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, '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 I've 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.

 

After reading the story, I was truly touched. Just like how we shouldn't judge a person by only one season, we shouldn't also judge life by only one season. Life may be like winter at one stage- cold, windy and lonely, but, spring will eventually come- full of beautiful flowers and sunny. We should not let the pain of one difficult season spoil the joy of other seasons. I know if we can persevere through the difficult patches, better times will definitely be ours :)

 

"If you give up when it's winter, you'll miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of summer and the fulfillment of your fall"