I realize I repeat this wish every single Jan 1st. It is one of the messages truly worth repeating. Credits go to my dear friend Larry Mason who introduced me to this many moons ago…

“I wish you enough!”
By Bob Perks
I never really thought that I’d spend as much time in airports as I do. I don’t know why. I always wanted to be famous and that would mean lots of travel. But I’m not famous, yet I do see more than my share of airports.
I love them and I hate them. I love them because of the people I get to watch. But they are also the same reason why I hate airports. It all comes down to “hello” and “goodbye.”I must have mentioned this a few times while writing my stories for you.
I have great difficulties with saying goodbye. Even as I write this I am experiencing that pounding sensation in my heart. If I am watching such a scene in a movie I am affected so much that I need to sit up and take a few deep breaths. So when faced with a challenge in my life I have been known to go to our local airport and watch people say goodbye. I figure nothing that is happening to me at the time could be as bad as having to say goodbye.
Watching people cling to each other, crying, and holding each other in that last embrace makes me appreciate what I have even more. Seeing them finally pull apart, extending their arms until the tips of their fingers are the last to let go, is an image that stays forefront in my mind throughout the day.
On one of my recent business trips, when I arrived at the counter to check in, the woman said, “How are you today?” I replied, “I am missing my wife already and I haven’t even said goodbye.”
She then looked at my ticket and began to ask, “How long will you…Oh, my God. You will only be gone three days!” We all laughed. My problem was I still had to say goodbye.
But I learn from goodbye moments, too.
Recently I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together. They had announced her departure and standing near the security gate, they hugged and he said, “I love you. I wish you enough.” She in turn 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 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 goodbye 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 experiencing.
“Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever goodbye?” I asked.
“I am old and she lives much too far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is, the next trip back would be for my funeral,” he said.
“When you were saying goodbye 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 just 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 “Hello’s” to get you through the final “Goodbye.”
He then began to sob and walked away.

—
My friends, I wish you enough!

This Thanksgiving, I have been somewhat overwhelmed by a lot of of FB friends posting a standard body of text that basically reminds all of us about the less fortunate among us. And as a measure of support, the posts want me to copy and paste the same post on my FB page for an hour.

I absolutely respect everybody’s right to express their opinions and emotions in their own way, provided it is not meant to harm anybody. And if cutting and pasting a standard body of text for an hour gives anybody a sense of standing in solidarity with the less fortunate, I say “Go for it”. Any thought counts.

However, if you could spare a second to think for a moment more, maybe there is a more effective way of turning your compassion into something that is a little more meaningful? Does seeing your cut and paste text really make any difference to the less fortunate ones? Assuming they are trolling your FB pages to catch the text within the hour that it is posted? Is that even the way they want to be recognized by others?

Again, if that is what gives anybody the sense  of accomplishment or compassion or expression of the same, then do it. Drop that “I will understand if I do not see your name” part, though. That is too patronizing.

It appears to me that there are more meaningful ways to show the same compassion. I am sure you know somebody less fortunate. Somebody whose parents passed away recently. Somebody who lost a child. Somebody who is having difficulty making ends meet. Somebody who is struggling with health issues…. Why not log off that FB and call one of them up? Talk to them for ten minutes. Visit them if you can. Find out how are they doing. Everybody has a story. Bring it out.

And then, if you wish, write on FB about the call and the story. Now that is a post I am going share and put on my FB page. Forget one hour. I am not ever bringing that post down.

“Nasha zaroori hai zingadi ke liye,
Par sharab hi nahi be khudi ke liye,
Kisi ki mast ankhon main dobo ja Saqi*,
Bara haseen samander hai khudkashi ke liye!”

Roughly translated… (improvements welcome)

“Getting intoxicated is surely necessary in life
But alcohol is not the only way to lose your self
Try drowning in somebody’s intoxicating eyes, my Saqi*
It is but the most beautiful ocean you can die in!!!”

*Saqi refers usually to your lady companion you are drinking with

Durga Pujo – the one time in the year, the Bengali diaspora in the world comes out in resplendent colors and simply gorgeous ethnic dresses and congregate around wherever the local festivities are being held. I suspect this is equally true for Bengalis in native Bengal but I have not seen a Pujo in Bengal for over half my life – so, I cannot speak from personal experience.

It is also, I suspect, the season for Facebook to upgrade their backend hard drives to deal with the sudden deluge of FB picture posts and profile updates of scintillating ladies and not-to-be-left-behind-in-their-looks husbands. At a very high level of pixel granularity too, thanks to the latest phones that I am yet to figure out how to make a quiet phone call from 🙂

But to me, this is also a great way to say “Hi” to a lot of old friends and families that I barely get to see during the year and make some new friends. I have to admit that with my terrible ability to remember names, the meeting of old friends and families often becomes embarrassing. However, I am the first one to admit that I am going to hit 50 in a few more months and therefore, I should be given a excuse 🙂

My most delightful moments in life is still with kids. Today, I was able to spend an hour with my runner friend Manas’s daughter. Frankly, I do not know (or rather do not remember) her name. And she had no ability to communicate with me – unless spitting at me is considered to be a form of communication. Some might actually concur 🙂

It is not the cherubic beauty of babies that gets me. It is their inability to understand TIME that mesmerizes me. Look at her. She has no comprehension of what is time. She does not know what five minutes back means. She has no idea of an hour from now means. She is absolutely in the NOW. There is no time for her than just NOW.

“That shiny thing on him? Interesting!! I am going to pull it.” She has no comprehension that it is the watch that someday will tell her time when she is supposed to have food – whether she is hungry or not. As of now, it is something to tug at.

“That black looking thing under my chin? I wonder how it tastes. Let me stick out my tongue to find it out.” She has no idea that a few minutes back she had already tasted my shirt and decided that it was not eminently edible. She has no ability to talk about “experiences”. Her mind is but a blank slate.

She is absolutely in the NOW.

For the folks who have a deeper understanding of spirituality (regardless of the religion you profess), would probably realize this to be the ultimate goal of meditation. Control your mind to live the only moment that is true – NOW.

Every time we fold our hands and close our eyes and bow our head to Ma Durga, that is what we are trying to do – focus our mind to be with the ONE.

And with that picture of a rather startled baby trying to understand why the uncle (and her dad) was disrupting her actions to get her to focus on some weird rectangular stuff her dad was holding … “Happy Durga Puja” to all of you.

This morning my blogsite “History of my Future! (First Draft)!!” – (www.rajibroy.com) got a visitor from the 100th country! I had always thought that the hundredth country from where I will get a visitor would be some distant small country. Turns out it is almost next door to us – Honduras. Not sure what having readers from hundred different countries really means but figured hundred cannot be bad. What was that old saying about you cannot fool all the people all the time? 🙂

[BTW, there is only one friend I know of – Sharmistha Kolay – who can name the countries for all the hundred flags – and just about any other flag that is there in this world. I might be able to name about ten]