A Cherokee man had 4 sons. Wishing to teach them a very valuable lesson, he sent each to a wooded place with a river flowing through it, but each was sent there during a different season. When all had made the trip, he gathered them together and asked them what they observed.

"Father, I went in the winter," the first son began. "The snow blanketed the grown, and everything looked lifeless and stark."

"No," the second son said. "I went in spring, and leaves were budding, everything was beautiful and fresh, and the promise of life hung in the air."

"You are wrong," the third son said. "I went in the summer, and all was life and green and vibrant and strong."

"I'm afraid that isn't correct," said the forth son. "I went in the fall, and the forest was tired, but full of ripe fruit."

"Each of you is correct, though none of you is right," the father said. "You each saw the same place at a different time, as it was right then."

"So it is with life. Would you judge a man when you only see him in one season? We cannot truly know another person until we have seen them in all the seasons of their life. Knowing someone when they are just starting out, in the spring of their lives, tell us nothing of the strength and vibrance they will become in the summer. Seeing him in the winter of their life tells us nothing of the trials of their spring and summer that formed them. Seeing them in the fall, tells us not of what seeds were planted before, which have borne fruit."

"Understand then that each of us is shaped by the seasons of our life, and in wisdom, we cannot judge another without knowing the fullness of theirs. And for every mistake you have made, and will make, there is yet more of your season to live. Not until the snow lays like a blanket on the seasons of your life will your journey be complete, and even then, it is not the end, but the beginning. For from winter comes spring, from death, new life."

I would that we were all as wise as the Cherokee man, yet we all can be. Don't rush to judgement over the actions or words of another person without first knowing the fullness of their seasons. And take the time to appreciate the special beauties in your own seasons. On your path, you will not pass the same point twice, so live each moment for what it is; wonderful and unique. This is the first step on the path of wisdom.