Inspirational story: The secret meaning behind "I wish you enough"

It was a nice and warm sunny day in the middle of the summer when a young family was at the airport waiting for its flight to their vacation. This was the first time for the young daughter to travel on a plane and she was feeling quite nervous. So her father decided to play a game with her. The rules of the game were simple. Whoever finds a father and a daughter going on their vacation to the same destination is the winner. The little girl immediately started looking for a daddy-daughter couple and started listening to their conversation. Her dad was always near her and also paid attention to what his little one was doing. After a few quick “spy missions” they came across an older man with his daughter which was around the age most are when they finish college. Both the dad and the daughter watched the two as they were saying their goodbyes. As the airport staff announced the departure of a plane the elderly man hugged his daughter, kissed her on her forehead, and said, “I love you, I wish you enough.” She hugged him back and said, “I love you too, I also wish you enough.” Then she boarded her plane.

The little girl asked her father what did they mean by, “I wish you enough.” The father replied that he doesn’t know, but will ask the elderly man. “Excuse me, sir, I am sorry to intrude, but I and my daughter were playing a game and we heard you and your daughter say to each other, “I wish you enough”. And if you don’t mind we were wondering what is the meaning of this wish?” The elderly man smiled, “That is a wish that in my family is handed down for many generations. My parents always wished me and my brothers and sisters the same. The message of the saying is very simple but at the same time powerful. When we wish this to someone we wish for them to have a life filled with just enough good and bad things and situations so they can experience and appreciate life as much as they can.”

The little girl looked at her father confused and asked, “Daddy why would you wish bad things to someone?” Her dad was speechless, and as the elderly man saw how confused the little girl’s dad was he gently smiled at them both and asked the little girl, “When it rains outside, what do you wish the most?” The girl says, “I wish for the rain to stop and for the sun to come so I can go play outside.” The elderly man smiles even more, ” and when it finally stops raining, what happens then?” Now the little girl smiles back at the elderly man and looks at her dad, “Then we all get to play outside and have so much fun!” “And has it ever occurred that there was no rain for many days and that you were outside every day?” asked the elderly man. “Yes,” said the little girl. “And have you had so much fun and felt so happy each day as you had the first day?” The little girl looked confused. She looked at her dad, then the elderly man, then looked down and said, “No. We always do more stuff and have more fun on the very first day or maybe the first two days. After that, we do what we always do. It’s nice, but not so much fun as the first day.” Now her dad was sad to hear that, as he knew that they take most sunny days for granted.

The elderly man said, “That is normal. Tell me one more thing little one. When your mom makes you your favorite meal, which bite tastes most delicious?” Again the little one looks at her dad confused. “Well it’s my favorite food, I like it very much.” “Hmmm… Do you always eat everything that is on your plate?” asks the elderly man. “No,” says the little girl. “And do your parents ever make you eat everything that you have on your plate?” Now the little girl looked angry at her dad, crossed her arms, and said, “Yes they do.” Her dad was again shocked at his daughter’s reaction. “And when they do that, is the food still that good as it was when you first came to the table hungry and took that first bite?” The little girl looked at her dad with a sad look and said, “Please don’t tell mommy. But when I’m not hungry anymore and you make me finish my plate the food doesn’t taste that good anymore. Sometimes it even makes me sick.” The little girl’s dad knelt down and gave his daughter the biggest hug she had gotten in a while.

The elderly man waited for a couple of moments then continued his explanation, “When I say “I wish you enough,” 

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear. 

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more. 

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting. 

I wish you just enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger. 

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wishes, and I wish you just enough loss to appreciate all that you possess. 

And most importantly I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.” 

The little girl looked at her father, smiled, and said, “Daddy I love you. I wish you enough.” The father with a tear in his eye looked at his little girl and wished her the same. Then they  both thanked the elderly man for his time and explanation and said their goodbye by saying, “We wish you enough.”