...Back from the Convention today.

by ScoobySnax 35 Replies latest jw friends

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  gumby

  Hey scoob,

  Glad you made it back OK.

  I still don't see a place for me

  Will there EVER be a place for you there?

  Gumby
• 

  minimus

  Scooby, why did YOU go to the convention? Were you able to talk to your brothers and sisters about the program? were you able to have lunch with them during the break and see where everyone was from? How was the love manifest to YOU?
• 

  alias

  "I saw it, I felt it. It was real. ... I guess you have to make your choice about where you're going, and what you want."

  Scooby,

  You realized something of great value today. There are pros and cons to every situation and every decision we make. I think it is especially difficult for those of us who continue to experience both sides of the JW/Non JW coin. You experienced something that I still believe is real. It's a beautiful thing, isn't it?

  Whatever it is, do it for you.

  Take care,

  alia
• 

  ScoobySnax

  I'm loosing track here......BigTex......if I make it right or not for me, if its "real" or not, it surely will not change the original message one bit. The real choice here is whether I choose to follow it or not, don't you agree? How is it that the people in the assemblage today "process" information different than me? No disrespect to you, but I wonder how. I'm really not loading myself un-necessarily, I'm just being me Tex.

  I do understand that Jehovah created diversity, and that all of us are different, its only with this attribute that I'm able to communicate with you here. I see myself not in the reflection of the JWs at the convention today, and I don't see my reflection here on this forum. I only see myself. Please understand that I'm not that complicated to work out after all. I'm just me. I told you a little about me a couple of posts back. Someone always standing on the sidelines, sort of looking in, mainly because of struggling with the person I am. Understand that I was just making my observations. I have no qualms with the JWs. If anything, they are part of what has made me the "nicer" person I am nowdays.

  Struggling is what we all do, thats Human Every now and then you have to look at your burden that binds you, and it seems in-surmountable, but one day you get there. Thats when you have to make a decision. It's ok really. The real "you" wins through.
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  Big Tex

  Excellent Scooby. I hope your last paragraph is how you view your situation, as I feel it is the most accurate. As far as the Witnesses are concerned, my thought was that you do not look to them as the only solution. What I've found is that many people find contentment with the Witnesses because they (1) need to feel as if they are busy doing something productive with regards God; (2) are constantly seeking outside approval, instead of giving it to themselves; and (3) truly need to be told what to do, and how to feel.

  I don't mean this in in a condescending way. But there are people, my best friend for one, who cannot process difficult topics on their own. They need simple solutions to complex problems. They find it comforting that they are part of something bigger than themselves. However I sense that while you yearn for their sense of contentment and happiness, you cannot do it in the same manner they do, vis-a-vis going to meetings, reading the publications, field service, and living the life Witnesses are required to live. Instead I sense that your path lies down another road.

  And that is why I wrote what I did to you. I did not mean to embarass you, as I was feeling that perhaps you are a bit too hard on yourself and others when you, and us, do not meet a given set of set of standards. My point was to look at those standards, and all that, that implies.

  Or you could just have a good shot of whiskey and go off to bed and call it all good in the morning.
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  Robdar

  The person doing the shunning probably still has love for you deep down, but they are not allowed to express it.

  The person doing the shunning is shunning you because they do love you and are concerned about your eternal life. It is called tough love. They use it to get you back to being a member in good standing so that you will survive Armageddon. It is misguided but it is still love, nonetheless.

  Robyn
• 

  kgfreeperson

  As an outsider, who has read all the topics about, essentially, how deadly conventions are, this thread is something of an eyeopener. Or at least an eyebrow-raiser.
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  ScoobySnax

  Tex...

  You are summarising what JWs are in your estimation here. All on this forum will agree, to one degree either side. It would be like me posting ;-

  1. All apostates are misled and like having their ears tickled. 2. Apostates need to feel busy dis-crediting anything JW orientated. 3. All Apostates like to form a pack mentality in order to "feel" good about themselves....... You see they form a club here and bounce ever more ridiculous subjects amongst themselves ...ie.... I could go on, but you get my drift.

  Its easy to do that. You didn't embarass me Tex. You have been gracious enough to enter into a dialogue with me, I still believe I can process topics of my own accord, (JW or not) I do it every day in my job dealing with life and death. Without trying to seem like a drama queen, I hope you get my drift. Having said all that a shot of Whiskey or 4 sounds good to me!! ohhhh that peaceful dreamy sleep afterwards!! Take care mate
• 

  Matty

  Scooby, I was also at the Twickenham Convention and can relate to all your comments. The Witnesses have had conventions at the rugby union ground at Twickenham for nearly 50 years. When you go there you remember all the good times you had in previous years. The talks are reassuring and sugar coated. There's nothing wrong, we have "the truth" - it's "the truth" no matter what. You hear the experiences, how people have triumphed through adversity, you are warned that you yourself will be persecuted "without cause". Then you meet up with all your old friends. You go into the Rose Room under the south stand and you meet up with the elderly ones that you have known since you were a child. It's a big draw, and it's fully intended to be so. Don't ever attempt to reason with a Witness when they have just returned from a convention, they are in a state of euphoria which is difficult to break down.
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  rocketman

  ...Back from the Convention today.

  My condolances.

  LOL Will!