Dancing In The Rafters

Good Morning!

The weather is getting warmer, as much as Texas will permit, This has signalled all the local wildlife that it's time to leave their homes and invade our space on the ranch. Aside from the ever-present buffalo and the new dogs, I've seen evidence of a number of other animals. I saw a butterfly and a caterpillar, two field mice that bounded away immediately, another pocket gopher (the mysterious rodent from a few emails back), a couple different lizards, and some new birds sticking around our bison. My dad called them flycatchers, I'm just happy to witness large herbivore/small bird symbiosis in person.

Yes, I've been at the ranch every day this past week. The experience is good for me, and it's important to help my family, but I'm sore. My goodness. Since my grandparents are the helpful kind of folk, their arrival has doubled my time at Blackacre Ranch. I've helped demolish one derelict sunroom, three different carport roofings, and a garage overhang. I'm the spryest of the children, and less of an insurance risk as a 19 year old adult, so I volunteered for all the elevated tasks.

I've spent my fair share of time dancing on the rafters, so to speak. There were a couple moments grandpa and I almost dropped a roof on one of our heads. At one point we simply removed the nuts, so I smashed it with a ten pound sledge a couple times. The whole thing was down in under thirty seconds, I didn't even have to move. We also pushed the sunroom over, it was another satisfying demo. Then we spent two more days finding all the nails and disassembling the structures we'd collapsed.

A joy I've found in reading and writing books is the successful change of a character. When done right, the book feels so much more realistic. It's not enough to have a cool idea or believable, yet complex plot, there needs to be true character growth. I finished a series recently where the author astounded me with his character's progression, protagonist or not. That is the beauty of a story, the simplistic ones or not. 

I've mentioned in a previous email or two my love for books, characters, and everything entailed. I have a few spiritual lessons I could share on this subject, but I'll save most of those for future emails. For now, I'll focus on character development.

How does one know he's changed? At what chapter in the book can you sense the main character's improvement? What about the secondary characters? Even the antagonist? Many of my favorite stories take characters and develop them over time, allowing the characters in focus to change over an extended period of time. I could point to contributing factors of an improved mentality or motive, but ultimately I love sitting up and thinking 'holy cow, this character is so much better'.

This moment of change can be summarized quite well by something my Stake President alluded to in a story; "he wouldn't go back to his old world". In the series I recently finished, by book three the main character had adjusted his focus past what his 'first book' views had been. Often, the best characters don't start with the true end goal in mind. They have their own goals, yes, but it isn't until they've grown a bit that they understand the author's intended end game.

Think of yourself as a character in a story. How have you changed these past two years? Five? Ten? How have twenty-five, or even fifty years changed your life's perspective and ambitions?

I know that mine have changed immensely these past few months. I also know that many of you have so much more life experience than me, and can likely see this so much better than I can. The fight to adjust and stay afloat can be a big one, and seem overwhelming in the moment, but remember to keep fighting. Sometimes a perspective change can help you turn a bleak situation for the better.

A good friend and teacher of mine shared this quote with me:

"Remember, you have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens."
― Louise L. Hay, You Can Heal Your Life

I promise that self honesty is important in this journey of character. It is important to recognize faults and imperfections, yes. But remember your strengths too. Those defining traits are what allow you to keep your footing in the rafters of life. Perhaps, in time, you'll even dance!

Have a great week! I'm still around, if you have a cool story to share I'd love to hear it. One might say I'm all about those. :)

- Talmage Williams

For those interested, I hope to have an update on when I return to the field in two weeks, possibly three. Thanks for sticking around, I appreciate all your thoughts!

Pictures:

1. The nonexistent sunroom. 

2. Lizard much bigger.

3. The overhang in the sledgehammer story.

4. Lizard really small.

5. Caterpillar . . . Might be poisonous? I didn't try to find out.

6. Footprint suggestions? The options are deer or pig for the hoof, and raccoon or dog for the lower one. Scouting knowledge hasn't stuck as much as I thought. 

7. Shot of the flycatchers always hanging out with the buffalo.