Find a way

by dissonance_resolved 7 Replies latest jw friends

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  dissonance_resolved

  I found Diana Nyad's epic swim from Cuba to Florida to be really inspiring at this point in my journey from JW land to freedom. Her mantra was "You don't like this. It isn't doing well. Find a way.". This resonated so much with the feelings and experiences I've been having.

  You don't like this. - I didn't ask to be born into a cult- it makes me angry. I don't like that my family is still in. I don't like that I woke up and they haven't. I don't like that I had already started to raise my children as JWs and now I have to figure out how to save them. I don't like that I gave years of my life to an empty shell of a religion.

  It isn't doing well. - The emotional blackmail from friends and family hurts. The pre-emptive shunning stings. I'm not fully in and I'm not fully out, so I live a half-life, gasping for air and trying to keep my head above water.

  Find a way. - There's no turning around and going back. I don't know what it's like to get to the other side, but I have to believe that I can do it and it will be worth it. I have to find a way.
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  cofty

  That is the definition of real courage.

  It's not denying the pain or fear but acknowledging it and pressing on anyway.

  You will find a way.
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  dissonance_resolved

  Thanks cofty...
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  adamah

  Hi dissonance resolved,

  Don't forget that the point of cognitive dissonance theory is that people will try to resolve it via either:

  1) eliminating the SOURCE of it (facing up to facts) OR,

  2) reducing it by using suppression techniques (eg thought control, denial, etc).

  They BOTH work to resolve cognitive dissonance, it's just that the first approach is long-term, wheras the second approach is potentially only a temporary patch-job, basically tantamount to lying to oneself.

  Find a way. - There's no turning around and going back. I don't know what it's like to get to the other side, but I have to believe that I can do it and it will be worth it. I have to find a way.

  Yup.

  William S. Burroughs once said, "Hustlers of the world, there is one mark you cannot beat: the mark inside." Truer truths were never spoken, and kudos for having the emotional courage to take the problem head-on and confront it, rather than hoping it'll just go away on it's own.

  Adam
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  friendaroonie

  Beautiful!
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  Hortensia

  Thanks, DR. I like your post.
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  Skinnedsheep

  Amen
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  Julia Orwell

  Yes you'll find a way! Never give up, never surrender.