I'm my favorite type of JW - Double Life (page 3)

thedepressedsoul

Talesin - My scree name is nothing about me, it's actually about Job haha.

Everything in life is equal, everything has negative and positive aspects. It's up to each person to choose what is more valuable to them and what seems to have the better positives vs negatives for that person.

Right now what I have chosen to do outweighs the negatives in my mind. I want to be very clear, IN MY MIND. It may be the exact opposite for another person.

When the positives no longer outweigh the negatives in my mind I will have no problem making the adjustments and pulling a complete 360 to put myself back into a situation where the positives outweigh the negatives.

Talsein, for you the better option in your mind may have been to leave. Don't ever doubt that and when you make a choice, stick with that choice and have confidence that you made the right decision because that is YOUR choice. It'll help you in the future when you are faced with your next decision. Trust you are making the right decision. If it ends up being the wrong one, use it as a learning tool instead of doubting yourself.

talesin

Hmm, 'methinks thou dost protest too much' ...

I already acknowledged in my comment that with maturity, I learned to respect my friend's choice, so there is no need for you to justify your choices to me.

You are 16? Or am I in error? That has little relevance to what I want to say, though.

You state that "Everything in life is equal". Well, I hope life teaches you lessons in a gentle fashion, because you have a LOT to learn, whether you are 16 or 60.

Bless-ed be! )O(

OneEyedJoe

I guess the part that I find so objectionable is the tacit approval that simply being in the seat (and apparently you're an elder, too?) gives. For about a year I prevented myself from finding TTATT because there was an elder in our congregation that was really intelligent and I liked him very much personally and I told myself "If he doesn't see a problem with it, then maybe I'm fooling myself." I never talked to him about my doubts, just held him up as an example of a sane, normal, intelligent man that clearly saw it as the truth.

If I found out that he had been faking it for over a decade, I guess I'd be pretty upset.

Just another perspective in case that's something you might worry about. It's impossible to know how you may be negatively impacting the lives of others just by your mere presence. Especially if you're an elder.

thedepressedsoul

We all die in the end, it's equally balanced.

DesirousOfChange

I wish I could do that because I sincerely miss some of the people there and our relationship has suffered because we are "weak" and "inactive" and thus I guess we are a "spiritual threat". One of my best friends who very well knows TTATT does just that -- he fakes it -- for the sake of keeping family & friends.

I just can't force myself to sit through that BS anymore.

Doc

talesin

PS. You are very condescending. That is a JW trait, though, so I understand the mindset and don't take personal offence. :innocent:

thedepressedsoul

Oneeyed, I see what you're saying. People observe all of us and may even base their life and beliefs off of an observation.

We see the president and we have a perception about him. If we come to learn something that is different about that perception we would naturally be hurt.

I completely see your point and concern, and it's a noble one. I don't live my life for others though. Yes that may be hard, but it's an honest truth I have with myself. We're only given so many cards and it's up to us to choose how to play them and make best use of the ones we're given, and who knows, if you have crap cards and bluff you may just take the pot ;-).

Best advice I could give is to not take things at face value. It's often much more complicated then that.

thedepressedsoul

Desirous - Your choice was most likely the best choice for you at the time. Don't doubt it. As for your friend that may be the best choice in his mind and I would encourage him not to doubt that either.

Talesin - You are entitled to your opinion and if that is a trait I need at times I will be more than happy to use it. I'm not a glass is half full or glass is half empty type of guy. I'm a "there's water in the glass" type of guy.

GrreatTeacher

Viewing life as a chess game smacks of psychopathy.

OrphanCrow

We all die in the end, it's equally balanced.

Yeah, well...some of us get to have our headstones engraved with who we really were when we were alive.

Others are buried with nobody ever knowing who they really were. They never even existed to begin with.

It isn't that balanced after all.

and who knows, if you bluff you may just take the pot

Eh...I was married to a professional gambler at one time...bluffing can also make you lose everything. Gamblers leave an awful lot of destruction in their lives and the lives of the people around them.

I call your bluff... and I go all in. I know I have the winning hand. It is called being true to myself and the ones I love.

I don't have to gamble. I have a sure bet.

I'm my favorite type of JW - Double Life

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