FMF 100th Post: Don't Go Through Life, Grow Through Life.

by freemindfade 7 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  freemindfade

  I have been waiting to post this 100th post to come up with something half decent. While I was driving this morning this is what I was thinking about.

  There are a lot of new folks on here, and who knows how many lurkers checking in. The Watchtower through its meetings, literature, and agents, tells you this is not life, your life is to OBEY, pay your love debt to the bronze age desert god of sheep herding nomads, and get your golden ticket to the petting zoo at the end, what they call "The Prize". If you have lost someone in death, or are just generally kicked around by life, this can sound reassuring, but is it really what its all about? Living a deferred life, in order to have a lifetime of more obedience, love debting and so on? Your gut is telling you no!

  No one's life is better than another's we all get what we get as long as were are alive and breathing. What ever we have, as humans our purpose is to grow, learn, and experience. Yes that means you are going to fail at times, but failing is learning. Watchtower has programmed you into wanting what they are telling you is going to happen, that it is IMPOSSIBLE to be happy and have a meaningful life without every unknown and question being answered right out of the gate, even if the answer is wrong. You just can't be happy without a life of 'Knowns". Well that's bullshit. We have time to grow as much as we can. We can experience and learn so much more without the blinders of the Watchtower, keeping us in a fishbowl in an ocean of experience, learning and growth.

  So many of you are here, you have started to experience this. I just say keep growing, keep learning. I hear some new ones just waking up say things, like i still believe in god for now, to me this is very reassuring. You are leaving that door open to knock down other things that are going to hold you down from knowing all your potentials. Its good to want to discover truth about the unknown, but its not healthy to stake all your belief in the unknowable.

  Don't go through life, grow through life.

  FMF
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  truthseeker100

  Freedomfade: There are a lot of new folks on here, and who knows how many lurkers checking in.

  I'll bet more postings on sites like this one are read and closely considered at Witness gatherings than the repetitive formulaic teachings of the watchtower especially by younger ones.

  Congrats on your postings I have considered them.

  For all you witnesses out there there especially the younger ones honour your father and mother but most importantly honour yourself by getting a good education and don't trudge through or go through life but grow through life.
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  flipper

  FREEMINDFADE- Extremely well put my friend. Awesomely expressed ! I second your comments. Freedom of mind and freedom to grow is a wonderful thing indeed that we can enjoy as a life experience through our whole life until we die. Having escaped from a high control organization- I can vouch that the freedom I've had these last 12 years has allowed me to pursue beautiful things in my life that I wouldn't have pursued due to time constraints of the JW cult. Keep on keeping on friend ! Sending you a PM to links to my new music ! Check it out when you get some time ! Take care. Peace out. Mr. Flipper
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  flipper

  Just sent a PM to you my friend, take care, Peace out, Mr. Flipper
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  ThinkerBelle

  Inspiring words, Freemind and I love your title. I feel as if my mind wasn't as trapped into the religion as some on this board as I really was always a free thinker and explorer; I loved to read history and philosophy, even when I was younger.......for fun. I simply went about the motions and I could explain JW dogma to you just fine, doesn't mean I felt it in my heart. Once I let myself let that go and became willing to actually believe in something (rather than just read about it), I actually feel like I can form the open relationship with god that I think we're meant to have, not restricted by guidelines. I guess what has kept me a believer is the anticipation of seeing family again (resurrection? afterlife? Still figuring it out) and the thought that this life can't be all there is, can it? But maybe that's the JW talking. Regardless, I want my life to have more meaning than it has the last few decades and for my kids to not be restricted in their learning and growing. I've noticed a lot of newbies in my time lurking, and maybe more will come out of the shadows too, thanks to posts like these.
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  freemindfade

  Thank you guys, and thinkerbelle, you are on the track. So many (myself included) have made a similar journey. I am so happy you joined!

  As for this

  and the thought that this life can't be all there is, can it?

  I can only speak for myself, that used to be a scary thought, after being raised a JW. But once I told my myself if this life could be all there is, I don't want to waste it, or bog it down with concern over things I cannot know. Letting the unknown be just that, is a big relief, it seems scary, until you cross that threshold of letting go and see that we'll find out the answer when we get there.

  fmf
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  LisaRose

  Excellent advice. Looking back I can see where I learned some bad patterns from my years as a JW, even after I left it took me a while to learn to question things, to not do as I'm told, and to keep learning and asking questions. It does take time to get right of mind control, but I wish I had pushed harder at it.
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  Tornintwo

  Nice post..and so true

  when I first started doubting, I desperately wanted accurate answers to all my questions like yesterday! It's ingrained with us, we must have all the answers! The society has got themselves in a mess trying to answer everything categorically so much that it's laughable!

  A few weeks in I read a post here that said 'I'd rather have questions I can't answer than answers I cant question' and it blew me away.

  Now I have slowed right down and am happy not to know everything, I have some beliefs I'm holding onto but I am not afraid to question them, if they get proved innacurate it's not the end of the world (lol) and I can 'grow' from the discovery as you say.

  The thought that God would kill anyone for not having the right answers in this day and age of multiple faiths, skepticism and information overload, is just barbaric. One thing I do know, if there is a god, he or she has to be more merciful and compassionate than me and I wouldn't kill my kids if they didn't understand something correctly, especially if I'd made the instructions as clear as mud!!