As I was traveling to the mystical city of Safed (in Northern Israel) this past weekend I overheard a conversation between an elderly man and a soldier. As his beloved grandson said goodbye I heard him say "Our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too."
As they waved goodbye he asked me "Did you ever say goodbye to someone knowing it might be forever?" "Yes", I replied (reminiscing about the memories I had of expressing love and appreciation for all my own grandfather had done for me.)
After they finished speaking, I humbly asked the "saba" (grandfather) what he meant when he said "I wish you enough".
With a smile he answered "That's a wish that has been handed down from generation to generation. My parents used to say it to everyone. 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 then shared the following as if he were reciting 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 through that last "goodbye".
Dear friends I wish you "enough. It takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but an entire life to forget them."
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