Uncovering the World, Uncovering Myself

A reflection on truth, perspective, and what awakens when you stop seeing the world through the container you were born into.

Leaving a Country Is Easy — Leaving Its Lens Takes Years

When I left the Netherlands twenty-four years ago, I believed I was simply relocating to Greece. What I didn’t realise was that although my surroundings changed, the Dutch lens I had grown up with remained firmly in place. My thoughts, assumptions, judgments, and interpretations of the world were still shaped by the country I came from. Only many years later did I begin to understand that physically moving does not mean mentally or emotionally stepping out of the worldview you were raised in. That shift happens slowly, and almost invisibly, until one day something inside you begins to question everything you once took for granted.

The Turning Point: The Greek Crisis and the Shock of Misreporting

Around 2015, after already living without a television for some time, I stopped following the Dutch news entirely. At first it was a practical decision, but the real rupture came during the Greek financial crisis between 2015 and 2018. I was living here, witnessing daily life, speaking with people, understanding the complexity and nuance of the situation. Yet when I read how Dutch media portrayed Greece, it was as if they were reporting on a completely different country. The simplifications, the moralising tone, the inaccuracies — the distance between what I lived and what they described was enormous.

That experience created a deep crack in my trust. I remember sitting with the thought: if this is how they report on Greece, a European neighbour, how must they be reporting on countries much further away? Was this just an exception, or had I simply never noticed the distortions before when I was still inside the Dutch container? From that moment on, the unquestioned belief in mainstream narratives began to dissolve.

The Beginning of Clarity: Turning Off the Noise

Once I stopped following the Dutch news, and once the background noise disappeared, something new opened inside me. In that silence, I finally had space to sense the world directly rather than through someone else’s interpretation. Only then did I begin to see how deeply coloured and limited every national lens really is. You cannot see the boundaries of your container when you live inside it. You only recognise it when you step outside — when the familiar filters fall away, and you start perceiving life from your own lived experience rather than a pre-packaged narrative.

The Cycle of Living Abroad: Idealisation → Frustration → Acceptance

Most people who move abroad pass through a similar cycle. First comes the idealisation, when everything feels beautiful, charming and refreshing. Then comes the frustration, when the differences become irritating and you begin to believe you know better because you come from a more “efficient” or “organised” place. And only after years of living in another culture do you reach true acceptance: the understanding that this place works in its own way, that “different” does not mean “wrong,” and that your home country is not the universal standard.

This process teaches humility and gratitude. It expands your understanding of humanity and systems. And it is one of the reasons I believe every person, at least once in their lifetime, should live in another country. Nothing expands your consciousness faster than experiencing life outside the worldview you inherited.

The Hypocrisy of Nations: Seeing What Was Always There

Distance also reveals uncomfortable truths. You begin to see the hypocrisy with which countries lecture one another about economics, democracy, transparency or human rights, while ignoring their own failures. Nations behave like individuals who have never examined their own shadows: they demand behaviour from others that they themselves do not embody. From the outside, the contradictions become obvious, and the moral superiority collapses. It becomes clear that the world is full of opinions disguised as truth, and power disguised as virtue.

This clarity raises a natural question: who decides that one country has the authority to instruct another? And where, in all of this, is humility, honesty, and respect? Once you step out of your container, the answers become much less comfortable — and much more truthful.

Becoming a World Citizen (Without Needing a World Government)

Over the years I realised that I was no longer mentally Dutch, but I hadn’t become Greek either. Something else had happened: I had stepped into a broader sense of identity, a feeling of belonging to the world itself rather than to a single flag or narrative. I don’t mean this in a political sense — I do not believe in a world government or a unified system. I value the diversity of cultures and structures far too much. What I long for is something simpler and more universal: honesty, respect, and integrity. Qualities that seem increasingly rare in political reality — perhaps because they were never truly present.

Living abroad reshaped me into a version of myself that sees the world less through national stories and more through human experience.

When You Outgrow Your Lens, You Also Outgrow Some People

A significant part of this inner shift is something few people speak about: when you step outside your original worldview, you may no longer align with people who remain inside it. Friends and relatives who once understood you may suddenly feel distant. When you begin questioning beliefs they never question, your new perspective can feel threatening to their stability. They may see you as the one who changed too much, or the one who challenges the worldview they rely on.

This is not a failure; it is part of evolution. Not everyone can or will follow you. Some need to stay rooted in the world they know. And as you expand, some connections naturally fade while new ones arrive — people who share your clarity, who understand the journey, and who speak the same inner language. Life reorganises your relationships to match your evolving consciousness.

The Moment You Stop Believing Automatically

The more distance I gained — from Dutch narratives, from old beliefs, from inherited truths — the more clearly I saw how much of my worldview had been shaped without my awareness. At this stage of my life, I no longer believe anything automatically. Not what I was taught in school, not what governments or institutions present as unquestionable truth, and certainly not what media frames as reality. This is not a loss of trust in the world but a deepening of trust in myself. Unlearning has become an essential part of awakening.

Why the Pendulum Came Into My Life

During the time when everything I believed was dissolving, the pendulum came into my life — not as a spiritual decoration or a mystical identity, but as a tool to recalibrate my inner compass. When the outer compass of “official truth” no longer felt reliable, the pendulum allowed me to listen to energy, resonance and intuition instead. It helped me rebuild clarity when the world around me was full of contradictions. In many ways, it helped me stand in my own sovereignty at a time when old systems were crumbling.

A World in Transition: The System Is Cracking

Today we are living through a period of global transition. Power structures are shifting. Narratives that once felt solid are dissolving. Countries can no longer hide behind polished façades. And as these external systems crack, individuals around the world are experiencing a parallel inner process. More of us are questioning, unlearning and re-evaluating what we once accepted without thought. We are moving from national containers to a helicopter view of humanity, and the transition is both unsettling and profoundly necessary.

When the World Uncovers Itself, You Are Invited to Do the Same

Uncovering the world and uncovering yourself are not separate journeys; they unfold together. As the outer narratives reveal their limitations, the inner ones do too. And once you have seen through the filters and stories, you cannot return to the version of yourself who believed them without question.

The only path is forward — deeper, clearer, more sovereign, more aligned with your own truth.

If this reflection speaks to you … my upcoming “Uncover the Real You” retreat is created exactly for this. A space to step out of old lenses, reconnect with your own truth,and see yourself — and the world — with new clarity. If you feel the pull, you’re warmly invited.

Photo: Walking Into a Wider World