Since you left or were pushed out...

mrsjones5

of the watchtower society organization what have you done with your life? Interesting, not so interesting, I want it all. Any story of survival after being associated with the organization is wanted and of interest.

Come one come all!

Josie

jgnat

Never left, never pushed, never joined! I married a JW instead.

I've been a Christian for over twenty years, and it seems God won't let me alone unless I am growing, maturing, helping. Defd never answered when I asked him if I call Jehovah "LORD" if I might be worshipping Satan by mistake?

AK - Jeff

It is a process that takes a lot of time for some. I have been out for about two years now. I mark that with the reading of Franz' books, January 2004.

We have survived well. We have lost all our friends of course, and are trying to rebuild a social life. [Complicated by the current rearing of our grandchildren, which leave virtually no time for sociallization at a time we need it badly].

The ties are broken, but the emotional attachment to individuals is still painful. I lost my cousin and best friend of 30 years. He now refuses to associate with me at all. Wifey's family associates with us 'guardedly'. More with wifey than I of course. I am viewed as the evil slave that drug her out with me, I think.

I still occasionally see witnesses in my daily life, but mostly they refuse to speak. Wifey has built a bit more social side than I, due to the nature of her work that allows her to get close to some persons and become friends outside of work too.

Mostly it is just family left for me now. I play golf and have a few people I know there, but I am not tremendously 'outgoing' when it goes to initiating freindships. Just the way it is for me I guess.

Life is pretty much the same though - same values, same interests we had before leaving [ not much since selling books was our witness life]

But freedom is great - and the mind is actively learning.

Jeff

AlmostAtheist

I haven't done anything of any real value, honestly. I bought an R/C helicopter that I still can't manage to fly. I took up smoking. I started putting a little away in a 401k. I'm looking into a job change because of the pension options offered. I guess I've started to think more long term than minute to minute. (Which flies in the face of smoking... but I digress...)

But the biggest change of all isn't a thing I do, it's a thing I quit doing. I quit feeling guilty. I don't go to meetings, field service, assemblies, I don't read any prescribed amount of any holy book on any schedule. All guilt-free. There's no finer feeling in the world than doing whatever you conscientiously can allow yourself to do and feeling not a twinge of guilt over it. MMMmmmm....

Dave

upside/down

I quit feeling guilty

Amen bro!
The bastards threw me and my family to the curb like a cheap whore... and laughed at us and derided us for NOTHING!
So after 20 years of undying loyalty and hard work...I moved on.
Put my wife in school...became a stay at home Dad...
And I'm living a life NOW that I was told wasn't possible.
I'm no longer afraid of any "deity"...and religious people nauseate me.
This is LIVING...
u/d(of the religion is a snare and a racket class)

xjwms

upside/down

I feel the same as you.

Just cannot stand any thing about religion.

dedpoet

...but the biggest change of all isn't a thing I do, its a thing I quit doing, I quit feeling guilty...

AA, that comment sums up my feelings now I'm out very well. The wts thrives on keeping its members on a full time guilt trip, it helps them keep us in line. They make you feel guilty about not doing enough field service, not giving enough money, not studying enough, missing meetings even if you are sick, etc. When I was a dub I felt guilty almost all the time. When I first left that feeling persisted, helped along by the elders trying to pull me back in, but after almost 6 years away, and now da'd, that feeling has gone completely, there's no longer anything to feel guilty about.

upside/down

If there is a "deity"...he's got some real assholes for followers...

And they're mean to.

Lifes too short to waste on morons.

u/d

IP_SEC

Left in body nearly six months ago. Left my hometown and region of the state where I lived all of my life. At the time I just couldn’t take people I had known all of my life literally turning their back on me and fleeing like I had the plague. People I had shepherded, and helped materially and with my own tears when they had problems.

Since I finally gave Jah the finger and told him I thought he was a petty, cruel, and cowardly; things have started looking up. I'm not a christian anymore, but try to be spiritual in my own way. If I was wrong and Armageddon came tomorrow, I’d still put my middle finger in the air and laugh as the car-sized hailstone crushed my wittle head (snicker). Geeze jehoober, you are such a goober. Why don’t you come down here and fight me like a man. Y’ wuss.

Peace yo!

Matt

Edit: Oh hey Dave! I took up a casual smokin habit myself. I try to smoke a big ol' stoggie every sunday to comemorate my DA.

pratt1

I made a clean break from people who didn't respect my ideas, decisions and aspirations. I shunned my witless friends, I shunned my family.

After 2 years I made it clear to them that If we were going to communicate they would need to love me unconditionally, whether I was a witless or not.

It took a while but we can at least now all agree to disagree, with no hard feeling.

I also went back to school for advanced training, got rid of my witless wife, and devoted all of my energy to me and my career.

It paid off, I am reasonably successful in my career, have remarried to another ex witless and have a more honest relationship with my witless family and friends.

Everything is not perfect, but I feel alot better than I did when I was one of the "Great Crowd".

Since you left or were pushed out...

Share this