by purplesofa 31 Replies latest watchtower scandals
and is overwhelming.
When you were getting out of the org, and coming alive to life, was it overwhelming? and how did you fineally get grounded again.
I will be gone today, but am interested in your experiances.........As I am just dealing with it.
Love,
purps
i still havent found my feet yet!
the most profound realization i've had over the years since i quit going to the KH is that worldly people by and large are more christ like than any jw i knew all my life. seriously, i've met some of the kindest, loving, people who will put theirselves out to help a friend or even an aquaintance. i never saw that as a jw. there was always ulterior motives if they did ANYTHING for anyone . even a visit to an elderly person in a nursing home was done only if they could " count the time".
Not grounded yet here either. LOL When I first started my fade, I made some internet friends with similar interests and was busily flying around the country hiding from reality having a good time....Now I'm paying off debt acquired from said travel (as well as my son's education expenses).
Seems like I'm either living in a dream world or recovering from the effects so far.
Unfortunately I proceeded to get involved heavily with drugs as soon as I left. I was curious and felt drawn to the "party" crowd or just any crowd for that matter since I moved away from all my friends to a place that was very isolated. So the years that surrounded my leaving the org. is quite blurry. But I'm all better now and am very grounded. I think that becoming a parent has made me realize whats really important and theres more to life than a constant party. I was only 17 when I left and wasnt close to the family that shunned me and had barely any jw friends so my departure wasnt that hard.
I got real neurotic and goofy when I left
Hey Purple,,,,,,,,,,,,,boy, I could write on a book on what losing my religion did to me. I had no way to handle real life at first.......my whole being was wrapped up in the grief, frustration, anger and pain of losing my very identity. It did come thou, slowly but surely, purging my system of all the JW crap, I started seeing who I really was, and I began to deal with life on my own . It has not been easy, and I am still a work in progress. I am just taking my own sweet time with figuring things out.
There are times it still is overwhelming. I just mostly try to focus on moving on with life. That helps me.
We are still a work in progress-----------and take it one at a time that is the beginning of getting grounded..............
For me Jack (daniels), Jim (beam) and Johnny (walker) were the first ones to help me throught the initial onslought of fear and grief of leaving. One day I woke up and I wasn't afraid or sad anymore. Jack, Jim, Johnny and I parted ways a long time ago now. I made new friends and developed new interests. I went back to school, got married, moved to a new place. In the begining it was overwhelming because I had made a decision I wasn't sure of (not to go to the kh anymore). Once I resolved within myself that I had made the right decision, life stopped being overwhelming. I made a vow to myself back then that I would never let anyone or anything have that kind of control over me again. Today, 7 years out, I am at peace. I love my life, I love my husband, I love my job. I learned no one has to agree with me (as long as I agree with myself :-) and I can disagree with others. My friends are not conditional, we can have differing opinions and voice them and remain friends. My story is a little different than most here, my family doesn't shun me they embrace me. I respect their beliefs and do not criticize there choices. In return they respect my beliefs and do not berate me or badger me about returning. I love being able to love other people unconditionally (esp my family), being able to help others in the community in tangeable ways. Life is good.............
Hi Ditto. I've been out so long that sometimes I forget exactly how I felt the first few months. I do know that I felt much more relief than fear or sorrow. The old opened-cage-door feeling. It's amazing how much more there is to life than meetings and "service" work. It was like being re-born. I know that sounds cheesy, but it's the way I felt. Like someone had just breathed new life into me.
