Over the last year I have had to fly to many destinations. In doing so, I have memorized the flight attendant speech that begins each flight. My favorite part is, "in the event of a water landing, your seat can be used as a floatation device." What are the reasons I love this part. One, I have not flown over one body of water in each flight I took. Second, would landing in the water really be a "landing?" To me, that sounds more like a water crashing, because last I checked I did not buy a ticket to a water airport. So I sit there through this useless speech and warning, and wonder why they do not say it like it is? Well perhaps like our days as a Witnesses, they figure we can not handle the real truth. So they give us a few small hopes that make us think, "everything is in good hands, and we are going to be okay." When I became a servant, and then an elder. I was always a little shocked with what really went on out of ear shot of the publishers. The in-fighting, the belittling talk of other (especially woman), the confusion over issues and procedures, and of course the favoritism. Yet to the general Jehovah's Witness, this was something they never knew about. They would probably even defend their ignorance of these issues, by saying these points are made up to make the Witnesses look bad. How do you like it in life now, when it comes to hearing the truth? Do you want people to give you just enough information to make you happy, or do you want to hear the good, the bad and the ugly of the matter? Personally, I do not like to connect with anything to strong until I have looked into it deep enough to avoid any unseen surprises later. Don't get me wrong, I love a surprise now an then too. The thing is, the surprise of a Christmas gift is one thing. Finding out you joined another organization, group or befriended someone who have hidden agendas and thoughts you do not agree with, is another. In the words of the old television series "Dragnet" ... "Just the facts, mam!" Perhaps that is the good thing I took from the Witnesses, it made me realize that not everything is what it is. It taught me to see that there are often more deep stories, then their are the small shallow ones we think we know. So perhaps I found a positive thought about my time with the Witnesses. They burned me to a point that I do not want to ever dance in the fire again without first finding a "fire proof suits" or at least a fire extinguisher nearby. So when I sit in the plane and the flight attendant stands up and says, "in the event of a water landing, your seat can be used as a floatation device." I wish I could stand up and say, why don't you tell it like it is. In the event of a crash, do not worry about what the seat can do. Just put your head between your legs and kiss you ass good-bye, because in my time on this planet "I have not heard to many news stories about safe water landings with people swimming around with there floating plane seat." Feels good to know the whole truth, doesn't it. Well it feels good to know what you are really facing, and not live in a fantasy world of another's creation. My thought Dragon
kenpodragon
JoinedPosts by kenpodragon
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Your seat can be used as a floatation device?
by kenpodragon inover the last year i have had to fly to many destinations.
in doing so, i have memorized the flight attendant speech that begins each flight.
my favorite part is, "in the event of a water landing, your seat can be used as a floatation device.
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Can psychic energy heal?
by kenpodragon inrecently i was watching a documentary on this woman who claimed that she could heal people with the power of her mind.
the documentary went into interviewing people about their experiences, and many of them actually had medical signs of improvement that could be documented and shown.
while watching this, i was seeing it as a example of psychic energy healing someone?
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kenpodragon
There is room in the world for all skeptics and believers. Glad you know your place as well as I do mine.
"you should never underestimate the power of a positive mind"
Take CareDragon
Edited by - kenpodragon on 3 October 2002 13:8:46
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If only I could have had one more moment
by kenpodragon inwhen i was about 23 years old a friend of mine came down with cancer.
we had spent a lot of our time growing up together, from fishing to doing the pioneer thing.
basically, we knew each other very well.
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kenpodragon
My mother was DF'ed and I was not allowed to have her at my wedding. I still get a little angry when I think of that one. Now I am gone, and she still speaks to me. I guess with age comes wisdom and she is the wiser of us two. Was not really all my fault though, as people in the Kingdom Hall were putting pressure on me to not invite her. The man who agreed to give our talk even threatened not to, if we did invite her.
It really hurt her, and she did not deserve that treatment from her son.
My sad flash back
Dragon
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God I Hate Panda's.
by Englishman in.
no way that i could live forever if i had to be near those smelly sugary creatures all day.. what part of new world living gives you the creeps?.
englishman.
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kenpodragon
The painted smiles with the look of, "someone took my brain!"
My thought
Dragon
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Why does hate come so easy?
by kenpodragon inmy wife has this one friend, who we see a lot.
she has been dating this guy for about six months and they are real serious, yet she will not say she loves him.
i have listened to her many times explain how she can not say "i love you" easy.
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kenpodragon
My wife has this one friend, who we see a lot. She has been dating this guy for about six months and they are real serious, yet she will not say she loves him. I have listened to her many times explain how she can not say "I love you" easy. She mentions that she does not want to get hurt, or get to committed to soon. Well I can understand that, makes sense doesn't it? Well we had her over to watch a movie and an actor came on. She speaks up and say, "Oh, I hate that actor. He is always such a snob and jerk." Then she goes into how she has a new employee at work she hates him too, because he does this one thing that bothers the hell out of her. Well it got me to wondering something, why does it seem so much easier or more acceptable to say we hate people at times than it does to say we love someone? Have you ever been sitting there talking to someone and bring up a name, and have them say "Oh, that guy hates you." I have and when it happens I feel like crap. I do not like thinking that there are people out there hating me. It also sticks in you for awhile and you wonder why someone would have such a negative feeling about you. Apparently, these same people that are worried about their own feelings with the words "I love you" do not care about other people's feelings with words like "I hate you." At least it seems and feels that way at times. So what are the rules in your life for how fast you fall in love, do they make sense with how fast you turn to hate? Can you see a person in one interview and hate them, yet know someone for six months and not say you love them. Can you read a few post by someone and hate them, or do you see everyone as being in the same boat in life, and show love for them. Just seems like the world throws "hate" around without a thought, but holds "love" in like it is something that can only be shown to a few. While I feel that both have a place, at times, I just think one seems to come out to quickly over another. I always say love me or hate me, just give me enough time to truly prove myself before you make up your mind to quickly. You might think it is risky to love to much for fear of pain in the heart, but what kind of pain does your heart have when you have to much hate. We are born to love in this world, but we learn to hate. I say, do what comes natural and show more love and teach less hate. Just something I was thinking about Dragon
Edited by - kenpodragon on 2 October 2002 23:13:36
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My Greatest Gift of This Life
by Undecided ini am sitting here being thankful for my greatest gifts that i have, my two daughters.
today my youngest called and wanted to come by for dinner and wanted to know what we wanted for dinner.
she had an hour and 1/2 off from her work at the doctors office and wanted to visit for a while.
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kenpodragon
My wife is due in less then 2 months with our first "gift in life" and I am looking forward to it myself. Lots of joy!!!
My thought
Dragon
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If only I could have had one more moment
by kenpodragon inwhen i was about 23 years old a friend of mine came down with cancer.
we had spent a lot of our time growing up together, from fishing to doing the pioneer thing.
basically, we knew each other very well.
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kenpodragon
When I was about 23 years old a friend of mine came down with cancer. We had spent a lot of our time growing up together, from fishing to doing the Pioneer thing. Basically, we knew each other very well. Learning that he had cancer was not an easy thing learn, but even worse was watching my friend fade out of life. When he finally ended this life, in what seemed like a very short time. I remember thinking, "I wish I had more time to spend with him." You see when he found out he had cancer, it seemed like the organization started using me more, I had a ton of talks and assignments. I was not able to be there for him, and I wasted his last days worrying about things related to the religion. When I think about this, and I hear my mom make comments like "you are dying now sense leaving the religion." I wonder why she would feel this way, and not want to spend my last days on this earth, taking advantage of the time we have. Of course, we spend some time together. Mainly because I am only "inactive" and not "disfellowshiped", but what about quality time. So many people experience this, and yet I hear so many comments from Witnesses about lost friends and relatives in the past that died. I do not know how many times my wife's parents have said "I wish I had just one more day to spend with my mom and dad, just one more moment to say I love you one last time." Yet here is their daughter, and soon to be grandson and they see them as dying and would do their best to avoid a dinner with us. Yes we are fortunate, in that our relatives will speak with us more then most. What I see though is a theme in all Witnesses. Terminal disease and they want to be by your side to the end, terminal death based on their religions teachings, and they can care less about when they see you. Why do you think that is? Well to me it comes down to what is real. When someone has a disease that you have heard of and seen other people suffer from, you realize and believe time is short. So you take every moment you have to be with them. When someone is in a position though out of favor with your religion, it means less urgency for them. From what I have seen, it is more like a game. They believe, but at the same time they know many years have passed in their life and many more will come before they die. So as much as they claim to see it as you dying, inside they know nothing is really all that urgent or important. Of course, some will say "my family does" and they feel hurt that people do not treat them with love. I question this though, would those same people not be at the side of your death bed to say good-bye? (It is sad if they wouldn't) I think most would, because that is just more real and easier to believe. So what am I getting at here? If the Witnesses were a religion of love and truly felt the end was near, and their relatives that were out, were terminal in death. They would want to still spend moments with us, and value our time. After all, when my friend died of cancer. As I set at his memorial, only one thought went through my mind "If only I could have had one more moment." That was because I understood life, and thus now that I am out "I understand it more." So when I look at the Witnesses and I hear their comments about people leaving or getting kicked out, saying they are dying. I think, "Stop playing life, start really living it!" It is so nice to actually understand love now, and understand the real value of a individual life. No more phony comments based in false thinking. When I think of the phrase, "If only I could have had one more moment" I do not have to have regrets. I live those moment everyday with eyes open to the truth of life, and not the games of controlling religions. My thought Dragon
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Wrong ASSumptions from apostates
by bomatt6 inthe apostates here have so many wrong assumptions.
anyone that posts against them they assume is defending the society.. i'm neutral towards the society.
i don't defend it nor do i attack it.
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kenpodragon
Every religion has their place. From what I have seen in life, all former members of religions always hate the religion of their past. Maybe hate is a strong word, they dislike it in some way. From the minor "I do not talk about them" to the major "I will do anything to take them down." Not a Jehovah Witness only club. Very common.
My thought
Dragon
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You can hate for many years, but you can love for
by kenpodragon inone of those subjects we all study at some point in school, is the holocaust.
i remember thinking before i learned about it, that i knew all the horrors of this event already.
after all, it had been mentioned on many programs.
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kenpodragon
I think everyone has their amount of time to heal. I do not think anyone would expect you to step into the real world with a huge smile, and think all is fine. I just hope in that time of healing, we have a end in site and not feel that life will be themed with this anger in hate for a life time. Thus the thought ... "You can hate for many years, but you can love for a life-time" .... Basically, be angry if you need to be, and even hate some if that happens. Just do not let it consume your life, when love is so much better. No one can set that time for you, but have you examined how long you want it to be? Just a question we ask and answer on our own.
"I would rather spend my day looking at roses, then trampling flowers I forgot to see"
My thought
Dragon
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Can psychic energy heal?
by kenpodragon inrecently i was watching a documentary on this woman who claimed that she could heal people with the power of her mind.
the documentary went into interviewing people about their experiences, and many of them actually had medical signs of improvement that could be documented and shown.
while watching this, i was seeing it as a example of psychic energy healing someone?
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kenpodragon
I understand what you mean, but think of how many things in this life are explained with a good editing. Personally, I am not going to spend $800-$1000 to see John Edwards in person, but the people I know who have sure felt their money was well spent. I think everyone has the right to put faith in what they want, and everyone has the right to say the faith is wrong. It does not change the fact that people believe, like me. It just shows that not everything is right for everyone.
Take Care
Dragon