There was once a farmer who lived in the village with his three sons- Ram, Shyam and Arjun. Their village was on the outskirts of a bustling town. The town had a few houses and almost everyone knew each other. The three sons grew up together and were extremely notorious. They loved climbing trees in the summer, plucking fruits, playing with different creatures, and most of all, they loved making up games. They used to go to a small field nearby and play with their friends. The family was poor and hence, the man could not afford to send his children to school. He had always wanted his children to be good human beings and wanted to instill good values into them. He believed that no matter where a person is in his life, he should never forget his values. As the boys grew older, they started helping their father in field work. They helped him as much as they could and slowly started becoming more mature. Soon, they were about to start working outside their houses and for that they would have to leave their small village. The father realised that he had to teach his sons life lessons as they would soon be out into the world and for that, he decided to set up an activity.
He found a sunflower in the field and got an idea to teach them something. He told each of his sons to observe the same sunflower but in different seasons. He told the oldest, Ram, to observe the flower in winter. He told Shyam to look at the flower in autumn and he told the youngest, Arjun to observe the flower carefully in summer. After a few months, he asked Ram to state his observations. Ram said that the flower looked shriveled and dry. He said that the flower did not look pleasant at all. After a few more months, the farmer asked Shyam for his observations. Shyam said that the sunflower looked divine. He said that the flower was beautiful and mesmerizing. He also said that the trees were shedding their leaves around the flowers and it was an unforgettable sight. After a few weeks the farmer asked Arjun to observe the flower and state his observations. Arjun said that the flower was full of nectar and it had bees and butterflies roaming around it. The flower was looking unreal and the sun shining brightly made it a better experience. The boys argued among themselves for a while trying to figure out whose observations were accurate but their father stopped them immediately and told them to wait for a while. The children were very confused as to why their father gave them this activity. However, he said that he would reveal the true reason soon. The children were waiting eagerly as they wanted to know who was correct. It was finally time for their father to reveal the reason behind the activity and state whose observations were the most accurate. He said that all of the boys were correct as one cannot judge the flower by only one season. He told them that each of them had a different observation as they saw the flower in different seasons. They saw a different part of the flower's journey and judged the flower solely based on that. He taught them that just like the flower, in life one shouldn't judge people based on one part of their life. People can grow and bloom even after tough challenges just like the flower that blooms even after a harsh winter. If the flower would give up in the winter, it would miss the promise of spring, the beauty of summer and the warmth of fall. Don’t let the sorrows of one season destroy the joy of the others. The sons were shocked on finding out the answer. The three sons then learnt how to overcome any situation in life and to be positive and focus on the fruits of their hard work. Later, they also thanked their father for teaching them this life lesson at such a young age. They remembered that lesson throughout their lives, and passed down the same values to their next generations.
This tiny activity teaches us a lot of things. In life, we shouldn't give up when situations get tough as there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. We should fight through all obstacles and hurdles as only then can we bear the fruits of our hard work. We shouldn't judge people too quickly, we should wait and try to understand them just like we would like for them to understand us. We find it easy to judge as we believe what we see but, we should always remember that looks can be deceptive and a person should only be judged after we have known him for a long time.
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