How Do You Feel About All The Time You Wasted Being. A Jehovah's Witness? (page 5)

I find it best for my mental health to look at the collateral benefits rather than damage

I learned to come out of my extreme shyness and give public talks and knock on stranger's doors.

That's a biggie!

I learned to organize confusing material into a pithy speech and present it without soiling my underwear.

That's another biggie.

I gained confidence in my strength of character by going before F.B.I. interrogators, Draft Board questioners,,

a Federal Judge, jailers, prison guards, rapists, murderers, etc.

I discovered what I was made of and finally decided the building materials were deficient: I had to admit I had practically thrown my life away for utter nonsense!

I had to endure the opposition of my wife, the Kingdom Hall, and the judicial committee and feel what it meant to be persona non grata.

I experienced PTS, a nervous breakdown, disfellowship, divorce, the disintegration of my world view--BUT still keep moving forward.

I learned to love invisible persons, fear supernatural entities and discover they didn't really exist!

By the time I reached the age of 33, I had lived in two worlds and one of them was make-believe.

I've taken away from my JW experience a loathing of the smugness of self-convinced know-it-alls; after all, I was one.

I carry with me a deep and abiding sense of duty to keep plugging away in exposing malfeasance and moral fraudulence in the Watchtower world.

I no longer love my former best friend (who influenced me to become a JW) because he recently lied about me in a character assassination way. The final betrayal convinced me I've remained slightly delusional because I still considered him a 'friend.'

The benefits were unintentional, to be sure. But I acknowledge them for their positive effect.

How Do You Feel About All The Time You Wasted Being. A Jehovah's Witness?

Crazyguy

Terry

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