What Burn Notice Taught Me About Life
“I’VE FOUND IT IS THE SMALL THINGS, EVERYDAY DEEDS OF ORDINARY FOLK THAT KEEPS THE DARKNESS AT BAY.”
—Gandalf the Grey in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
[This is the tenth installment in my ongoing series Keeping the Darkness at Bay, where I’m using stories to remind you how you can fight darkness in your day to day life. If you like this post, also check out one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, and nine.]
It’s 2009. You’re watching some random movie on USA Network, and it’s over. During the advertisement, you’re considering where you want to change the channel to, but when the ad ends…
“My name is Michael Weston. I used to be a spy, until…”
“…we got a burn notice on you. You’re blacklisted.”
“When you’re burned you've got nothing. No cash, no credit, no job history. You’re stuck in whatever city they decide to dump you in.”
“Where am I?”
“Miami.”
“You do whatever work comes your way… You rely on anyone who's still talking to you: A trigger-happy ex-girlfriend…”
"Should we shoot them?"
“…An old friend who used to inform on you to the F.B.I…”
“You know spys—a bunch of b****y little girls.”
“…family too…
"Hey, is that your mom again?"
“…if you’re desperate.”
"Someone needs your help, Michael."
“Bottom line: as long as you’re burned, you’re not going anywhere.”
Burn Notice
If you saw this television show’s opening, then I was likely watching it at the same time as you.
(And if you were a fan of the show, you know that the opening sequence I copied above was repeated at the beginning of every episode—and without me saying it, you know exactly which character said which line.)
Back in the days of Psych and Monk, the days when USA Network was actually a relevant force in cable television, Burn Notice premiered and quickly became one the hottest shows on TV, and for good reason.
It was fun, action packed, and the cast had amazing chemistry. For seven seasons, it was nearly everything I’d ever want in a TV show.
But why am I nostalgically reminiscing about Burn Notice? The show’s been off the air for six years. It’s not exactly relevant anymore…
But it is relevant to the topic of “Keeping the Darkness at Bay”. If you want to fight the darkness in your everyday life, I’d implore you to follow Michael Weston’s example. Let me explain.
Burn Notice
In the pilot episode, Michael Weston, a spy for the U.S. government, learns that he’s been “burned”—which is explained to the audience that spies don’t get “fired” they get “burned”, meaning everything regarding their time as a spy (all mission records, classified documents, fake identities, etc.) is literally burned or deleted and there’s no easy way for these spies to get reinstated.
When a spy is burned, he’s dropped off in a city, forced to stay there, make ends meet, and stay out of trouble. He’s heavily monitored and extremely restricted, unable to live a normal life. If there’s a burn notice on a spy, it’s usually for good reason.
Maybe there’s not enough evidence to justify imprisonment, maybe a trial is likely to happen further down the line, but in the mean time, the ex-spy is dangerous for what she knows and needs to be kept in line.
You know, for national security.
Of course, Michael Weston is a good guy. He liked being a spy, and he was really great at his job. He knows he didn’t do anything deserving of a Burn Notice, and some government official higher up the chain of command must be framing him, but until he can find out the truth of his burning, he’s trapped in this new life.
He’s trapped in Miami.
Michael reconnects with his mom, best friend, and ex-girlfriend, and he makes it his personal mission to find out who burned him and to clear his name. Easier said than done. Progress on this part of the plot is slow and frustrating, full of secrets and dead ends.
If the show were only about Michael finding the truth of his burn notice, it likely wouldn’t have lasted as one of USA’s most popular series of all time. Another element of the show keeps it memorable and unpredictable, and it adds ripples that affect the overarching plot.
The Client
Though she doesn’t know all the details, Michael’s mom knows he used to be a spy. So do Sam and Fiona (the aforementioned best friend and ex-girlfriend). They know Michael has skills, and they know he’s out of work.
So, when someone any one of them knows (or is somehow connected to) is in trouble—the kind of trouble they can’t take to the police—they call Michael.
He uses his spy expertise to help innocent people escape from crooked gangsters and wealthy abusers.
In almost every episode except for the final season, besides the overarching find-out-who-burned-me plot, there’s the episode’s subplot involving some sort of client. Yes, they most of the time pay Michael for helping, but it also adds a brilliant layer of complexity to his already crazy life.
But what does any of this have to do with a regular, non-spy trying to keep the darkness at bay?
The Application
You may not be an ex-spy. You might not be framed for crimes you didn’t commit. But I have a feeling you might be able to sympathize with Michael’s situation.
Just as Michael Weston is trapped in Miami by forces out of his control, I think most of us have found ourselves trapped by life in situations beyond our control.
Maybe it’s losing a job. Maybe it’s a chronic illness. Maybe, like Michael, you’ve felt blacklisted. Maybe you’ve felt targeted. Maybe you’ve been treated unjustly.
If you’ve been hurt by others, if you’ve suffered any form of injustice, I want to first affirm you and say, yes: You can and should seek justice. It’s good to right wrongs and bring evil to light. Even if your situation has nothing to do with “injustice”, If you feel trapped, you should be free to seek freedom.
It’s okay to seek change. It’s okay to get unstuck and move forward with life.
However, I also want to encourage you: Do not let your negative circumstances keep you from living life to the fullest. Do not let your need to get out of a situation keep you from making the most of that situation.
Make the most of the season you’re in! If you don’t like your job, yes, look for another one. But in the meantime, you should do your absolute best in the job you have.
Another layer of this lesson comes down to your willingness to help people.
If Michael had not been compassionate enough to help his “clients”, his relationship with his friends and family would be even more strained, if not broken, in the moments when Michael needed them the most.
Not to mention, the countless families that Michael helped would’ve been stuck as victims of their own situation.
I wonder if Michael ever paused to consider that the type of problems he, Sam, and Fiona were helping people solve were the types of problems that hung over these people’s heads with a similar urgency and desperation as the burn notice hanging over Michael’s head.
When you help people, you may be giving people the same kind of help that you need. That shows genuine strength of character. It’d be easy to say, “I can’t help you with that; I’m too busy with my own problems.”
Michael could’ve easy said no to these jobs. Yet, in the long run it helped him, and he helped the city. He pushed back the darkness in Miami with these opportunities. He helped change the entire atmosphere of the city he was trapped in.
What can you do with where you’re trapped?
This is not to say you need to overextend yourself, or you need to help someone every single time they ask. If you’re burnt out, you’re no use to anyone. This is also not to make light of your current situation.
But part of strength and maturity isn’t just fighting and pursuing to build yourself to a better situation. A bigger part of character growth is having the fortitude and faith to help others in their situations, even when you yourself aren’t where you want to be.
That’s where true faith is tested. That’s where true strength is born.
If you find yourself “burned” in life, if you find yourself trapped by circumstances beyond your control, help people.
It may not directly fix your situation, but it will push back the darkness in your world.
And it will make you a better person because of it.
