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. 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.
Moral: Don't let the pain of one season destroy
the joy of all the rest. Don't judge life by one difficult season.
Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure
to come some time or later.
Home