At an airport I overheard an old man and his daughter in their last moments together. They had announced her plane’s departure and standing near the door, he said to his daughter, “I love you, I wish you enough.”

She said, “Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your 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 in 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 asked.

“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?”

He began to smile. “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 and then turning toward me, he shared the following as if he 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 enough ‘Hellos’ to get you through the final ‘Good-bye’. ”

Happiness begins from appreciation

If you are feeling that life just cannot be any worse for you, it can be challenging to think positive. When stressed, depressed, upset or otherwise in a negative state of mind because you are aware that misfortune keeps occurring, it is important to shift those negative thoughts to something positive. 【小题1】

It is often very hard to think positive when so many things are negative, but be sure that someone, somewhere is worse off than you. 【小题2】 If you start with one small, positive thing and appreciate it during the course of your day, you will begin to move into a more positive situation and people will start showing up in your life. With appreciation, you will find that over time, you will change your outlook and choose to be happy, regardless of the events around you. 【小题3】

● Begin and end each day with a “Thank you for this wonderful, glorious day!”

● When you see the rise of gas prices, say “I am so glad to have a vehicle in which to get around.”

● When your boss is too hard on you, say “I am grateful for my job as I know that many don’t have one.”

● If you are having health problems, be grateful for what does work: “I really do appreciate it that my eyes see, my ears hear, my mouth tastes, my legs walk, my arms lift and my mind thinks and everything else works.”

● Write down what you’re grateful for each day. In moments when you’re feeling really down, read loud what you wrote previously. 【小题4】 If you practice this regularly, you will find your list getting longer and longer.

The key is to move yourself into a positive thought and keep it there long enough to make it a moment of appreciation. 【小题5】

So don’t lose the child that still lives within you. The next time you feel down, go turn on your favorite song, and sing and dance along like there is no tomorrow. Or watch something that makes you laugh. Laughter is the best medicine to whatever ails you and nothing is better than laughing so hard that your tummy hurts. Trust me, you will feel a whole lot better, and who doesn’t want to feel good?