The Seasons....
There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn to not
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 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. Don't
let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest. Enjoy the
little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they
were the big things.
-- Antonio Smith
From India, Coimbatore
There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn to not
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 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. Don't
let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest. Enjoy the
little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they
were the big things.
-- Antonio Smith
From India, Coimbatore
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