OUTSIDE THE BOX |I have always been different. From a young age my Mother tried to squeeze me into a beige square box, when I was a rainbow coloured, star shape covered in glitter. The struggle to be true to my uniqueness and individuality, has been a constant challenge throughout my life. I have never been a conformist, and I have never felt the need to fit in. I have for the most part of my adult life, openly and honestly questioned that which does not make sense. I have always had a different outlook on the world, and after some paradigm shifting, life changing experience, I realised that I had a specific purpose in it, the nature of which, shall not be the subject of this blog.
Being driven by heart, talent and instinct, I try always to feel like I am leading not following. When I have started to get distracted by people on the left or the right, I lose that clarity of thought. I have always been one to focus on the facts, and not get distracted or influenced by this one to the left, or this other one to the right, because in the end, your truth and your choices have to come from who you are. The only truth you know, is the truth you find for yourself, and you ultimately have to take responsibility for your decisions. True integrity comes from owning your decisions, owning who who you are, and doing it without apology. That may smack of arrogance to some people, or even just a lack of diplomacy to the snowflake types, but that is the point. Diplomacy is nothing more than the external locus of identity created to mask our real feelings. Diplomacy is for those that lack integrity, a way of lying silently, much like political correctness. It takes real strength and confidence to call a spade a spade, wholeheartedly, and unapologetically, irrespective of whose precious ego may get bruised.
There have been those who have held me in very high reverence for the creative renderings upon my purpose path. Indeed, I have an international fan base who read my books, watch my documentaries, listens to my interviews and who learn from the many bodies of academic research which I have published, some of which include doctors, professors, anthropologists, historians, as well as other accomplished researchers. Those who appreciate my work are amongst the most intelligent, awake, forward thinking and savvy people on the planet…. But sadly, that is a very small percentage of people. The vast majority of people are caught up in a vicious circle of toxic drivel and small mindedness, and are too consumed with their own narcism to actually reach a higher level of awareness and understanding about the true nature of our reality.
ADDRESSING YET MORE NASTY RUMOURS
Not so long ago, I had to address spurious rumours set forth on a local community forum, which alleged that my husband and I were stealing cats, due to the fact that my kitty children are taken for walks and beach outings in a pink pet stroller. Some pathetic so and so had taken pictures of my husband and I, walking down the street, with three of our kitty children in a pram, and one on his shoulder. Now I realise that to most people, this is rather unusual, as I have never ever seen anybody else doing this, and I have lost count of the amount of times we have been stopped by people who are amazed that we do this. Indeed, it seems to bring endless joy to people to see kitties in a pink pram, or playing on the beach sand. Just the mere fact that we are able to do this with cats is a testament to our characters, as cats are energetically sensitive. If we were were bad or cruel people, we would not be able to have this relationship with our kitty children. Often people ask how we have managed to train them, and I explain that it takes patience and love. Cats cannot be disciplined by spanking or shouting a them, as most people tend to do with dogs. The key is to developing a relationship and bond with them based on trust and love.
More recently, I have a been told by locals that there are toxic people whom I have parted ways with due to how toxic they are, who know precisely for a fact that I take my cats out to the beach in a stroller, and who have been present with me on occasion during my beach visits, and who have after our parting of ways, gone around telling locals that we steal cats and babies, which is why (or so they claim) we walk around with a pink stroller. The reality is, no babies have ever been reported missing in my local area of Carvoeiro whilst we have lived there. The GNR (Portuguese Military Police) have never had a report against my husband and I to that effect, and we have never been questioned about such matters with regards to any such occurrences. The local GNR have our contact details, and they know who we are, and how to get hold of us, and they would contact us if they had any need to do so.
Making such a false claim such as child abduction is a seriously slanderous act. Article 180 of the Portuguese Criminal Code which punishes defamation (difamação), and which is defined as alleging a fact or formulating a judgment (or reproducing such) about a third person that is offensive to that person’s honour or reputation – with up to six months in prison or a fine of 240 days. http://legaldb.freemedia.at/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PortugalCriminalDef_IPI_ENG.pdf
The sad reality however is, that the vast majority of people out there are utterly stupid, ignorant, brainwashed and soul sick, not to mention, so negatively polarised, that they can’t help themselves but to act out negatively and project ugliness onto others in an attempt to self soothe. This is not an attempt to elevate myself by belittling anybody else, rather this is a genuine observation based upon years of experience, of psycho-social analysis, of interaction with people from many different cultures, social demographics and backgrounds. In all honesty, I can’t really blame them people for being so messed up in their heads. This world is so utterly twisted, that the majority of people out there are suffering from some form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
I come from a tight knit community on the beautiful East Coast of South Africa, where I lived for 23 years. My decision to spread my wings and go abroad to London, was partly rooted in the need to escape the small town mentality, where one was judged for being different or not conforming to the narrow minded expectations of others. One of the most liberating things for me about going to London, was that nobody knew me, and I knew nobody, and thus, I did not care what anybody else thought of me, and nobody cared enough to try to pigeon hole me into their ideologies. In fact in London, I could be anything I wanted to be, as there were so many different types of people running around, that my uniqueness was pale in comparison to some. I especially loved hanging out in places like Camden Town due to the vast artistic diversity of people who frequented, lived and worked there. I never felt like a total freak there, because there were far crazier, and more freakier people than I, in the various corners of Camden Market. Equally, I embraced my move to Holland, with it’s open minded attitudes and liberal policies. I mostly lived in the Hague on the beach front, which is was a great part of the world to be for a while.
The down side to living in big cities as opposed to small communities, is the actual lack of community feeling. Indeed, in some places we lived, we never ever saw or met our neighbours. For a while this was something I just lived with, but eventually the disconnection begins to eat away at your soul, and thus, I began to crave the community feeling which in my youth, I had found so stifling and suffocating.
When we moved to the Algarve in July 2017, I really embraced the community feeling that was missing in the big city environments. I started to participate in local markets, not because I needed the revenue, but because I wanted to integrate into the local community. I never forgot how moved I was the very first time I attended the Barao de Sao Joao market (formerly known as the Hippie Market) which used to take place on the forth Sunday of every month. I remember thinking to myself, “I want in on this scene”, because of the intense community spirit that was so prevalent. Sadly, this market has all but been ended for various reasons, in March 2019, but the year that we participated in the market, was one of the best years of my life. I also regularly participated in Lagoa Bio Market, whilst it was still running, along with various events and festivals such as FAVA vegan food festival. I met so many interesting people, and I totally embraced the out of the box, artistic, alternative community vibe of people looking to create a better world.
I have lived in Lagoa and Carvoeiro since I arrived in the Algarve four years ago. Despite the many wonderful times we have had, places we have been to, and people we have met, we have also had some real challenges, which I have chronicled in my various blog posts such at THE TOLL OF 2020, THE TOLL OF 2021, CBD SCAMMERS STRIKE AGAIN, EXODUS and FROM ROTTEN ROOTS COME ROTTEN FRUITS, the latter of course detailing the root and source of many of the issues and rumours that I have dealt within this blog post, and indeed, which connects to many of the other issues we have experienced.
It almost feels as if there has been a concerted effort in an attempt to bully us out of town. The problem with that is that the toxic nasties underestimate us. We are far too strong for them, because we know one simple secret about life: THE TRUTH WILL ALWAYS OUT LIVE A LIE. No matter what they say in an attempt to hurt our reputation, they can’t hurt us, because the people that matter, know the truth.
It is only the bottom feeding scum who would seize upon such false filth and give it any space within their sick realities. People with integrity and intelligence look for proof, truth and fact, and in the end, it is only people with integrity who’s opinions actually matter. And besides, I honestly do not care what anybody thinks or says about me. I know I live a life of utmost integrity… And when I go to bed at night, I go happy and I sleep peacefully. I like the person I see when I look in the mirror, and ultimately, I know who I am.
Despite all that, I have stuck it out here, because I really wanted to make it work within a small community setting. Despite some of the challenges and nastiness we have had to face, I still believe that as a community, we are stronger. It is not just the hatred of foreigners I have experienced from Portuguese people, it is nastiness amongst the Expat community too, which has been rather appalling, and I am not the only one who has noticed it. There are quite a few sensitive souls who will not even socialise with their fellow local expats, due to their toxicity. Alcohol abuse, drug abuse, spouse and child abuse, criminal activity, gossip, bad lifestyle and life choices plague many within the Algarve Expat community. This place is paradise, but paradise comes at a price. One has to literally fight through a hoard of pirates before they find their blissful corner of the paradise.
But in the end, when you stand in your truth and hold your head up high, nothing can touch you, rather those that try to bring you down, do more damage to themselves as they expose their true nature. I just feel sorry for them. It must be hard to be that toxic and soul sick, and I hope they find inner peace someday.
Peace Love Unity Respect
Mel Ve
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