Journey of Life!

Yesterday was another great day for me in Gran Alacant.  My job is going well at Dunbars. I am working with some great people and am being taught some amazing stuff, by some Knowledgeable colleagues. It does seem weird, doesn't it, that so far, since moving to Spain, I personally have not got a bad word to say, about the people I have met here. That is not true about every aspect of Spain, but so far the residents have been everything I could have hoped for and more.  One has to remember, this is only the beginning of my time in Spain, so as I move forwards and begin to integrate further into this community, my views may of course change. It is literally a matter of time and judgement!

I was a very poor judge of character.  That was one of my downfalls in life.  Being able to tell the bad from the good, was always a problem and it has caused me no end of problems in the past.  Nasty people, who have an alternative agenda are very good at pretending to be, all things to all people.  Even the worst of people, can project an air of normality and calm.  To them, this is just a way of gaining something from you, in order to further their own ends, as I can testify!  Even today, even after what I have been through, I still find it hard to work people out. Maybe I do know how to work individuals out, maybe I just don´t want to, take them on face value or just foolishly block out, what I really know is true. Whatever the reason, even at forty four years old, I have to change.

Taking advice from others is an important aspect to learning from your mistakes.  I am a great listener and am listening to all those who wish to share their words, for all the right reasons.  Most people who live here, have had property for at least ten years or more and they know the local community well.  Their help has and indeed is invaluable.  There are all sorts of people living and working in an area of about 30,000 people.  Everyone from different walks of life, each person with a different past and all of us mixing together, in a melting pot of views and opinions. Inevitably, there will be problems, gossip and rumblings from some of the less savoury individuals, in future, but these are things we will have to deal with in time, as we integrate further.

We were given lots of free advice last night, from three people, who know all too well, what this place can be like.  At the moment, we see things through rose tinted glasses and believe that living here, will be the saviour of all our problems, everything is perfect and there are no bad people living in GA.  Well as we are fully aware, now, that could not be further from the truth.  All communities have rotten eggs, gossips and stirrers.  We have all met that person, who presses buttons and winds people up, tells lies and pushes people to their limits.  In many respects, It can be an aspect of human nature to actually act in the most distasteful way, in order to get a reaction.  Cause and effect if you will!  These sorts of people, like to play games.  Other peoples lives make for some truly fun times for others, always at the expense of people, who's only failing, was to trust someone they shouldn't. I think all of us know someone like that and many more of us, know a lot of them. Even the most astute person can be fooled by someone else, someone clever, someone devious, into believing that they are a true friend.  Manipulators can be perfect at getting what they want and if they don't, that's when things start to get nasty.  I, like many of my readers, have had first hand experience of this and the aftermath is not pretty.  The debris left behind is beyond measure and picking up the pieces can be very difficult.

People come to Spain for many different reasons.  Many come here to retire.  The weather is the selling point.  When you suffer with ailments in old age, the sun can be a great cure.  Arthritis almost disappears, depression becomes unimportant and many of the harsh realities of British life no longer rate.  After all the climate is a great healer in Spain.  It really can solve, not everything, but  at least a large measure of what people in Northern Europe suffer with.  Other people have come to Spain to work. Freedom of movement in Europe is important, and as much as people like me, have come to work here, many more Spanish take up opportunities in The UK.  Work life can be hard in Spain, with high unemployment and restrictive employment laws being a major stumbling block.  However if you are prepared to work hard and have the right attitude, then life here is good.  Then there are those who are running away from something, usually themselves, but of course they would say different.

It can be easy to restart your life in a foreign land, Darrell and I have done it many times before and although initially difficult, for me, I have settled in better than I would have ever expected, unlike past endeavours.  This was a bit like a last chance saloon, at the beginning, and last chance saloons never work.  This was more about the way I perceived our situation back then, when actually, it would have been better to look at it as a positive, forward thinking step.  It wasn't until I came here, realising that this was our life now, our new home and our future, that my outlook changed. As a rule I hate being forced to do anything, it is not in my nature, but this forced move, has become the best move, the only move, the first move of the rest of our life together.

I have no idea how long we will be living in Spain, but with our plans to also live with family in Croatia for a while, finally ending our life's journey in Australia, we have much to be thankful for.  The journey of life is not supposed to be easy, if it was, we would never learn anything.  Although our life has been hard, for me, now is the easiest part.  Finally living the life I always wanted, away from the dreadful influences of the past and without the turmoil that engulfed our life for so long!

​Peace and love always!

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