There
was an Indian Chief
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 of the story:
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.
Live Simply ...
Love Generously ...
Care Deeply ...
Speak Kindly ...
Leave the Rest to
God.
Happiness keeps You
Sweet,
Trials keep You
Strong,
Sorrows keep You
Human,
Failures keep You
Humble,
Success keeps You
Glowing,
But Only God keeps
You Going!
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