There is no black without white, likewise, there is no sadness without happiness. That’s why I wish you enough!
You need to experience bad stuff to be able to experience the good one.
Yet, we forget about it, so we tend to run away from what makes us suffer and chase what makes us feel good.
However, without the former, there wouldn’t be the latter.
Would you be able to value joy if you had never experienced trouble?
Would you be able to value a 2-week restoring holiday if you had not worked your ass off all year round?
If you only experience good things, you start taking them for granted and so you no longer appreciate them.
The irony is that you can get depressed since you don't get excited anymore.
Bad situations make you appreciate every good moment in your life much more.
“If you never tasted a bad apple, you would not appreciate a good apple. You have to experience life to understand life”. - Leon Brown
To make this point as clear as possible I am going to use an inspirational story you can find in the book - “I Wish You Enough: Embracing Life's Most Valuable Moments One Wish at a Time” by Bob Perks
If you have children, my advice is to read it in their company 😉
"I WISH YOU ENOUGH" - AN INSPIRATIONAL STORY
The story goes more or less like this:
It was a nice and warm sunny summer day when a young family was at the airport waiting for their flight to their holiday destination.
The young daughter had never traveled by plane before, and she was feeling quite nervous.
So her father decided to play a game with her.
The rule was quite simple: whoever finds a father and a daughter going on the same vacation is the winner.
The little girl started looking for a daddy-daughter couple and started listening to their conversation.
Shortly the little girl came across an old man with his daughter. They were saying goodbye to each other.
As the airport staff announced the departure of a plane, the elderly man hugged his daughter, kissed her on her forehead, and said, “I love you, darling, I wish you enough”.
She hugged him back and said, “I love you too, I also wish you enough.”
Then she boarded her plane.
THE MEANING OF "I WISH YOU ENOUGH"
The little girl asked her father what they meant by saying, “I wish you enough.”
The father didn’t have an answer, so he asked the elderly man.
“Excuse me, sir, I am sorry to disturb you, but my daughter and I were playing a game and we overheard you and your daughter say to each other, “I wish you enough”.
We were wondering what it means.
The elderly man smiled and replied, “This wish has been handed down for many generations in my family.
My parents always wished me and my siblings the same.
The meaning is very simple but at the same time powerful.
When we wish someone enough, we wish for them to have a life filled with just enough, both of good and bad things and situations, so they can appreciate life as much as possible”.
The little girl was confused and asked her dad, “Daddy, why would you wish bad things to someone?”
Her dad was speechless, and as the elderly man saw how confused he was, he gently smiled and asked the little girl, “When it rains outside, what do you wish the most?” The girl said, “I wish for the rain to stop and for the sun to come out, so I can go out and play.”
The elderly man smiled even more, and then went on, “What happens when it finally stops raining?”.
The little girl smiled back at the elderly man and looked at her dad, “Then we all get to play outside and have so much fun!”
“Did you ever feel as happy as that when it was sunny for many days and you could play outside every day? asked the elderly man.
“No”, replied the little girl.
The elderly man carried on, “We always have more fun at the beginning. After that, it's nice, but not as much fun as the first day.”
The elderly man explained, “When I say ‘I wish you enough' I mean:
I wish you just enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough gains to satisfy your wishes, and I wish you just enough losses to appreciate all that you possess".
The little girl looked at her father, smiled, and said, “Daddy, I love you. I wish you enough.”
The father with tears in his eyes looked at his little girl and wished her the same.
Then they both thanked the elderly man for his time and explanation and said their goodbyes, “We wish you enough.”
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
If you are a parent, I bet you wish to keep your children away from tough situations.
Life isn't all rainbows and unicorns, though.
There are more hardships to deal with than anyone could ever think about, and your children will not be spared from them.
However, only through these seasonal life periods will your children build resilience and prepare themselves for future life challenges.
What’s more, only by going through pain and suffering will they appreciate peaceful times.
It’s a matter of balance. Too much of a good thing backfires.
Think about your life for a moment.
If you had never made a mistake, then you’d probably know half of what you know today. If you had never had a challenge in your life, then you’d have never gone as far as you’ve gone.
Do you really believe you would be the person you are today if you had not gone through troubles?
Much of the knowledge we gain comes from hardships.
So, don’t fool yourself and other people by wishing that everything can go smoothly, follow the insight in the story instead and start saying, “I wish you enough”.
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