◎ Assalam Walaikum

Don’t judge a life by one difficult season.

There was a man. He had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things to go and look at a pear tree that was far away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, the youngest son in 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 weak. The second son said no—it was covered with green buds and full of promise. The third son said it was laden with blossoms and they smelt so sweet and looked so beautiful. The last son disagreed with all of them, he said it was ripe and droop with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The man then said to his sons that they were all right, because they each had seen but only one season in the tree’s life. He told them that they cannot judge a tree or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are—the pleasure, the 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 is winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, the fulfillment of your fall. Don’t let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.

不要只在某人某段艰难的岁月里去判断他的一生。

从前有一个父亲，他有四个儿子。他希望他的儿子们能学会凡事不要匆匆下结论，于是轮番派他们到很远的地方去寻一棵梨树。

大儿子在冬天前往去处，二儿子在春天启程，三儿子在炎热的夏季出发，而小儿子则是在秋天踏上了征程。等他们全都前去并返家之后，父亲把他们叫到一起，听他们各自描述自己所见到的情景。

大儿子数落说那棵树很丑，枯槁残缺，很难看。二儿子连忙否认，说树上长满了嫩绿的新芽，生机盎然。老三说树上明明开满鲜花，香气怡人，看起来十分漂亮。而小儿子不同意他们三人的说法，他说，枝头上坠满了累累果实，彰显着生机与收获。

父亲就对儿子们解释说，他们的说法都没错，因为他们每个人看到的，都只是大树在四季中一个季节的情景。他告诉儿子们，不能单凭一个季节来判断一棵树的，更不能以一时来判断一个人，因为人的本质——源于他们生命中的喜乐、兴趣和爱——只有当生命完结，人生画上句点之时，才可盖棺定论。

倘若你在冬季就已经放弃，你就会错过生命中春季的生机、夏季的美丽、秋季的丰收。别让一季的痛苦毁灭了其他所有的喜乐。