SUMMER,MAKING TIME 4 FUN/RELAXATION

Tina

Greetings Everyone,
Do we,can we,make time for ourselves?

Many of us exiting the WTS were limited and restricted regarding our free time/vacation activities.Most activities didn't meet with WTS approval for various 'reasons'. "Worldly associations,is it 'wholesome'?(meaning wts approved,and I HATE that word now lol)being a few.

In fact many of used that time to aux pioneer. Attending conventions was the only real highlight. Our lives and free time were
planned around these events.Worse yet,we used our vacation time to tour bethel(yes it was fun and recreational to visit a book factory,major eyeroll here lol)

With our 'exit' we can now rediscover our world fully and without guilt.
Relaxation,making time for ourselves can be put under the rubric"taking care of ourselves'.

It is necessary to make this time to recoup our energies and refresh our outlook on life. It is a sorely needed counterpoint to our busy and hectic lives.

Recreation can be individual,active,or a group activity. Essentially anything that engages us wholly,is the characteristic of recreation.
When we make this time we live in the present and can neither worry about the future or relive yesterday.

So,what activities have you rediscovered? What 'fun' activity have you always wanted to engage in but felt restricted in the past?
What vacation,downtime experiences can you share that renewed you?
Warm regards to all,Tina

DannyBear

Hey lady,

Reminds me of that song 'girls just wana have fun'.Lol.

Iam with you on this, every chance I get. I think it is what helps to keep you balanced.

All work no play...blah blah

So whats on the non-theocratic list of fun things Tina is up to?

Danny

Mommie Dark

Well, we have the Saturday night Dungeons&Dragons sessions at our house; Papa is the DM, and the guys drink quarts of Dr. Pepper and the Dew and munch Cheetos while killing and being killed in epic fashion. Good, clean fun for all ages!

We's po' folks so we try to find the cheap/free fun things to fill our free time. Nature walks at local parks and arboretum are always relaxing. Our community does free concerts on the square all summer long. The local rod club does terrific fundraisers with classic car shows and live music. The library has activities all summer long, as well as a summer reading contest that's always fun. If we have a couple bucks we might do a movie matinee; it's a great way to get cool and I love taking Little to kid films... the childrens' laughter is always therapeutic!

When it's too stickyhot to breathe, we huddle in my air conditioned bedroom and watch movies. A cooler full of ice, pitcher of tea, couple of sandwiches, and a family fave movie (Blues Brothers 2000 plays anytime to applause) and we are set for a long afternoon/evening of enjoyment.

Simple pleasures, guilt-free... aah, the good life!

patio34

Hi Tina,

This is a nice topic. One of my favorite things to do now instead of my Bible-reading session, etc., is to read books on evolution, etc. I gained a lot of time for reading, which is my favorite activity.

Almost every weekend, I take the grandkids to the beach for hours of fun (and, of course, I have a book). Not sitting at boring meetings Sundays--am often relaxing at the beach.

It's pure luxury to have BOTH Saturdays and Sundays free!!!! Plus, no guilt as previously if missing mass--no, I mean meeting! LOL.

Everytime I think of the freedom I have now, I get a little thrill.

Pat

Tina

Hey Danny
Thanks for responding. Well, I'll be looking at city of Chgo park district schedule as they sponsor many free events,music, day tours and such. The Historical society has free events going on as well. Then there are the events sponsored by every ethnic group you can think of. A great way to learn about other cultures. Dan and I are going to try to squeeze a week away somewhere. Sometimes we have to physically remove ourselves from our enviornment to get the needed re-energizing lol. Otherwise we find ourselves always 'doing'.:D

(((((((((MD))))))))))) I know what you mean. Tight budgets here too. There is so much going on here it's usually just the price of bus fare. And all the museums charge just a few bucks to get it. So many options. I never played D&D,always wanted to give it a try. It looks like intense role playing. Sounds fun!
I'm going to spend more time outdoors this year(weather permitting)

((((((((Pat))))))) Boy is that so true!! Being able to do things on the week end guilt free! That nasty wts guilt pretty much took the fun out of our free time didn't it. It sure does feel good to have the enjoyment back into things. Luv to all,Tina

DannyBear

T,

Understand about all the "doing" things.

We lived in San Francisco for 13 yrs, and really enjoyed all the events. Back in the 80's a trend started called 'street fairs' in various sections of town. They designated them by neighborhood, or street name. Lot's of art and ethnic food booths. Spent many a whole day and evening at one of these...really fun.

Glad your planing a get away, we all need to.

Take care, and have some FUN will ya!

Danny

Englishman

Tina,

Interesting question!

I think that I have simply more time to do what I always wanted to do.

I enjoy: Pubs , reading, steam locomotives, soccer, bird watching, walking and travelling abroad.

Wish I had a coupla million £££££££££££s to do it all the time!

..... fanaticism masquerading beneath a cloak of reasoned logic.

Sunchild

Nice topic, Tina! It's always fun to focus on the good things in life.

Lemme see.... For one, I have time for some very cool video games like Diablo II and Xenogears, both of which have "questionable" themes. The former has a lot to do with demons and such and is REALLY violent; the latter is considered blasphemous by some Christians because the ultimate goal is to kill God. They both have terrific storylines, though, and I love playing them. Note that there still has not been a single incidence of demonic activity in my house.

I've made time to do something I've wanted to do for quite some time: reading Interview With the Vampire. I did it, I loved it, and Anne Rice ROCKS. I plan to start on The Vampire Lestat on some quiet evening when I know I'll be able to savor it properly. While I was a JW, I was afraid to read those books. I've also started reading the Left Behind series just for the heck of it. <g> Oddly enough, the only really intriguing character in these Christian books is Nicolae Carpathia, the Antichrist.

Most importantly, though, I've made time to follow my dream of becoming a novelist, which I ended up abandoning a few years into my JW career. I was always afraid of what others would think of me if I did become rich and/or famous, and more than that, I was paranoid about what would happen should I include ideas in my books that weren't approved by the Society. Now, though, I'm free to write whatever feels right to me. I'm basically done with the outline of my first novel now. The only thing is, the process of creation is so enjoyable that some part of me never wants to finish working on it.

Viva freedom!

*Rochelle.

---------
"Most men complacently accept 'knowledge' as 'truth'. They are sheep, ruled by fear."
-- Sydney Losstarot, "Vagrant Story."

teejay

Rochelle,

Xenogears ... is considered blasphemous by some Christians because the ultimate goal is to kill God.

Ha! With my twisted self, that game does sound like fun!!

Makes me wonder, though, how good you are playing the game.

Have you ever gotten close ... to killing God, I mean?

If you did get close, would you do it?

If you have had God under your spear, so to speak, DID you do it?

If you did, how did you sleep that night? Did He visit you in your dreams?

peace,
todd

Tina

(((((((((Eguy))))))))) wow you're into the active type fun! WTG!

(((((((((Sun))))))))) I finally made the time to read all of Rice too. Beautiful fantasy. The imagery it conjures up is the best part! Luv to all,Tina

SUMMER,MAKING TIME 4 FUN/RELAXATION

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