A Birthday Tribute
Jensen Ackles. He is a humble and unassuming gentleman. He moves through life wearing the mantles that matter… devoted husband, loving father, loyal friend, brother, son. His choices have elevated him, not because he strives to hold himself in higher regard than he does others, but simply because his generosity raises us up. His light shines through in all he does. In a world that is often dark and foreboding, his good nature spreads positivity, his humor makes us smile and his kindness spreads joy.
Fans now live in a time where we are able to get a closer look at our idols and heroes. They aren’t just images we see on our television and movie screens. We get to see them in person, have our pictures taken with them, listen to them engage a crowd and entertain us in ways that create lasting memories. Being steeped in the pleasure of listening to and watching Jensen sing, is one memory that readily comes to mind.
He single-handedly became the muse that inspired my writing. As most fans, I find myself in awe of his talent. It simply started with appreciation. I liked what I saw. And while a portion of that was admittedly, superficial (like wow – he’s hot), it was soon much deeper than that. It became, wow – he’s good.
As is my wont, I tend to dive deeper (it’s an affliction really), my appreciation for his talents grew through a search for knowledge. For me, it was never enough to just “see” that talent on display. I wanted to understand how one comes by it. Those things have always interested me. Mostly because I’m a creative. I don’t just see a painting, I want to know how a painter develops the skill to create it – I think being born to a talent is extremely rare. For the majority of us, it’s a life’s endeavour of hard work and dedication.
Harder Than it Looks
I will forever love all the components of storytelling. Perhaps that is why I like to write. In order to be a writer, you have to be constantly learning. You have to be a little bit of a detective. You have to lean in and dig. Sometimes you have to drop the gloves and bare fistfight it through all the layers of nonsense, to find the nugget of truth about something. How do you get to the essence of a thing without putting in all that work? Sometimes it’s grueling, but the pay-off is usually worth it.
So I delved deeper into what it means to be an actor. It’s much harder than it looks. While it’s easy to inventory the attributes necessary, like a laundry-list of skills; deep listening, emotional depth, presence, technical acumen, physicality, versatility, collaboration, improvisation, courage, timing – it’s not so easy to embody them. To say that Jensen does so, is true enough, but it sounds so flippant on the surface.
So, on a very personal level, let me say it like this… he makes us believe. He let’s us in. He shows us what it is to be something/someone who is tangible, real, relatable. He can portray joy, pain, love, comedy, indifference, loyalty, friendship. All of it. He can turn it all on its head and have us all looking inwards at our own interpretations of what we witness.
It is astounding to me.
As I watched this gentleman grow into the powerhouse of talent he is today, I’m proud to count myself amongst his fans. If I had not come to love the show Supernatural, I may never have set my feet upon this path. Life really does gift us in the fondest of ways.
Thank you
In honor of his latest trip around the sun, I wanted to simply say thank you. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication. Thank you for the joy you bring to our world. Thank you for embodying the characters who make us laugh, cry, gasp, and wonder. And looking to the future, I can’t wait to meet Mark Meachum (Countdown), a younger Soldier Boy (Vought Rising), and “The Boys” next season, helping bring Kripke’s next 5-year project to a close.
Cheers!
*Featured Image and Video, with love and thanks, @3saPhotography
