Did becoming a JW influence you to give up something you enjoyed ?

by smiddy3 39 Replies latest jw experiences

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  smiddy3

  When I was a teenager a younger fellow workmate was involved in the sport of judo.I got interested and went along to a number of sessions and took to it like a sponge to water ,and as a sport I was happy participating in.

  Not that much longer another workmate was getting re-activated in the religion of JW`s. which I had never heard o before and then got interested in that .

  Conflict : Was judo a sport that was compatible with J.W beliefs? sadly I decided it was not and stopped any further involvement.

  To this day I resent that decision I made back then .and i`m 82 years old now.

  It was a sport I was comfortable doing and I enjoyed it.And I gave it up because of the religion .Who knows what I may have achieved had I continued with it. Or not.

  What about you ,your experiences ?
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  HiddlesWife

  Playing music. I had to SNEAK to musical instrument classes in high school and tell my PPIMI parents and SPIMI grandparent that I was being tutored after school for academic classes--especially since I didn't do well on specific exams. My music teacher helped me and some of my relatives who attended the same school because he had a couple of relatives who were dubs and was told that the Borg was discouraging children/yung wuns from participating in the arts. So, now that I'm in my late 50s, I'm still taking more music instruction--and getting better at it plus enjoying it more! 🎹🥁🎸🎷🎺
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  Sea Breeze

  Yes! I had to avoid aluminum frying pans, sleeping on my left side, & inoculations. Chewing gum was to be avoided like the plague.
  
  

  *** The Golden Age, Nov. 12, 1929, p. 107 ***

  If the organs [of your body] are diseased, heal them by correcting your diet. Avoid the use of aluminum cooking utensils and alum baking powders as they are injurious to your health, poisoning your blood stream... Sleep on the right side or flat on your back, with the head toward the north so as to get benefit of the earth's magnetic currents. Avoid serum inoculations as they pollute the blood stream with their filthy pus.... Stop chewing gum, as you need the saliva for your food.
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  hoser

  Discouraged from playing in a rock band.
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  truth_b_known

  Smiddy3:

  Here's something funny about the Watchtower and Judo - I took Judo as well as a Witness. I found an Awake! article entitled "Take Judo!" So I did.

  The problem is the constant flip-flopping on things like this. One day it's "Take Judo!" and the next is "All self-defense related things are learning war."
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  road to nowhere

  Where to s t art?! Bicycle racing, car racing, motorcycles, sex, college, character building military service, school dances, . If course not having a " well paying" job prevented it too.

  I still have an aversion to aluminum, but never realized sleeping on my stomach and pointing east ( cardinal, not magnetic) is why I feel bad.
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  solomon

  We weren’t allowed as kids to have anything glow in the dark. Apparently it was in an awake magazine somewhere that it was not allowed
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  waton

  hanging out at the airport on the weekend, looking down at the world or better yet up. making the world go round.
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  JeffT

  Writing. I always wanted to write. I wrote a number of stories while in college but stopped when I became a JW after graduation. It was frowned on as taking me a way from field service. I took it up again when I left. I now have five (modestly successful) novels on Amazon and I'm working on more. If you're interested do a search for "Jeff Thomas" in Books. There's more than one Jeff Thomas but you'll find me.
  
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  Disillusioned JW

  Since I was raised from infancy as a JW and was thus practicing the religion since very early childhood (until I cam to doubt and disbelieve it), becoming a JW didn't cause me to give up something I enjoyed. But practicing the JW religion resulted in me avoiding doing things which I thought I would enjoy and/or otherwise consider worthwhile. For example prior to getting my own home I didn't go on dates and I never went to prom (but my mom said it is up to me if go to prom or not; she also said it is up to me if I join the high school track team or not). I didn't read literature promoting atheism or non-JW forms of Christianity, and that made it much harder for me to see problems with the JW religion, Christianity in general, and the Bible.

  Since I was busy with JW meeting participation (including giving talks), preparing for JW meetings, and with field service, I had less time available for doing what I liked (such doing science experiments and trying to make inventions, studying science and technology, and pursuing other hobbies).

  Despite being a JW In my final year of high school I do join the school's science club and the school's computer club. I played a little chess.

  Regarding aluminum cookware, at some point after age 40 I came to think it is probably less healthy to use that kind of cookware. That change in view was a result of what I read on the internet (but I read conflicting information about it). As result a number of years ago I replaced my 'nonstick' aluminum skillet with a stainless steel skillet, but I still use nonstick aluminum cooking pots, aluminum cookware lids, and an aluminum large spoon. Nearly all of the aluminum cookware was given to me by JWs (from a congregation I attended at the time) as housewarming gifts.