The Seasons of Life

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 judge a life by one difficult season. Don't let pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.

Our Value

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill.

In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?” 

Hands started going up. 

He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this. He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up.

He then asked, “Who still wants it?” 

Still the hands were up in the air. 

“Well,” he replied, “What if I do this?” And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. 

He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. “Now who still wants it?” Still the hands went into the air. 

“My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. 

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. 

We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has  happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. You are special. Don’t ever forget it!