--------Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

“I wish you enough”

  At an airport I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together. Her plane’s departure had been announced and, standing near the door, she said, “Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. You love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, daddy.”

  They kissed good-bye and she left. He walked over toward the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me by asking, “did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?”

  “Yes, I have,” I replied.

  Saying that brought back memories I had of expressing my love and appreciation for all my dad had done for me. Recognizing that his days were limited, I took the time to tell him face to face how much he meant to me. So I knew what this man was experiencing.

  “Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?” I inquired.

  “I am old and she lives much too far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is, her next trip back will be for my funeral,” he said.

  “When you were saying good-bye I heard you say, ‘I wish you enough.’ May I ask what that means?”

  A smile formed on his lips. “That’s a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.”

  He paused for a moment and, looking up as if trying to remember it in detail, he smiled even more.

  “When we said ‘I wish you enough,’ we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with enough good things to sustain them.” He continued.

  After a brief pause for reflection, he shared the following as if he was reciting them from memory: I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright. I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more. I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive. I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger. I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting. I wish enough ‘hellos’ to get you through the final ‘good-bye.’ He then began to sob and walked away.

  They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but, then an entire lifetime to forget them.

                                                From <Women Today>

文中诗句译文为：

我希望你拥有足够的阳光以明亮你的态度，

我希望你拥有足够的雨露而更加感激太阳，

我希望你拥有足够的幸福以充沛你的精神，

我希望你拥有足够的痛苦来蔓延你生命中最小的快乐，

我希望拥有足够的简单问候而穿越最终的分别。