Yeah, I actually heard it your way but I just copied and pasted the email.
There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent each of them on a quest, in turn, to go look at a pear tree a great distance away. The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in the winter, and the fourth in the fall.
When they had all gone and come back he called them all together to describe what they had seen.
The first son said it 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 and smelled sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.
The fourth son disagreed with them all. 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 since they had each seen the tree, but only in one season. He told them you cannot judge a person or a tree 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,fulfilment of your fall.
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.
Aspire to Inspire Before You Expire
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. (I also heard this that only friends keep you going.)