Hi Guys,
Have a listen to this short story by Jen Lee called TARGETED. Hope you enjoy listening to it and if you're so inclined, say what line or lines of this story resonated with you in regard to your JW experience.
Thanks ! XYZ
exwhyzee
JoinedPosts by exwhyzee
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TARGETED ( A story featured on THE MOTH)
by exwhyzee inhi guys,.
have a listen to this short story and if you're so inclined, say what line or lines of this story resonated with you in regard to your jw experience.. i linked this story 3 ways in hopes one of them will work for you.. thanks !
xyz.
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The Americans are back!
by Xanthippe intoday will be the third time this year there were american tourists at my local national trust stately home calke abbey, derbyshire.
nice to see they are coming back to visit the uk.
haven't been many around in my part of britain in the last few years.
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exwhyzee
I told him we could go when he graduates from High School. That's only 5 years away. I'd better start saving!
...and for goodness sake, make sure he knows better than to make any comment or ask any question that hasn't been thoroughly thought out, in advance. LOL
Not quite the same thing but here in Seattle people ask if we ever seen or have met Bill Gates or know any actual Indians. When I lived in California I was often asked when traveling, if I knew any movie stars even though I was 1,200 miles away from Hollywood, or had I met then Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger (saw him out and about with Maria and kids twice...much shorter than you'd have thought).
Silly questions for sure but I'm always glad when people want to talk to me. LOL !
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The Americans are back!
by Xanthippe intoday will be the third time this year there were american tourists at my local national trust stately home calke abbey, derbyshire.
nice to see they are coming back to visit the uk.
haven't been many around in my part of britain in the last few years.
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exwhyzee
Sorry....my mistake, I did misread what you said. (Shouldn't read these posts on a phone). That did seem a bit strange/scary that the royals would be on a commercial flight but we've been hearing a lot about how they are trying to live a regular normal life as much as possible. With enough body guards in tow, who knows what that might entail?
Anyway, my experience as a visitor and someone who see's a good number or British visitors, is the same, however it could be myself that misunderstands the communication style of some (and very few)British folks. Just an observation that came to mind when trying to understand why you were perplexed enough by your conversation with those tourist to included it in your post here on this site. It seemed like a simple off hand comment on their part.
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Do you suffer from WELTSCHMERZ?
by yadda yadda 2 indefinition of weltschmerz1: mental depression or apathy caused by comparison of the actual state of the world with an ideal state 2: a mood of sentimental sadness.
as a jw, horrific news and reports of terrible suffering and tragedy never especially shocked or disturbed me because of the conviction i had that it was all temporary suffering caused by satan and the demons and it was soon to end and be replaced by a wonderful new system where all those who suffered and died would be resurrected.
it took the edge off life's harshness.. these fantastical beliefs innoculated me against really feeling and empathisizing with the reality of the horror and suffering experienced by so many in this world.
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exwhyzee
Perhaps I'm just too sensitive to the suffering and plight of others, or am too idealistic about what the world should be like, or simply read too much awful news and need to stop, as 3rdgen recommends (thank you 3rdgen)!
One has to remember the news media is highly paid to draw an audience who will view their sponsors expensive advertizing . No one would tune in if there wasn't anything dramatic to report and they are highly trained experts at wringing every bit of drama out of any given situation. They have us programmed to beleive that no matter how upsetting it is to us, we will somehow be ignorant or uninformed if we don't listen to what they have to say every hour on the hour. The "reptillian" part of our brain wired for our own survival, finds that idea easy to believe and we are sucked in. I have been involved with events or happenings that ended up on the news and the way they presented it compared to what really happened is night and day. They overdramatize, distort and outright lie on a regular basis.
If you are feeling down, or depressed you need to stop watching the news. For your own well being, go on a news fast. When you are depressed or in a low mood, the negativity they purvey is amplified and the brain is flooded with even more negative thought producing chemicals. The world will go on without you having to know about every single horrific thing that happens. Most things go reasonably well for most people most of the time. The news media purposely hunt down and dwell on the ones having difficulties. Basing ones outlook on life on what one sees in the media is like peeking into the window of a classroom and staring only at the one or two kids making trouble and at the peeling paint on the wall, ignoring the the kids who are listening and learning, then concluding that schools are places of utter chaos. Yes, there are reasons to be concerned but it isn't so far gone that one's only hope is to burn the whole school down.
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Do you suffer from WELTSCHMERZ?
by yadda yadda 2 indefinition of weltschmerz1: mental depression or apathy caused by comparison of the actual state of the world with an ideal state 2: a mood of sentimental sadness.
as a jw, horrific news and reports of terrible suffering and tragedy never especially shocked or disturbed me because of the conviction i had that it was all temporary suffering caused by satan and the demons and it was soon to end and be replaced by a wonderful new system where all those who suffered and died would be resurrected.
it took the edge off life's harshness.. these fantastical beliefs innoculated me against really feeling and empathisizing with the reality of the horror and suffering experienced by so many in this world.
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exwhyzee
I first heard this term about a year ago and thought it summed up why so many JW's are depressed.http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/members/private/244879/1/Weltschmerz
Unlike you, I beleive that the constant harping on at meetings, assemblies and in the literature about how terrible everything is compared to an idealized version of how good it could be or will be one day, takes it's toll on a persons well being. I really think this is what's at the bottom of the anxiety and depression found among Jehovah's happy people even when there is nothing in particularly wrong going on in their lives to be depressed or anxious about. They are taught that everything should be better than it is and you should want to live for eternity in a perfect paradise. Once I walked away from the meetings and all that negativity, I felt so much better and stopped seeing the negative side of life. the decade of struggling with anxiety disappeared in a matter of weeks. Mind you, I don't turn a blind eye to the problems in the world, but to feel that the only solution was to wait ones whole lifetime or even longer for some cataclysmic event to arrive and wipe everything out began to not make sense anymore. I think most JW's know on some level that the God who supposedly created the universe, could probably come up with a better solution than that. The depression and anxiety lifts once you aren't bombarded with a false hope that doesn't make sense and stop kidding yourself with fairy tales and begin to see those who are working hard to make a difference that can be seen and experienced now.
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The Americans are back!
by Xanthippe intoday will be the third time this year there were american tourists at my local national trust stately home calke abbey, derbyshire.
nice to see they are coming back to visit the uk.
haven't been many around in my part of britain in the last few years.
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exwhyzee
Turned out they meant William and Kate which had been announced the previous day when we'd been on a plane, so they knew about it before we did. Then they asked her if she had met the royal family, in all seriousness. She thought it was so funny she had to text all her friends.
Doesn't seem like such an odd question or assumption for them to make after having only just having met the royal couple on board a commercial flight themselves. Who'd have thought that would happen? Maybe they wanted to find out if this is a more common occurance than one would have thought especially since since England is a small island country rather than a large continent . Perhaps they were just trying to look for any old reason, however trivial, to strike up a conversation with someone.
My Mother is a distant relative to Sophie Rhys Jones (their great grandfathers were brothers). My Cousins wife in London is a fashion designer, who's name you'd likely know, and designed several of Diana's most famous gowns. My Aunt's husband grew up with Prince Charles because his father was one of the Palace Body Guards. This Uncle works for the royal Mint and continues to meet up with Charles whenever his duties bring him there. One of my Aunts toured Diana around the Sony corperate offices in Wales when Diana visited there. I once spotted Fergie and her two girls myself getting into a chauffeured car while I was standing on the Spur road outside Buckingham Palace back in 1997. Because of all of that, it would be easy for me to assume everybody else has such experiences and wouldn't know for sure unless I asked.
I have relatives all over Britian, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Austrailia and Canada. The Irish, Canadians and Aussies are usually very warm but the thing that strikes me when I visit England is how snooty the British can sometimes be to Americans (or people they think are Americans like me). Even when they visit here, they often seem resentful of the way of life here or appear to be looking for a way to be superior and condesending, or for improprieties in what Americans (in particular) say, do or may be wearing. It seems as if they don't want anyone to think that anything impresses them. I think the they may simply misunderstand the Americans rather honest way of communicating or their sometimes overly open ways.
9/11 was 13 years ago so the likely reason you haven't had that many American tourists is becasue the economy hasn't been the best here or worldwide for that matter. It is recovering here however so you'll probably be seeing more American visitors. Try to remember that the I.Q. of people on vacation tends to be much lower than it is when they are at home, but not so low that they don't realize when they are being snickerd at. Expect them to sometimes ask rather silly questions about things that are obvious to those who live there or have had the opportunity to travel more.
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Things WT has condemned other religions for doing...only to eventually do themselves!
by androb31 in -
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exwhyzee
- They condemned churches having music programs and entertainment then allowed the use of the Kingdom Hall for non worship purposes (eg: swing and country line dance demonstrations for convention delegates)
- Churches were condemned for having rock music programs yet they allowed Mowtown and Country music to be played in the kingdom Halls this summer.
- They condemned religious organizations for allowing blood transfusions, then themselves permitting the use of blood fractions after claiming that absolutely abstaining from blood is the only way to obey Gods law.
- Churches were criticized for only worshiping God on Sunday then JW eliminated the Book Study after saying for decades how important this meeting was and citing Heb 10:25 "Do not forsake the gathering of yourselves together, as some have the custom but do it all the more so as you behold the day drawing near."
- Churches were condemned for covering up of wrongdoing within their ranks then JW's policy ensured pedophyles would remain under the radar of the legal system.
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Looking back to what happened since sept 2012... i must say its brilliant !
by insidetheKH inwho thought in the early months of 2012 that such a rebranding would take place in only a matter of 24 months?.
they managed to go from an antique looking and boring website (watchtower.org) with hardly any attractive content to go to a fresh looking new website with stuff for everyone, families, children, teenagers.. movies, and short videos about almost everything and new ones added every month.
cartoons, animation video's , interviews, picture activities all kind of projects, many audio files like dramatic bible readings, dramas and music, online research tools, new brochures for kids (off and online) etc.
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exwhyzee
Progressive....really ? Most Witnesses have been asking for decades why the Society never took advantage of the media that has been available to them. Our little Neighborhood Association has had it's own Website for at least 8 years now. Our kid's homework assignments were available on the school website way back in 2000. To hear JW's and the poster of this topic talk, it's as if they think the Internet was invented at Bethel. By the way, why is this poster even on this site and how did he/she find us? Was it during a search of the Internet for all things JW ?
Anyway...too bad no one from the 1914 Generation is still alive today (as was falsley prophesied) , they'd be able to tell us how much they bragged back in the day when the Kingdom Hall's finally got electricity and acted as if they invented the stuff.
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exwhyzee
A blah and uninspiring song sung my religious zealots with margnal singing voices making an attempt to emulate the world. I visited Bath a few years ago and would have been emabrrased to have been there if I were still a JW.
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exwhyzee
Since the late 1960's "Special Pioneer" Barbie has been serving where the need is much more fun... out in Malibu. Her Pioneer parther Midge was DF'd a while back for acts unbecoming a Christian. Oddly enough, around that same time, Midge's boyfriend Alan and Barbie's little Sister Skipper, were both publicaly reproved (but no one's supposed to be talking about that however there has been quiet a bit of speculation anyway). Since that went down, Barbies been wondering what the point of it all is. She's been bending some of the rules herself these days. In fact a few times she's been spotted working in Service alone with "Ministerial Servant" Ken in her convertable Corvette. Their blond hair flying in the breeze, their Boardies on under their serivce clothes and their surfboards conspicuously strapped to the back of her car. Both noticing the increasing breeze and both hoped the waves wouldn't become too gnarly by the time they'd finished thier territory.
More often than not these days, Barbie passes the time in service by daydreaming to herself, wondering which one of the lovely beach homes she'd called on that day would become her Malibu Dream House after Armageddon. For the most part she's maintained her Theocratic zeal but sometimes being a role model for all these go nowhere JW girls made her weary. There were times when she couldn't help but wonder how her life would have been if instead of accepting a Bible study with the Witnesses, she'd have continued with her career as an Airline Stewardess/Fashion Model. She often consoled herself by rationalizing that being "Special Pioneer" Barbie was a far cry better than being "Single Mom" Barbie or maybe worse...."Rehab Barbie". Still, no matter how many nice assembly outfits she owned or how many accolades she got because of her position in the Congregation, she worried about the future.
She knew that if this system of things didn't come to an end soon and had to continue Pioneering, she'd have to say goodbye to young "Bendable" Barbie and hello to "Bunion" Barbie, "Bifocals" Barbie, "Hot Flash" Barbie and eventually "Facial Hair" Barbie. Sometimes the thought of this eventuality became too much for her to bear. She'd remember how she'd learned over the years to block these unpleasant thoughts out with something more pleasant. Today she decided to think instead, about how perfectly turned out she was going to look in April wearing her new "Memorial" Barbie outfit with matching gray kid leather boots. It was remarkable how they coordinated perfectly with the Silver Sword edition of the Bible she'd be carrying that evening. Slowly she felt her anxiety subsid., She saw "Ministerial Servant" Ken loosen his tie as she turned off PCH and headed to Latigo Point. " I'll think about all that tomorrow" she told herself. She applied an especially heavy coat of zinc to her still perfect nose. "New System just around the corner or not....I'm not taking any chances".