Goodbye Smallville...

Last week the TV show 'Smallville' ended it's 10 year run. I will miss it.

Over on the left hand side of this blog you'll see a blurb about me I wrote when I started this blog. Off the top of my head, I tried to think of something "about me."

"Loyalty in friendship is an inspiring trait."

Loyalty to friends no matter what moves something inside me. Always has. Smallville has made this a recurring theme throughout it's ten years. Trust and loyalty. Major issues we all learn and face in life.

The show has also sent a message of finding strength we never knew was within us and Clark Kent spent the last ten years growing into the hero, man, icon we all knew was his destiny. It's really been about the journey, not the destination. And in taking that journey with him, we've been inspired - even just a little bit - to think about overcoming our own obstacles; hoping we'd find some strength we didn't know we had but prayed for.

I don't think you have to be a hero to appreciate finding hidden strength.

As an actor and dancer, I was blessed to be driven and pushed to dig deeper to find that strength by directors, choreographers, inspirations along the way - Chris Chadman, Stanley Lebowsky, Tom Michael Reed, Lee Roy Reams - all great inspiring creative forces behind lessons I learned over and over again. All of them knew there was more inside me somewhere. More than I knew I had. More than I'd have never found without being pushed.

I try to do the some for other artists today when directing or choreographing - I'm never 'crunchy' but I never accept  90% from the actors and artists I work with.

Dig deeper. Find out how much more you have.

The same goes for the cancer warriors I talk to. When I was going through chemotherapy, it all seemed like a bad TV movie. And I couldn't believe I was going through this "thing." People with cancer are "in the moment" so much of the journey and sometimes you think there's just nothing left to keep you going. And then you do.

Dig deeper. Find out how much more you have.

Smallville, to some, has been about a comic book character. To me, it's been about these themes of great power or ability underneath the surface and unwavering belief and loyalty in friends.

Maybe it's my geekhood rearing it's head. Or maybe for a few minutes each week I enjoyed the inspiration to dig deeper for the "better" me. The "super" me, maybe. Whether I could find or be that person or not. It gave me a little hope that there was always someone a bit better somewhere inside. Someone I could be.

Thanks Smallville. There was nothing "small" about you.

p.s.  plus, we got to look at Tom Welling.  That's inspiration in itself.  :)