The Inspiring Meaning Behind the Phrase “I Wish You Enough!”

Recently while boarding a flight, I heard a father and daughter in their last moment together at the airport. As the daughter was about to enter the gate, they hugged, and the father said, “I love you and I wish you enough.”

To this, the daughter replied, “Our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, dad.” And with that they kissed and she left.

As the father walked over to the window near where I was seated, I could tell that he had all these emotions and that he wanted to cry.

I didn’t want to seem presumptuous, but he seemed eager to talk to someone. He asked me, “Have you ever said goodbye to someone knowing it would be forever?”

Have you ever said goodbye knowing that it will be forever?

His question made me think. So I replied, “Yes, I have. Though please forgive me for asking, but why would that be your final goodbye to your daughter?”

The father didn’t seem to mind my question, and instead welcomed it. He said, “Well, I’m already old, and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead of me, and to be realistic, the next time she flies back here may be for my funeral.”

I was taken aback by his honesty, but I had to ask, “When you were saying goodbye, you said ‘I wish you enough?’ May I ask what that means?”

He smiled and said, “That’s a wish that has been handed down for generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.”

He paused for a moment and smiled as if trying to remember something, “When we say ‘I wish you enough,’ it’s like saying we want the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.”

He then leaned closer and said,

“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 enough pain, so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear 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 goodbye.”

He said this as if this were a mantra he has held on to his entire life. And in knowing that he has shared this wisdom with someone, he smiled and walked away.

So take time to live your life just enough. Appreciate the joy, and take a moment to know the purpose of your pain. Share this with your family and friends, and say, “I wish you enough.”