Mutinies and Reluctant Heroes

When I read obituaries for people who've died, I always wonder what mine will say.  Bear with me, I promise this is not a morbid post.  Most obituaries are fairly straight forward, a simple list of who the deceased left behind, some of their hobbies, and a list of service times.  Its pretty cookie cutter and most have the feel of a form letter.  Sometimes the really interesting ones hit the internet, like the woman who's family said the world was better off without her.  Ouch.  Anyway, these sorts of things always get me thinking about what we portray of ourselves to the world, and what people remember about us. 

A few months ago, we were re-watching season 3 of the Expanse in preparation for season 4 coming out.  In season 3, there is a part with an attempted mutiny.  Some of the minor characters are encouraging a captain that if he wanted to mutiny against the admiral who had taken over his ship, he could, they had his back and had several others lined up to support him.  I've never seen a moment on television that I feel so completely illustrates who I am.  I am 1000% percent the guy that sits there and says 'hey, what's happening is wrong, and if you go against it, I'll support you and so will these other people I have lined up'.  I confirmed this with several others that yes, and they all fully agreed, that would definitely be me.  While I've never had the opportunity to start a mutiny in the traditional ship sense (I'm not ruling it out, I still have a lot of life left), I most definitely have been part of a few mutinies in other situations.

The reluctant hero is a common character in a lot of television.  Frankly I have never understand these sorts of characters.  If I have an opportunity to be a hero, I grab it with both hands.  Usually I'm the one out there creating situations for others to be heroes, to save the day even in the little things.  I can't stand problems that aren't fixed and I certainly wouldn't shirk from the epic quest that came my way. 

We all play a lot of roles in life, but I think its important to understand what role is our natural role.  I know my role is to be the one to jump out and say 'this is a problem' even when no one else will.  I'm the one that supports the leadership above me and gives them the power to do what they need to do, or helps (strongly) nudge in the right direction.  I'm the supporting actor who brings the quest to our heroes and heroines, but I also know that I'm not typically the one that people rally behind.  Its a skill to work on, maybe I'll get there someday, but for now that's not where my natural gifts lay.

For now, I'm content with knowing that someday my obituary will simply say 'If there was a mutiny, Rachel probably started it'.