I can walk through the barley field and feel the ends touch my hands.
I could feel it. God, I might just put this on my next collage for my altar.
~Those who benefit from the status quo always attribute inequities to the choices of the underdog.~Ann Crittenden ~The Goddess is not separate from the world-She is the world and all things in it.~
Blixa wrote:I think we're already having our classes now...
Distance ed is still limited though :)
Plus we have to conduct it in uncongenial spaces ;(
...magically, you lift my spirits.
You reminded me of my comment about the hemline. 2011 hemlines were below the knee like the 40's. This year, they are up! Am I right?
Oh for shame, how the mortals put the blame on us gods, for they say evils come from us, but it is they, rather, who by their own recklessness win sorrow beyond what is given... Zeus (1178 BC)
Quasimodo wrote:Interesting, Z. Do you think you could return?
Honestly? No. It pains me to say it because of the trouble it causes here at home.
Can one go back?
One, maybe two. Don did it.
Would returning be heartfelt or just a way to resolve some problems?
A way to resolve. The imprisonment of mind is what bothers me. It bothers me to no end, Quas. That is church activity. Prison of the mind.
Serious questions. I have heard of a few people that have returned to their earlier beliefs. I've always wondered why.
Pretty rare, I imagine. It makes me wonder why I don't agree with my dad's statement...
Oh for shame, how the mortals put the blame on us gods, for they say evils come from us, but it is they, rather, who by their own recklessness win sorrow beyond what is given... Zeus (1178 BC)
It gets easy to stay out but it also gets more challenging.
Oh for shame, how the mortals put the blame on us gods, for they say evils come from us, but it is they, rather, who by their own recklessness win sorrow beyond what is given... Zeus (1178 BC)
1. The people closest to you don't see eye to eye with you. Communication breaks down. While believing, couples rarely disagree on points of religion and cultural ideals. 2. Knowing parents and siblings (except my bro of course) are disappointed. We can't look forward to visiting them like we used to. Some avoid us altogether. 3. Knowing family talks about our "porn problem." This one is actually pretty funny. I sort of like to propagate this one in subtle ways. It's evil of me, I know.
Number 1 is the hardest for me.
I'm a wuss. My list is peanuts compared to what others deal with.
Oh for shame, how the mortals put the blame on us gods, for they say evils come from us, but it is they, rather, who by their own recklessness win sorrow beyond what is given... Zeus (1178 BC)
zeezrom wrote:Now, my world has flipped around. Now, I have a whole world of things to explore. There is no Correlation chain around my neck. I am free to look at any damn book I want and let my mind just wander. I can walk through the barley field and feel the ends touch my hands. But the Romans are coming. Lucius Aemilius Paullus is near. I can never be at peace. The war between beliefs must always be on the horizon. Differences in our gods must always bring us to arms.
You have a beautiful wife and family. I hope you can sort things out. And yes, the further you get away, the harder it is to come back, until it's virtually impossible.
I think it also gets easier for others to accept you as you are, the further along time goes.
Some of my closest friends are still active Mormon, and it has got easier as time goes along.
Sometimes I wonder if I could return (my parents quickly went inactive after baptism, so I don't have any particular family pressures), but I just logically think through what I believe and just cannot square that with what the church, I am sure, would want me to believe.
I have to say also, that my life hasn't changed that much. I'm still the same person, hold many of the same values and believe strongly in the value of family life. I don't need the church to keep me on the straight and narrow (well my definition of the straight and narrow anyway), I'm quite capable of working through things myself.
I'm a lot happier and feel so much more authentic as a person, that's for sure.
I've been out pretty much 20 years now.
"It's a little like the Confederate Constitution guaranteeing the freedom to own slaves. Irony doesn't exist for bigots or fanatics." Maksutov
