Posts by CruithneLaLuna

51

Multiple boards/Multiple personalities?

by JH in

jw
friends

.

going from board to board i notice how certain people who post will be so different on other board, while some don't change their style.. do you change your personality or style when you post on other boards and try to fit in and be accepted there, or do remain yourself no matter where you post?

CruithneLaLuna

I changed my user ID (on another Forum) because I had adopted my my previous ID as tribute to my then-girlfriend, and she broke up with me; so it seemed reasonable and appropriate to drop the implication of our couplehood. About the same time, I encountered "Cruithne" via a science fiction book that prominently featured the asteriod that has been given that name. It had a nice ring to it, and has Celtic origins, so I decided to adopt the designation. As I was riding my bicycle around sunset, and thinking about the name, the rising moon evoked a strong reaction in me, hence the "la Luna" part. Besides, Cruithne (the asteroid) is loosely called a "second moon," relative to the Earth.

Along with the change of user ID, I decided to quit trying so hard to be nice, sweet, and loving all the time - not deliberately going to the other extreme, and still striving to be respectful of others, but shifting a little bit away from what I felt was possibly, sometimes, more warmth & fuzziness than was called for. Another way of explaining this is that I decided to be more embracing of my Shadow Self. (bwahahahaha)

Cruithne

10

Enjoying a beer

by CruithneLaLuna in

jw
friends

hi friends,.

i am enjoying a beer, which is nothing remarkable, except that i really like the taste of beer, and haven't had one in a year or so.

it's only a bud light, which some of you beer connoisseurs may look down your noses at (and i appreciate the more expensive and exotic brands, too), but hey, it's a beer, and i haven't had one in a long time!.

CruithneLaLuna

Hi Friends,

I am enjoying a beer, which is nothing remarkable, except that I really LIKE the taste of beer, and haven't had one in a year or so. It's only a Bud Light, which some of you beer connoisseurs may look down your noses at (and I appreciate the more expensive and exotic brands, too), but hey, it's a BEER, and I haven't had one in a long time!

So, I hereby drink to you (hic!) and wish we could all be together somewhere ... in a big park, perhaps, enjoying our refreshments of choice, meeting, mixing, mingling, talking, smiling, having a good time - including some animated and stimulating discussions, perhaps, but no arguments, per se (which, according to Dave Barry, means "as long as they don't lay eggs in my salad" - never mind, if you haven't read the book. [context = "I like butterflies, per se."])

May you all enjoy your days, evenings, nights, and mornings, wherever on this Big Blue Ball you are situated.

Expansively,

Cruithne

24

Dear friends, please be careful!

by onacruse in

jw
friends

this has been said many times before, by folks much more experienced in the "net world" than i am.... we are a loving, caring, trusting and wonderful community here!

oh my but what it means to me/us to have friends with whom we can share our deepest feelings, joys, sadness, frustration, anger, and need for companionship.

and to get together, share a meal, have a party .

CruithneLaLuna

I am known, here and there. Anyone who wants to know the basics about me may consult certain credible references, who will have only (well, mostly ...) good things to say about me. Even my exes will tell you that I am "not a bad person," as one of them told me to my face.

Personally, I've met the last four women with whom I've been involved via the Internet, and have no "horror stories" to tell. (I haven't particularly gone out of my way to do this; seemingly, it just happened.) As one of my friends, who met her fiance online, put it, "I think you get to know people from the inside out, online." That tends to be true, provided both parties are honest, but even so it's not a panacea. Humans experience misunderstandings and compatibility issues, and are sometimes clobbered by circumstances. However, where there's strong enough motivation - love, and other factors - usually a couple can find a way to keep their relationship safe and sound, and to get together in "real life."

Cruithne

62

in dire need of love and attention....

by tinkerbell82 in

well, i am.

:( today just sucks.

CruithneLaLuna

I don't keep up with what's going on in the forum here in as timely a fashion as some of the others. You know I'm thinking of you, I care about you, I value you very much as a friend and as a human being. I also sent you a personal email that's as pointed as I can get.

It's really good that you a diverse group of friends that you can turn to for support.

Love,

Cruithne

19

Have you tried to explain?

by anglise in

have you ever tried to explain to someone who has no religious leaning how you once truly believed that you could live forever and that now you are no longer a jw that certainty is gone, and how hard that is to deal with at times?.

the look of disbelief and pity that you get in return.. maybe thats partly why we need to talk so often to other xjw's.

whats been your experiences.. anglise

CruithneLaLuna

With my workmates, most but not all of whom are evangelical, fundamentalist Christians, I don't discuss with any degree of specificity my religious past (JW) or present (Neo-Pagan - Druid, to be precise). They would obviously feel that I jumped from the frying pan into the fire, and would probably wonder why they failed to convert me during my in-between period. Although I see them as generally very sincere people who live their faith (more so than many of the JWs I knew), that doesn't mean that I can adopt their beliefs as my own, or that I would want to try to fit my mind into that mold.

However, when I meet new people, I size up both them and my relationship with them, and if I judge that it may be beneficial and is unlikely to be harmful, I will openly discuss with them my JW past and/or my Neo-Pagan present.

Both JWism and Paganism may be viewed as "dumb," or "insane," or "socially unacceptable" by people who are content with orthodoxy and mainstream thinking, or by those who have found it necessary and appropriate to divorce themselves from religious perspectives altogether. To those who hold such opinions of my chosen paths (former and present), I have to say, "I will never be able to be you, I will always have to be me instead. I can enjoy and appreciate you, even though we are different and don't agree on a host of things. I'd like to entertain the hope that you could be as accepting and appreciative of me." Of course, I wouldn't have been able to say all of that as a JW, but I have adjusted my perspective.

Cruithne

3

To my ex-JW former friend

by CruithneLaLuna in

the person to whom this is directed, to my knowledge, does not frequent this forum, and very few of you, if any, will have an inkling who it is, much less anything about the specifics of the situation to which i refer.

i feel i have to say something, for personal "therapeutic" reasons, yet actually attempting to communicate with the other party can only arouse discomfort at best, acrimony at worst.

therefore, in the words of the old king crimson song,.

CruithneLaLuna

My posts concerns an individual who no longer communicates with me, over issues that have nothing to do with religion. (Our religious / spiritual views are very compatible, in fact.) I just don't agree with ending a friendship and effectively shunning someone for reasons that "aren't good enough," from my perspective. This person spent MONTHS wearing down my resistance and "snuggling up to me," cementing a very close relationship, and then abruptly announced that it had all been a "mistake," and found reasons to no longer have anything to do with me. (Personal email is not rewarded with any response.) While to an extent I "understand," apparently I am finding it hard to deal with. There is a part of me that says, "This is just the way it is, and is going to be, so get used to it." There are also little outraged, hurt, angry parts, that I am not sure what to do about. I'd like to just dismiss them (send them to heck without passing Go or collecting $200), but the problem doesn't seem ot have such a simple solution.

Cruithne

30

My mother and her reaction to me being "gay"

by logansrun in

jw
friends

no, i'm not gay.

still, this story is interesting.

recently i began dating a very fine young lady -- my first "girlfriend" ever, really.

CruithneLaLuna

I'm sorry to tell you and your mom, Brad, but fornication is fornication, regardless of which sex you're doing it with. The WT and the elders would indeed say the same thing. In fact, any activity that involves orgasm and another person, uh, physically assisting in producing it, is fornication by the Society's definition - or at least it was 25-30 years ago, when I was briefly intimately concerned about such hair-splitting, myself.

The point is that whatever your mom would feel if you turned out to be to a homosexual fornicator, she should also feel about your being a heterosexual one; and conversely, whatever leeway and "understanding" she is willing to extend toward you relative to heterosexual activity should equally apply to homosexual activity (should there ever be any).

Really, I do understand that the reason for your mom's inconsistency is actually what is commonly called "homophobia," although "phobia" means fear, and the emotions that tend to cluster around people's attitudes toward various forms of deviance from societal norms are not limited to, or accurately characterized, as simple fear.

Cruithne

3

To my ex-JW former friend

by CruithneLaLuna in

the person to whom this is directed, to my knowledge, does not frequent this forum, and very few of you, if any, will have an inkling who it is, much less anything about the specifics of the situation to which i refer.

i feel i have to say something, for personal "therapeutic" reasons, yet actually attempting to communicate with the other party can only arouse discomfort at best, acrimony at worst.

therefore, in the words of the old king crimson song,.

CruithneLaLuna

The person to whom this is directed, to my knowledge, does not frequent this forum, and very few of you, if any, will have an inkling who it is, much less anything about the specifics of the situation to which I refer. I feel I have to say something, for personal "therapeutic" reasons, yet actually attempting to communicate with the other party can only arouse discomfort at best, acrimony at worst. Therefore, in the words of the old King Crimson song,

I talk to the wind. / My words are all carried away. / The wind does not hear. / The wind cannot hear.

And here are the words I have for "the wind:"

I'm sorry you had to disfellowship me. It's sad but true that loyalty to stupidity often wins out over our humanity.

Cruithne

84

tink's first major break-up

by tinkerbell82 in

i'm officially single.

i don't know how to feel exactly.

thank you to everyone who has been so sweet and kind and supportive of me, you have no idea how much it's meant to me.

CruithneLaLuna

I misspelt your ID on purpose, because "Belle" means beautiful. I just now saw this thread. Sorry to hear about the pain involved in your breakup, but I can only hope that it's for the best. Let me know if I can do anything at all, beyond sending you cyber-hugs and encouragement.

All Is Well - truly.

Cruithne

6

How do you feel when this happens ?

by Xandria in

jw
friends

washington (reuters) - when jerry wilmouth moved to galesburg, illinois, five years ago, everyone told him to get a job at maytag corp.'s (nyse:myg - news) refrigerator plant.

maytag paid the best, they said, and the 50-year-old factory was the lifeblood of the city.

now, wilmouth and 379 others are spending their first week of life after maytag -- the first of 1,600 workers to be laid off between now and the end of 2004, when the plant closes for good and maytag moves the work to mexico.

CruithneLaLuna

The world is changing, and why should we expect all of the changes to be in our favor?

I feel compelled to observe that capitalism is based on greed, and competition. This poses a real problem, because even if Company X is managed by "enlightened" and "ethical" individuals, in order to stay in business, if other companies in the same industry are "offshoring" their businesses to reduce costs, Company X had better follow suit.

One might ask, what is the most practical way to deal with this problem? For IT workers, it has been suggested "aim higher." In other words, don't seek to be a lowly programmer; seek rather to become a software engineer or to fill a management position. When it becomes harder to get and keep a good job with a bachelor's degree, maybe it's time to think about getting a master's degree also. (That is the track I am planning to take.)

I think a longer-term solution will be to work on empowering the people, the "little guy" in Mexico, India or Venezuela (or wherever) - *your competition* - to fight for better wages, and in general a higher living standard. The ideal solution would help everyone, and not trample anyone's interests for the sake of someone else's - the "us vs. them" syndrome. If humanity is to progress and evolve and the world get better, we have to stop fighting one another, and competing in a way that causes harm. (That philosophy calls capitalism as generally practiced into question, but I'm not going there in this post.)

I don't know how to reach over into a foreign country, with its own economic problems and a different culture, and make things better for the workers there. I am however, learning a bit about what has helped American workers in the past, and is helping them now. We are up against a system run by the rich, who in practice don't care about the poor and the middle-class (still the poor, relative to them), and will and do trample us in order to protect and further their own interests. Our government is fully complicitous in this. If things are to improve, we "little people" must organize for change. Even Bill Gates wouldn't have the clout to do it alone (and if you are Gates, or become someone like him, then the system automatically puts you on the opposing side).

Cruithne