Posted by COMF [COMF] on November 02, 1999 at 17:53:42 {.c1iAaocfM0vgA2d.KEIoRa3VCcycQ}:
In Reply to: For The Healthy Among Us posted by Steve on November 02, 1999 at 16:22:28:
Life isn't easy anywhere. If a person is inclined to fear the unknown and avoid learning new things, then it's going to be a tough road regardless of where she is. The attraction of cults like the JWs is the false security given by having a strong authority figure in charge, doing all your thinking and decision-making for you. People who are insecure and have trouble handling responsibility gravitate to such settings so that they can dump all the weight and stress of adult behavior off onto the authority figures.
The secret of living a happy life is really quite simple, but takes a lot of work to attain. Love yourself. Respect yourself. Believe in yourself.
That's it.
Get that down, and you'll see fearsome monsters scatter and run as you approach. You'll see walls crumble to make way for you. You'll discover a wealth of like-minded friends, full-grown adults who are responsible for their own happiness and their own self-respect. Adults who can love and respect you without ulterior motives, because they have no need of ulterior motives; they don't need anything from you.
Once you love yourself, you don't need to get love, validation, a sense of self-worth, from anybody else. So when you give those things to others, it's a free gift, not a manipulative way of getting something in return. Those are the friends worth knowing.
COMF