe that I WOULD survive it, because God is Love, and I'd never done anything really, really evil. LOL)

    And yes, financial planning is a catch-up game for us!

    I enjoyed your musings -- and the others'.

    outnfree

    It's what you learn after you know it all that counts -- John Wooden

  • Solace
    Solace

    I used to be afraid of death when I was a J.W.
    I used to get physically sick when people I loved passed away. Now that I have a more accurate understanding of the bible, I feel totally different. My J.W. family may never know the feeling of peace you have, just knowing that God isnt the bigoted, insensitive being that the W.T.S portrays him to be. The W.T.S does this in order to control people, to expand the size of their organization.
    Sad.

  • larc
    larc

    Teejay,

    As you know, I have been out for a very long time, leaving in my 20's. At that time life looked like it would go on forever. I didn't think much about it until certain decades came. When I turned 40, it was a tough year. My father died of cancer in the spring. A month later, my mother found out she had cancer. A few months after that, I found out I had a medical problem that I had to deal with. All of this, brought out many thoughts of the grim reaper. When I turned 50, I thought, hey this ain't so bad. When I turned 60, I thought, man I am happy to be alive and I am going to savor every moment of life. So, at 61, I am retired and happy as a clam. (Assuming clams are happy, of course.)

  • teejay
    teejay

    When I turned 50, I thought, hey this ain't so bad. When I turned 60, I thought, man I am happy to be alive and I am going to savor every moment of life.

    Larc,

    I know exactly what you mean.

    When I was ten, 20, as late as 30 and 35 years old, I thought that 44 year olds were, uh... you know... OLD! Now that I'm here, like you said... it's not bad. Not bad at all.

    Life *does* get better with age!

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