A Few Thoughts on Thanksgiving – 2013
When you sit back and reflect on Thanksgiving, there is much to learn from the events that led to its creation. It is quite a testament to the power of the human spirit and our individual and collective capacity to accomplish remarkable things, especially when we work together. When life is stripped down to its bare necessities, you learn a lot about your fellow human beings. While, sadly, some people use survival as a rationale for poor behavior, history seems to vindicate that most of us try to do the right things even under the most adverse circumstances. I want to offer a few observations about the genesis of the holiday:
First, the Pilgrims had to possess considerable faith and courage to leave the relative comforts of their European homeland and undertake the long, arduous journey across the ocean to an unknown world. It would require considerable effort and great sacrifice just to make it habitable. They were starting from nothing. More likely than not, they knew that some of them wouldn’t survive the journey and that others wouldn’t last long upon arrival. Thankfully, they possessed a pioneering spirit and a willingness to risk everything in the hope of creating a better life for their families. The spark of their pioneering efforts led to the creation of our great nation.
Second, instead of going their separate ways once they left the ships, they decided to form communities. The basic premise was that by working together toward a common goal, everyone had a better chance of surviving. When you combine and leverage the strengths of a group of individuals with a wide variety of skills and talents, everyone benefits. While some may have chosen to go solo, causing unnecessary suffering, others remained united and created a shared identity. It’s amazing what can be accomplished when everyone is on the same page, working together with a win-win mindset.
Third, unlike later sad stories in our nation’s history, they were able to coexist with the Native Indian population. I imagine it must have been a bit disconcerting at first to meet people who looked, talked, and acted so differently. It would have been easy to fear them and take aggressive defensive action. Moreover, the natives had every reason to fear the strange new people who appeared on their land and began forming a new, distinct type of community. However, these two diverse populations managed to interact and help one another. Without the wisdom gleaned from the native population, the Pilgrims may not have made it through the first winter. Unfortunately, over time, this relationship eventually deteriorated for all-too-human reasons, but for a brief period, it served as a model of how to peacefully coexist.
Finally, the Pilgrims were people of devout faith who fled religious persecution in their homeland to pursue a life concordant with their spiritual values. It would have been much easier to disavow their beliefs and go along with the status quo, staying home, but they weren’t wired that way. Their faith was strong enough to embolden them to overcome any obstacle, ensuring they lived in what they perceived to be the right way. They pursued a higher ideal and were rewarded for their efforts. Our nation was built by people of strong faith who had the courage of their convictions. We should never forget this!
As we sit in our warm, comfortable homes, eating too much food, watching football, and planning Black Friday shopping excursions, we should pause and reflect on the courageous actions of a relatively small group of people. Their example of working together towards a common goal, driven by strong spiritual values, risking everything to form a new and better life for their families while peacefully coexisting with people much different from them, formed the foundation of our country. History is full of examples of people who overcame great odds at significant personal expense to carve out a better future for those who followed behind them. This holiday season, we should undoubtedly reflect on our many blessings, but we should also express our gratitude to this courageous group of people who made it possible for us to be here in the first place.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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