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In Reply to: does anyone here have any good memories of the Family at all? posted by sincerely questioning on October 10, 2004 at 08:31:30:
For a very long time--well onto 25 years--I thought the life lessons I gained from my experience in the TF were greater than whatever a two-year period in my misguided youth might have cost me.
What I gained from my time in TF was a haven from the pressures of the world, a System that claims us all in one way or another, even if we delude ourselves about the sanctity of living in a counter-culture like The Family. By that I mean: what would TF be if it didn't have the System as a counterpoint? Worse yet: what will the preachers do if the Devil is saved? Black and white are bound one to the other, and the lines of division are perfectly clear to people of limited insight. Shades of gray are for those who have lived too long in the light of uncompromising personal honesty.
I learned some valuable things about personal discipline and delayed gratification during my time in TF. To this day, I refuse to complain (murmur) about my external circumstances. A crappy lunch on the run or a sumptuous feast--it's all the same to me. Some people call this an eating disorder. Could be.
When I hit midlife, I became painfully aware that staying with my Family-found mate would be impossible if I wanted to be sane and healthy. Were it not for my early life in The Family, I would not have mated with the man I found there or borne my children as I did. This fact of my life is neither good or bad: it is what it is.
