A waste of life?

Dune

So i was wondering. Do you guys think that all the time you were witnesses, was it wasted life?

As some of you may know, i'm still going to meetings and all the good stuff. However, a non-witness friend and I have an inside joke about How when I die, God is going to be standing there laughing in my face. About what? Well, as a witness you give up on lots of things. I happened to have gotten baptized at 11/12 and I'm almost 20. Anyway, I'm beginning to feel that those years were stolen from me.

Granted, my life isnt bad. While i've been dealt a few bad hands, I dont think I could compare myself to those who have it the worse in life.

But i was wondering, do some of you veterans (and i guess newly left people) feel that your lives have been wasted irrevocably. I always thought that maybe i'll be reincarnated and i'd be given a better, more fullfilling life next time. Or maybe once i get the train moving and just up and leave i can start from scratch. Anyway, what do you guys think?

AlmostAtheist

I learned things as a JW that I wouldn't have learned otherwise. And getting so thoroughly burned and being so absolutely sure of something that later proved to be right was a valuable lesson.

But the price for all of that was too high. Yes, I feel it was a waste of those 20 years. Worse, during that time I made decisions based on my JW mindest that will continue to affect me even after I'm out of the organization.

Yes, the bastards stole quite a lot from me. A ton more from others, of course. But then, I'm not those others. I'm me.

Bastards.

Dave

tetrapod.sapien

ya, like most things, what dave said...

i think us ex-wits are a unique bunch, that's for sure! i don't think there are a lot of groups, unorganized at that, who have the same characteristics as us. and for that, i am glad i was at one time a wit.

and deconverting taught me lessons about life that i think i would have been hard pressed to find elsewhere.

so in a way, it sucks. and in a way it's awesome! and i'm glad that i got out when i was 28 and not when i was 58. i honestly think that life is extremely enjoyable as an ex-wit, in certain ways. no more padding. just me and raw existence. and i am happy for that too.

TS

blondie

It's only too late when you're dead.

The WTS was the least of my problems with an sexually, emotionally, verbally abusive father and an emotionally, verbally abusive alcoholic mother; which would not have been different regardless of their religious affiliation. I learned not to live in the past and wish for what might have been.

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today is a gift. That's why it's called 'the present'. (Loretta LaRoche)

Golf

wanderlustguy

But i was wondering, do some of you veterans (and i guess newly left people) feel that your lives have been wasted irrevocably. I always thought that maybe i'll be reincarnated and i'd be given a better, more fullfilling life next time. Or maybe once i get the train moving and just up and leave i can start from scratch. Anyway, what do you guys think?

It's only a waste if you haven't learned anything. Yes, maybe you have spent a quarter of your life in it, but now you have 75% of your life left to live the way you see fit. Now you can choose how much they can take.

Not to mention, you appreciate so much more about life than 99% of the population, no one appreciates a life like someone who wasn't allowed to have one.

WLG

Golf

I grew up with my brothers & sisters at a different time. We didn't have the things that we have today,none whatsoever.

I for one cannot change life, I have to deal with the cards given to me at the time. Some would call me a 'rebel' for the things I did at my age. I've learned and still learning about life, I have no real regrets. I may have experienced bad moments and the like, but then again, who hasn't. I make it a point to derive some knowledge and learning lessons with what I have gone through. So no, my life has not been a waste, I married the women I loved, what more do I need?

Golf

Kaput

It would have been better for it to have been presented as simply another religion, selling its wares, rather than THE one bearing the mantel of ultimate truth. Unfortunately, by succumbing to the spiel of its sales force, we bought the bill of goods, and have realized after exiting that there is no refund for the lives we spent in service to this publishing business.

The religion has some good points (emphasizes cleanliness, honesty, compassion, etc.), but the same could be said for any number of religions. However, the extent of commitment demanded by this cult is overly excessive, and mind control is part of the mix. This in turn creates automatons who are willing to destroy family relationships, incur unnecessary health problems and accept, at times, horrific persecution, all to find favor in the eyes of a god who's repeating the sadism of his OT days, and whose convoluted dictates are being carried out by a cabal of power-hungry pedants.

If victimized by this organization, it's not simply a matter of pushing the "undo" button to rectify matters. Besides the de-programming/de-converting one goes through while/after leaving, there is also the matter of contending with the effects of decisions made while living the "UNtruth" e.g. transfusion/organ refusal resulting in loss of life for a loved one, the degradation experienced while doing hard prison time for refusal to serve in the military, a virtually destroyed financial future if one accepted the party line regarding higher education, having one's psyche permanently damaged as a result of pedophilia occurring in a "spiritual paradise", etc. etc. etc.

I'm sure there are THOUSANDS of people out there who would state unequivocally that it was a waste.

Satanus

I think that my over forty yrs in was wasted time. On the positive side, i learned to control some animal instincts. Total suppression of them, which the bible and the wt claims as the high road, is unreasonable, and so a negative, imo.

S

Low-Key Lysmith

I feel that I have, for the most part, tried to use the things that were engrained to my advantage. I have become fairly successful in life and am living happily and comfortably. I have learned to turn around the judgemental and holier-than-thou attitudes into acceptance and open-mindedness. I have tried to use JW doctrines anfd beliefs as a basis to form my own opinions on things. (This is a useful tool to help overcome the initial feelings of guilt that can be so overwhelming when you first take the leap from the Borg). Over time you begin to realize just what a rediculous load of steaming feces it really is. I am glad I'm not stuck anymore in a fearful, depressed, anxious existence like the rest of my family. If I had not been a witness, I would not have anything to compare it to and as a result, probably wouldn't realize how good I have it now.

-Breck

A waste of life?

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