Lessons on Life

There was a man who had 4 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 1st son went in the winter, the 2nd in the spring, the 3rd 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'd seen.

The 1st son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The 2nd son
said, "No it was covered with green buds & full of promise."

The 3rd son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so
sweet & looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he'd ever seen.

The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe & drooping
with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they'd each seen but only one season in the tree's life.

He told them that you can't judge a tree, or a person, by only one season,
and that the essence of who they're 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'll 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.