There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his
sons to learn not to judge things too quickly.
So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and
look at a pear tree that was a
great distance away.
The first son went in the winter, the
second in the
spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in
the fall (autumn).
When they had all gone and come back, he
called them together
to describe what they had seen.
The first son said that the tree was ugly,
bent, and twisted.
The second son said no-it was covered with
green buds
and full of promise.
The third son disagreed, he said it was
laden with
blossoms that smelled so
sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most
graceful thing he had ever seen.
The last son disagreed with all of them; he
said it was ripe and
drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.
The man then explained to his sons that they were
all right, because they had each seen but ONLY one season in
the tree's life.
He told them that you cannot judge a tree,
or a person, by
only one season, and that the essence of
who they are, and the pleasure, joy, and love that
come from that life can only be measured at the end, when
all the seasons are up.
If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of
your spring,
the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.
Don't let the pain of one season destroy
the joy of all
the rest.
Don't judge life by one difficult
season.
Persevere throughout the difficult patches
and
better times are sure to come sooner or later.
