树的四季 第10期

Don't judge a life by one difficult season,

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent 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 blossoms1 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 fruits, full of life and fulfillment2.

The man the 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 summer, and fulfillment of your fall. Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.

不要拿一段难熬的日子来断定一生。

从前有一个人,他有四个儿子。他想让他的儿子们学会不要迅速地对事物做出判断,所以他让孩子们轮流去远方观察一棵梨树。

大儿子冬天去,二儿子春天去,三儿子夏天去,而小儿子是在秋天去的。

当他们都已看过梨树回到家中后,父亲把他们叫到一起,让他们讲述一下都看到了什么。

大儿子说那棵树很丑,弯弯扭扭的。二儿子表示反对,他觉得树上满是绿色的嫩芽,充满了希望。三儿子却并不赞成,他说那棵树开满了花,特别的芳香,特别的漂亮,那是他所见过的最美的东西。小儿子则不同意他们所有人的看法,他觉得梨树成熟了,上面缀满了果实,充满了生机,给人成就感。

父亲向他们的儿子解释说他们说得都对,因为他们每个人看到的只是梨树一生中的一个季节。

他告诉他们不要只凭一个季节来判断一棵树或一个人,他们的本质、生命中的快乐、喜悦和爱只能到最后,当所有的季节都结束的时候,才能去评判。

如果你在冬季就放弃了,那你将错过春季的希望、夏季的美丽和秋季的收获。不要让一个季节的痛苦毁掉一年所有的快乐。