Don't Judge Too Quickly

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 fourth 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: 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 father told them that they were all right, that you cannot judge a tree, or a person by only one season. The essence of who they are can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

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If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of the spring, the beauty of the summer, the fulfillment of the fall.

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