Alma is so restless. She can never get settled.
She’s constantly looking for something. One day she wants this, the next day she wants that.
Back and forth, she jumps and says: “I want, I want, I want!”
“How nice it would be if… oh, I want so much, so much….
and everything would be so much better with it!”
Sometimes she longs for books, clothes, or toys.
Sometimes she dreams of sweet treats and wants to snack non-stop!
Sometimes she’s drawn to the world and wants adventures and just fun and play.
But most of the time, it is feelings she is looking for. She wants to feel small and cuddly, like a teddy bear.
Then she wants to know a lot, ideally all at the same time!
Yes, our Alma wants a whole lot, a whole lot, a whole lot!
Only silence… she never finds.
Some days she says to herself: this time it’s different.
I’ll look for the biggest, the best, and the most beautiful thing and then I’ll be happy and never need to look for anything again.
But as soon as she gets what she was wishing for, she feels a little out of place.
Somehow, it feels like the thing she has received isn’t what she wants after all.
Something is missing
One day, when Alma is once again calming her unrest, she almost stumbles over Mr. Turtle, who has set up camp in the middle of a field.
Alma stops, astonished. Mr. Turtle hardly seems to be moving. Why would he do such a thing? Alma doesn’t understand it at all.
“Mr. Turtle,” she says as patiently as she can, “what are you doing?”
“I’m on my way,” says Mr. Turtle with a smile.
“But at this pace, you’ll never get there!” cries Alma in surprise.
Mr. Turtle replies calmly: “It all depends on the destination you are on.”
Now Alma jumps up on one leg and shouts:
“Yes, but tell me, Mr. Turtle, where is the journey going?”
With small but focused steps, Mr Turtle slowly advances, he smiles and mutters: “Purpose”.
Alma stops, perplexed, and looks at Mr Turtle.
It takes a long time, because Mr Turtle is really slow. But Alma, so surprised, doesn’t even notice the time passing.
“Purpose? Where is this place, Purpose?”
Curiosity doesn’t leave Alma for a second. Even the next day, she ponders and thinks:
“I have to find Mr Turtle and ask him again. I’ll go in the same direction and when I find him, I’ll ask him for the way again.”
Because, secretly, Alma hopes that this wonderful place called Purpose is, in fact, the one thing she has always been looking for without realising it.
She marches for some time and soon sees a sea to her right. Wild and stormy, challenging and a little scary, that is her first impression.
But with trust in her heart, she goes on. She gets in tune with the unknown rhythm of the sea and from time to time she plays catch with the waves.
And then, quite unexpectedly, Alma finds herself in the enchanting steppe. She gently touches the soft grasses and bushes with her fingertips as she wanders through them, waltzing.
Silence’s vastness touches her profoundly.
Alma gleefully taps across the flat lakes, she refreshes herself at the peaceful babbling streams.
She marvels tenderly at the lush green of nature that surrounds her.
She breathes in and out deeply. Everything seems so new to her.
She wanders joyfully through the woods and doesn’t even realise how dark it is inside the forest.
She tiptoes between the trees and realises that she herself is the light that brightens her path.
Now the darkness is no longer darkness for her.
As soon as she has left the woods, Alma arrives at a a majestic rose garden. She is so enchanted by the beauty of the roses.
Alma decides to carry this beauty in her mind from now on so that she can enjoy it every day.
She simply closes her eyes and sees the marvellous splendour before her.
Night falls and Alma is standing on a vast field. Here she wants to rest.
Only when she lies down to sleep she sees the sparkling firmament above her.
She has never seen such a starry night! And with this joy, Alma slumbers gently into the land of dreams.
Alma wakes up in the morning and is taken by surprise by another amazing sight.
There is a pink-coloured sky and slowly, tentatively, she sees the sun crawling out.
She feels such a sweet tranquility inside her.
Alma sits quietly and marvels at the enchanting sunrise.
And just as the sun proudly takes its place Alma suddenly notices a green figure resting just a few metres from her.
Mr Turtle!
“Mr Turtle!” calls Alma, stumbling towards Mr Turtle.
“Mr Turtle! Finally I see you again! Tell me, please, have we reached our destination?
Is this the place called Purpose?”
He chuckles lovingly. Then he falls silent. And Alma too. They both look at the sky in silence.
After a while, Mr Turtle says:
“My dear Alma. You’re looking in the right place. But you’re not looking in the right direction yet. On your journey, you saw all these beautiful places, you were always surrounded by this certain magic.
But what if this place called Purpose is not in the world surrounding you but in the world …within you?”
Well, Alma looks surprised!
“In me?
The Purpose is within me?”
Alma closes her eyes in amazement and tries to peek into herself.
Suddenly she smiles.
Mr Turtle nods.
And so here they are, both sitting and enjoying this wondrous place called Purpose.
The end.