I Wish You Enough

This is excerpted from Bob Buford's enewsletter at ACTIVEenergy.net. I wish you enough! Enjoy

Jerry

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From the Mind of Bob ... Musings for Friends...

Leading a balanced life and the role of "small things"

Sometimes small things, unexpected things, surprising things can make a difference in our lives. Mostly, they seem to pass unnoticed as we pursue our 100X big deals. I find this distressingly the case for me most of the time. Linda says I’m too concerned with numbers. Maybe it's a guy thing to stay on task to keep our emotions in check, not to let the small things through. In the rush of getting through our endless to-do lists, we don't even "see" them.

Two "small things" happened to me last week that I let get through my stoic screening mechanism. One was an e-mail that unexpectedly overwhelmed me at my desk. (I allowed some private tears.) The other was a visit.

The e-mail was forwarded by Ron Fournier, who is the Chief Political Reporter for the Associated Press in Washington, DC. I have been networking him to some interesting sources for a book he's been working on about the intersections of new things in business, politics, and religion. Here’s the -email he forwarded:

"Recently, I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure. Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the mother said, "I love you and I wish you enough." The daughter replied, "Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Mom."

They kissed and the daughter left. The mother walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there, I could see she wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on her privacy but she welcomed me in by asking, "Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?"

"Yes, I have," I replied. "Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?"

She answered, "I am old and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is -- the next trip back will be for my funeral."

"When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough'. May I ask what that means?"

She began to smile. "That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone." She paused a moment and looked up, as if trying to remember it in detail, and she smiled even more. "When we said, 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them." Then, turning toward me, she shared the following as if she were reciting it 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 you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

She then began to cry 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 life to forget them.