I WISH YOU ENOUGH
Powerful Advice From Bob Perks
Did you ever say goodbye to someone knowing it would be forever?
“That’s a wish that has been handed down from other generations,” he replied. “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 just enough good things to sustain them.”
This is a question Bob Perks addresses in his book, “I Wish You Enough: Embracing Life’s Most Valuable Moments One Wish at a Time.” A series of anecdotes celebrating life’s most important moments, Perks shares a story about a trip to the airport, where he watched a man and his adult daughter share a tearful goodbye. As they hugged, the father said, “I love you. I wish you enough.” The daughter replied, “Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough too, Daddy.” They kissed and the daughter went to catch her flight. Though the father was on the verge of tears, when he saw Perks, the man asked, “Did you ever say goodbye to someone knowing it would be forever?” The father went on to explain that his daughter lived very far away and due to his own health problems, he knew the next time she flew out would be for his funeral. Perks then asked what the father meant when he told his daughter, “I wish you enough.”
After a moment, the man smiled and recited the old blessing 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 goodbye.” Life is full of ups and downs, but it doesn’t take a lot to be happy. All we need in life is enough and to find that “enough,” we just need to be willing to embrace the beautiful moments life has to offer.
I wish you enough.
THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY OF
3 A W E S O M E D A D S
Fathers Who Put Their Lives on the Line for Their Kids
in the side and when that didn’t work he leapt onto its back and started punching it in the face. When the bear finally released Gabriel, Greg threw rocks until it fled. His son was hurt but made a full recovery in the hospital over the coming weeks.
This Father’s Day, thousands of dads will receive a “No. 1 Dad” mug to sip coffee out of at the office. But the following dads took that “No. 1” to a new level.
Brian Munn gave his son a liver transplant.
Artur Magomedov saved his daughters from ISIS.
When doctors discovered that baby Caleb Munn had a rare disease called biliary atresia, they told his parents that he was unlikely to survive past age 2 without a liver transplant. Luckily, his father was a perfect match and he eagerly donated part of his liver in March of 2015 to save his son’s life.
Artur Magomedov was devastated to discover that his wife had taken his 3- and 10-year-old daughters from their home in Dagestan under the cover of night, flown to Turkey and crossed into Syria to join ISIS. But he resolved to get his kids back. After a long, hazardous journey, he arrived in Tabqa to embrace his two daughters. To leave the caliphate — under penalty of death — they hitched a ride to the border one night and crawled along a railway line until they were within 70 meters of the border. Then they ran under fire from Turkish border guards until they could scramble into tall grasses. After some help from the Russian consulate in Istanbul, they made it back home, together again and safe.
Greg Alexander battled a bear for his son’s life.
While camping in the backcountry of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Greg Alexander was startled awake at dawn by the screams of his 16-year-old son, Gabriel. He rushed out of his hammock to see a black bear dragging his son away by the head. Without hesitation, he kicked the beast
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