# 33 I Wish You Enough...
A shell I found on my walk at Taiwhakaea Beach, a place where my soul laughs, cries and allow myself to walk side by side with the madness.
It's easy to feel let down by life, that our perceived good deeds somehow gives us a pass on less sh*ttier experiences in the future. Did I just make up a superlative for a swear word? Indeed. Bad things happen to good people, deal with it.
Being alone doesn't really bother me, I can easily go places by myself and enjoy my own company. It's only in social situations that I find it a bit harder, but that's only because there's some perceived social stigma behind it. No pressure to make communal decisions, and I can be as adventurous with food as my stomach allows. Still some days, my company does get stale.
So what do I want to write about today? What exceptional combination of words from the English language could I summon to bring an inspirational message that can flip the switch for you? Perhaps the magic lies in simplicity - I wish you enough. For seeing that beauty is in everything and I am a part of that everything. I am my choices, and I choose to live.
When I was 12, I couldn’t picture what my life would look like in my thirties. Now that I’m here, I don’t how society can expect 17 year olds, in their final year of high school, to make significant life decisions based on such minimal life experience.
Let’s face it, in terms of technology, the world has evolved at a crazy pace. I’m part of a generation with computers that ran on the DOS system and used dot matrix printers (until our the cat peed on it). As a kid, it was still cool to listen to the Top 40 countdown on the radio, record my favourite shows on a VHS tape, and at one stage our TV only had two channels. Nowadays everything is on demand, and we have become more impatient.
So, what is my measure of success? It’s in the choices of people in my circle. It’s seeing my dog’s goofy, drooly smile in the back seat. Sitting at the beach, falling asleep and waking up to an incredible view. Seeing current and past dance students embracing life. Discovering new music. Running into a long lost friend. There’s lots more I’m sure, and still I’m yet to discover. Definitely not my bank balance, that needs A LOT work haha.
Western society has conditioned us to think this our existence is linear - you’re born, you live, you die. Now, I plan to see out the rest of my life like a tree. Still growing, reaching to the sun, with infinite possibilities and growth, seasons and changes. I’m unrecognisable from the seedling I once was, setting down roots, being content with my patch of dirt. History is linear, lives and memories are anything but, for each memory have tangents and branches of emotions. History is linear, memories are how we remember them.
I’ve been a graphic designer since I was 18 years old. Ok, I took about two years off when I travelled and that one year I worked in retail. Sometimes I do wonder how differently my life would have turned out if I ended up doing that Bachelor of Science - perhaps living out my days in lab coat couture? Would I have discovered my love of dance? Where would I have lived, who would I have met? It doesn't matter, I am here, in this life, and it is beautiful.
Yes, life is beautiful.
Today, and in all your days, I wish you enough.
“I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more. I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting. I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear 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 good-bye.”
Ronna Funtelar Thacker is a writer, foodie and dance studio owner.
A self-confessed eternal optimist and lover of crispy M&Ms, she shares her adventures and life learnings to connect, inspire and nurture self-love.