Four Seasons Of A Tree


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 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 and
smelled so sweet and looked so
beautiful, it was the most graceful
thing he had ever seen.

The last son disagreed with them all.
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 one season in a
trees 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'll
miss the promise of your spring, the
beauty of your summer, fulfillment
of your fall.