Find Your "Truth"

I’ve taken quite a break from writing blog posts because I’ve been on a quest. The main reason I started this blog was to be open about my process of recovery from being one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. I wanted other survivors to know they weren't alone. We go through many of the same phases or recovery because the source of our trauma is the same.

But, I decided to take a step back and try to do some hard work on myself. I recently uncovered some painful memories and wasn’t sure I could handle it. So, I went on a quest within. It was time for me to really work on what I believed about life, the universe, and everything.

I was able to work through my trauma using a belief system I had constructed myself. I found a way to frame the past so that it wouldn’t hurt me, enjoy the day given to me, and look to the future with hope. It has been a truly empowering experience.

This seems to be part of our journey as humans, not just former members of a high control group. We all must find a “truth” that enables us to function as the best version of ourselves. It may be a path based on established religion, it may be an unconventional form of spirituality, or it could be a self-created outlook on life. Regardless of its source, if we are better people by subscribing to it, it is our “truth”.

Jehovah’s Witnesses focus on having “THE truth”, the only path that leads to a happy life now and future salvation. To them, their beliefs are “absolute truth”. I felt compelled to find “absolute truth” for myself after leaving the organization. I needed the security of knowing that I was right about everything.

I’ve come to realize that “absolute truth” only exists in nature. Gravity and time are “absolute truths”. When it comes to belief systems, there is only “relative truth”. What is true for me, may not work for you at all. I may be dead wrong, in an “absolute” sense. But, "relative" to my situation, emotions, physical being, and spiritual needs, it is my “truth”.

The process of discovering what is “true” for you is fascinating. Finding a way to respect other’s “truth” without the need to preach about my own “truth”, is a beautiful, liberating experience.

If you’ve recently left the Jehovah’s Witness organization and are worried about finding “THE truth” again, please relax. You aren’t going to find “absolute truth” in any belief system, no matter how much they think they have it. Find YOUR “truth”. 

Find a way to look at life, death, the world, yourself, and others that feels natural to your disposition. Your “truth" may be off-the-wall, strange to others, and difficult to explain. But, it’s supposed to be hard to express because it’s YOURS. It only fits you. It is designed in a language that only you understand.

We all have the capacity and the right to find a belief system and a life that fulfills us. We were born with the need to find our place in the universe. I feel like I am finding mine with the “truth” I have uncovered for myself. I hope that these ideas can help others find their own “truth”.

True spirituality must be discovered individually. It isn’t something that can be learned through reading. Experience is necessary. Spirituality requires you to explain your “truth” to yourself. Religion requires that you recite memorized passages to others.

No one invents a new spirituality. They just find new ways to explain the “truth” to themselves.