When we talk about The Four Seasons, many of us immediately think of Vivaldi, the great Italian composer who, more than 250 years ago, created one of the most famous pieces in the history of music: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. His work lives on today, heard in concerts, films, and events worldwide.

But today I want to propose a change of perspective: to talk to you about four other seasons. They are not musical pieces or scores, but the times that pass through our lives, those moments that transform us.

It is said that a man, the owner of a vast piece of land, was undecided whether to keep it or sell it. To make a decision, he took his four sons to tour it, but in different seasons.

• The first one visited the land in winter. Everything was cold, snowy, wet, and barren. His advice was: “Sell it, Dad. It’s useless.”
• The second son toured it in the spring. Although there was no fruit yet, the greenery, the flowers, and the birdsong filled the landscape with hope. This son said, “Dad, maybe you should reconsider.”
• The third son visited the land in the summer. Despite the stifling heat, he found trees laden with apples and pears, tall grass, and cool shade. His response was clear: “Dad, keep it. See how much fruit it bears.”
• The fourth son, in the autumn, saw the leaves change color, fall, and cover the ground, creating a spectacle of serene beauty. He also advised preserving it: “Dad, there is no fruit, but what a wonderful landscape.”

The father then gathered his sons and said, “My children, it was the same land. You just saw it in different seasons.”

Such is our life.

All of us, without exception, go through springs, summers, autumns, and winters. Sometimes we experience cold winters, filled with loneliness, sadness, illness, and loss. Times when it seems there is no fruit or hope. But don’t forget: after winter, spring always comes.

Spring brings shoots of hope, new dreams, and renewed hope. Then comes summer, where we see the fruits of our labors: children, grandchildren, projects, completed projects. Then, autumn invites us to look back, be grateful, and contemplate the beauty of all we’ve experienced.

And yes, sometimes winter returns. Illness, unexpected loss, and grief shake us. But remember: the seasons are cyclical. Don’t despair or judge your life based solely on one bad season. New beginnings, new springs, will come.

Not all of us experience the seasons in twenty-year blocks. Some experience several seasons in a single year, or even a single month. Life takes unexpected turns.

I know stories of people who lived decades of summer and spring until, suddenly, a tragedy plunged them into a fierce winter. And also stories of those born into pain, disability, or poverty, and have been embraced by the hope and love of God from the very beginning.

Therefore, no one should call themselves completely happy or completely unhappy until the end of their life. Life is a roller coaster of seasons, and the important thing is not to avoid winter, but to know that it will not last forever.

Think of Saint John Paul II, who lived through it all: a happy youth, wars, persecutions, illnesses, and yet he knew how to remain steadfast in his faith, his hope, his love.

Today I invite you to see your life as that terrain: sometimes desolate, sometimes full of fruit, sometimes covered with beauty, sometimes with sadness. But always precious.

Don’t judge your life by a single season. Hope, trust, work, and love. Because after every winter, God prepares a new spring for you.