My parents are in their late 50's and one was a born an optimist; the other a pessimist. I truly feel the pessimist has worn off, based on their WT belief system. My parents cannot believe the system has lasted this long and have become bitter and judgmental. Oh, and yet they think it's somehow all their fault they don't feel they measure up, by JW standards. Thanks, WT!
Do you detect an underlying sadness ?
by Phizzy 67 Replies latest jw friends
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steve2
Gypsy Sam's post is heart-rending. Recipe for Watchtower's success: When your religion lets you down, blame yourself.
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Julia Orwell
They are unfulfilled. I was like that. Not doing the job or hobbies you like because you're a martyr to Jehovah. I was revving in neutral and that's what jws do. It's pointless busy work, like digging holes and then filling them again, over and over and over while being told that very soon you can do whatever you like.
Then there's the oldies. They're tired and sad because they can't pioneer anymore and feel useless in a results driven organization where they're too old to get results.
Also, I started a thread on jw negativity. The glass is always half empty and they're constantly bombarded with how terrible everything is while being sold a fairytale. They're pushed from pillar to post every day by harmful thinking and tedious study and meetings. I noticed jws talk more about sickness and problems than normal people. Even a happy jw can't talk about the happy things like holidays and surfing or whatever they're doing that's making them happy because they're afraid of being judged or considered worldy for not talking about witnessing, meeting talks and doctrine.
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3rdgen
Data dog, I'm sorry you are hurting
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Sammy Jenkis
You're detection skills are spot on, a lot of them are sad because they live a life according to someone else. They have chosen to deprive themselves of decision making and gladly have accepted the ideas of others to guide them.
I was really sad when I was in because of this- it's uncomfortable to second guess yourself on everything.
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HarryMac
This old Depeche Mode song came to mind while reading this thread.
I trust you all will see its relevance, lol.
Something went wrong along the way
Everybody's waiting for judgment day
So they can go "Told you so"
They can go "Told you so" -
steve2
Jehovah's Witnesses are so bombarded with messages of the imminence of the end that they do not come to grips with normal aspects of getting older and, yes, dying. Instead, they often remain developmentally immature - ill-prepared for the reality of growing old, having simply assumed they'd be in the new system by now. And, as stunted adults they are poorly able to skillfully navigate their assorted regrets, misgivings and fears - and cannot transform these into motivation for moving away from the very mentality that binds them. So they drag themselves to deadening meetings, shuffle soulessly around the territory (when they can be bothered) and rush home afterwards craving the little bit of respite from the programmed lifestyle where they never feel able to own and express their normal human doubts and fears. Sleep is so welcome! Sad.
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slimboyfat
Yes I see a lot of sadness in the Witnesses for sure. It makes me sad too. It's so pessimistic and claustrophobic not to be able to be yourself.
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Julia Orwell
And after years of it you're dead tired. It wears you down. It's all you can do to get home from work and get ready for the meeting, and when I got there I'd get a pat on the back for making it and congratulate myself. Every time I looked into my future all I saw was meetings, witnessing, meetings, witnessing, meetings, an assembly...I constantly crunched numbers to see when I could afford a holiday cuz I fantasized about escaping...but it was just more meetings, wt studies, while my life had taken on a bare bones existence that dragged from one theocratic activity to another...no wonder jws seem sad and tired if their experience as a jw boiled down to a skeleton of what life could be like mine did.
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flipper
I think of my JW parents aged 88 & 86 with my dad being a long time elder and they've been in this JW cult since 1951. I feel a combination of anger /sadness on their behalf because they've wasted 62 years of their life on a fantasy pipedream. My anger blazes towards the leaders of the WT Society for taking advantage of not only my parents- but millions of JW's who have been lied to for the financial benefit of this 134 year old criminal organization.
So do I detect sadness in my parents ? Hell yes I do. They were promised they would never die or grow old. Yet they sit in their mobilhome and struggle to attend meetings for what purpose ? Because WT Society tells them to. They will die like all of us and get absolutely NO benefits by attending JW meetings . But if they've donated $$$ to the WT Society- the WT Society will have received 62 years of free labor from my dad and mom and increase their own financial wealth. Pisses me off to the max