I agree with pale.emperor. If/when you're ready, we'd love to hear your story. Pale, I think that when the stress of life as a witness -- never being good enough, never doing enough, needing to always reach out more -- is lifted, that one can't help but be better at dealing with life's other stressors. It's easier to be kind, funny, more relaxed when that weight is lifted. How many times did you feel dread at the thought of getting ready for the meeting or field service, while also saying at the same time how wonderful and what a privilege it was to be a witness. That kind of cognitive dissonance isn't pleasing to experience. All those conflicts, all those stressors and pressures -- gone. I don't take any of it for granted. I feel so very profoundly fortunate to have gotten out.
laverite
JoinedPosts by laverite
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9
September 17th 19...
by LogansRun inone decision one day one event , today is the anniversary of the plunge that ruined my life .i was young and now i'm old and feel screwed over - ok my personal pity party is over if you made it this far thank you for just being out there.. now my fading update, no meetings for 3 weeks they don't know yet i'm not coming back but thanks to this site and many helpful youtube stories i have some tools to know how to play this game.
because this is a fade i have not been able to tell my story but it really is unique ,i can say at this time there is no wife or kids involved but i do have siblings in this and my oldest brother is a super strict witness to the point of being a bully but thankfully most of my extended family are not j-dubs and that's what's going to help me get through this along with all of you .
have a great day folks !.
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JWs and Field Service Attire
by laverite inthis morning the jws are working my neighborhood.
i have a birds eye view from my upstairs office.
on my side of the street is three men with a baby in a stroller.
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laverite
Thanks, Berrygerry. I think the entire combination is what struck me -- The khaki trousers, combined with a colorful diaper bag, the blue stroller, the lack of book bags, and the orange over the shoulder bag the brother had just seemed so very casual. BUT, there were ties! Had the ties not been there, they would have looked like they were ready for a day at Disneyland.
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By Way of Announcement, Darlene Jefferson Has Been Disfellowshiped
by Cold Steel ini was watching a jw video where the announcement was made of a young lady's being disfellowshiped, and it happened in a regular kh sunday meeting.
this struck me as being a bit...cold.
is this when the shunning begins?
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laverite
Did they really say she had been disfellowshipped? I thought they simply say 'So and so is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses'.
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September 17th 19...
by LogansRun inone decision one day one event , today is the anniversary of the plunge that ruined my life .i was young and now i'm old and feel screwed over - ok my personal pity party is over if you made it this far thank you for just being out there.. now my fading update, no meetings for 3 weeks they don't know yet i'm not coming back but thanks to this site and many helpful youtube stories i have some tools to know how to play this game.
because this is a fade i have not been able to tell my story but it really is unique ,i can say at this time there is no wife or kids involved but i do have siblings in this and my oldest brother is a super strict witness to the point of being a bully but thankfully most of my extended family are not j-dubs and that's what's going to help me get through this along with all of you .
have a great day folks !.
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laverite
LogansRun,
Please rant. Please share what you are comfortable sharing. Your story could be a comfort to others, and just by you posting, you could be helping someone else, even if they never reach out to you.
Without the tools you mentioned, fading can be very difficult. Some are caught like a deer in headlights when elders approach or someone calls by their house unexpectedly. It's easy to get sucked back in. I hope the tools you've gathered during your preparation for your exit will help you stay the course. It's worth it.
Life after Watchtower is so very much more fulfilling and meaningful in almost every way imaginable. I would guess that most of us who have managed to escape don't ever really taken our freedoms for granted. I guess I should just speak for myself: I certainly don't take my freedom of thought and freedom from Watchtower for granted.
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May 22 1969 Awake!
by zeb in"if you are a young person you need to face the fact you will never grow old in this system of things.. why not?
because all the evidence in fulfilment of bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years...as a young person you will never fulfil any career that this system offers".
may 22 awake!
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laverite
Wow, 47 years ago. No wonder so many JWs have spent their lives in dead end jobs. Teenagers reading that then would have faced pressure from their families, congregations, etc. to not pursue a career, but to find something to get by until Armageddon. So very sad. Those people are now retirement age. Some have little in the way of financial security for their old age. So very sad.
The guys in Brooklyn should be held responsible for selling such BS. Too many people fell for it. It didn't just impact the ones who bought the Kool-aid hook line and sinker, but also their families. So many family relationships lost. So many lives dedicated to a man-made organization that hasn't a clue as to the actual truth; instead, they've fabricated their own Truth™.
When I was a young person, I had a secret dream: All through high school I dreamed of going to college. I got out on my own at 18, as terrifying as that was. And it really was terrifying. But, it was the best thing I ever did. I went to a great university and supported myself all the way through. Then on to grad school. I haven't taken my education or profession for granted. I wanted my education so very badly. Growing up, this just wasn't on offer. There was, in fact, some pressure to quit high school at 16, get my GED and pioneer. I held those pressures at bay by aux pioneering in summers, during holidays, etc. But once I turned 18, I was able to make my escape.
I may have been forced to be in the bOrg for 18 years, but they didn't get one extra day out of me once I could escape. So very glad for that. But reading the OP above is a reminder of what I escaped. I remember this was the mantra pretty much at most if not all meetings, chats during field service, assemblies, etc. We heard it over and over and over again. I can picture how my life would be now if I hadn't made it out. What a sad and depressing thought.
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JWs and Field Service Attire
by laverite inthis morning the jws are working my neighborhood.
i have a birds eye view from my upstairs office.
on my side of the street is three men with a baby in a stroller.
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laverite
good point, SAHS. :-D -
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JWs and Field Service Attire
by laverite inthis morning the jws are working my neighborhood.
i have a birds eye view from my upstairs office.
on my side of the street is three men with a baby in a stroller.
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laverite
Careful - I could have taken lots of pics. Should've. LOL.
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JWs and Field Service Attire
by laverite inthis morning the jws are working my neighborhood.
i have a birds eye view from my upstairs office.
on my side of the street is three men with a baby in a stroller.
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laverite
I didn't think of that, Millie210.
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JWs and Field Service Attire
by laverite inthis morning the jws are working my neighborhood.
i have a birds eye view from my upstairs office.
on my side of the street is three men with a baby in a stroller.
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laverite
I should add that all of this was mid-morning -- it's going to be a warm day but it's nice and cool(ish) at the time, so no need to go without jackets it would seem. Possible changes in JW practice fascinates me. My guess, though, is that nothing has changed as far as attire and it's just as formal as it's always been and that maybe this isn't typical at all.
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JWs and Field Service Attire
by laverite inthis morning the jws are working my neighborhood.
i have a birds eye view from my upstairs office.
on my side of the street is three men with a baby in a stroller.
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laverite
Hi all,
This morning the JWs are working my neighborhood. I have a birds eye view from my upstairs office. On my side of the street is three men with a baby in a stroller. On the other side of the street is two women.
The women are dressed to the nines and looking very formal. The men are wearing short sleeve shirts, ties and khaki trousers. Other than the diaper bag, only one of the guys had a bag. It was a canvas over-the-shoulder sports-type bag with some orange on it rather than formal looking book bags, as well as a diaper bag.
On top of the stroller was a sippy cup and toys. Without the ties, they'd have looked like they were ready to go shopping at the local mall. What strikes me about this is the overall casual look, compared to say twenty years ago. Any thoughts?
It was definitely the witnesses. They left brochures. Also, the sisters were dressed as anyone might expect from the 70s, 80s, 90s, etc. with nice attire and fancy bags. The brothers were not wearing jackets and they just looked very informal, especially with the canvas bag, no jackets, etc. Again, only the ties stepped it up a bit.
Am I so far out of the loop that I am just noticing the increase in casual (or is this not typical and the JWs have not in any way gone a bit more casual)?