Lessons on Life

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.