How do you know if you're a pilgrim?

To see oneself in a new light

Decades ago, my second grade teacher gathered our class in the library to show a movie. My English had gotten good enough by then, so movie day was a treat.?

The video opened with a young mother in a red sweater. In her heavy accent (that sounded like my mother’s) she asked her daughter (who looked like me) to explain the art project she was working on. The daughter replied, “We’re learning about Thanksgiving at school. My assignment is to dress this doll to look like a pilgrim.” Her mother said, “You’ve been working hard and now it’s late. Time for bed.” The daughter protested to no avail. The mother reassured her, “I will finish it for you. Go rest.”?

The next morning, the daughter bounded into the kitchen to see her doll finished and panicked. The doll was dressed, from crown to boot, in colorful folk clothing from her home country—not the black and white outfits of the Puritans. “Mama! I am supposed to dress her like a pilgrim!” The girl was distraught. Her mother put a gentle hand on the daughter’s shoulder and said, “But we ARE pilgrims.”?

Holy sh*t. I was rocked. Maybe I wasn't a stowaway or imposter after all.

Pilgrimage is contextual

For me, Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on concepts of pilgrimage, colonization, xenophobia, and the intersections of inclusion. Being an immigrant, refugee, or foreigner isn’t about WHO we are but the context of WHERE we happen to be at that moment. For "locals"?who "receive" those "visitors" from foreign lands, how shall we move beyond the idea of a melting pot toward an endless salad bar with every texture, color, and ingredient possible?

Thanksgiving is woven from all the intricate histories of this holiday, from individual and collective perspectives.

Thanksgiving has been repurposed many times

Every year I spend the week thinking about the 1620s and?the historical realities and aftermath of what happened to the Wampanoag people . I think about feminist and educator?Sarah Josepha Hale ?in the 1850s lobbying officials to legislate a national day of thanks in November to ease tensions between the north and south after the American Civil War. Then there was President Roosevelt in the 1930s who moved Thanksgiving earlier to extend the Christmas shopping season and bolster businesses suffering from the Great Depression (Franksgiving ). Thanksgiving is woven from all the intricate histories of this holiday, from individual and collective perspectives. It’s been ages since I thought about the girl in that video from the 1980s, so I might add her to my mental rotation.

Redefining Pilgrimage

Pilgrims are people who travel to a sacred place for religious reasons. Yet who is to say what is sacred? Leaving a communist country for a democratic one felt sacred to my family and worth all the loss, uncertainty, poverty, and culture shock that came with it. And we wouldn't have made it without social services keeping us off the street. It's no mystery why I had a calling to spend the first half of my career in social service. And who is to say what religion means in these modern times? Perhaps you have made a pilgrimage (or will soon) toward an unfamiliar destination as you embrace a new industry, become a caregiver, emigrate abroad, or any other voyage that compels you. #Packlight .

A new way to give thanks

However you define what being a pilgrim means and whatever the history of #thanksgiving means to you, spark a conversation. Share the stories of your ancestry and your journeys. Listen to the pilgrimage stories of others. Maybe together we can redefine what giving thanks means looking forward, as much as we look back. And thank you for reading my article!

About the author

Lisa Kagan teaches clients to amplify their work, make data stories relatable, and compel listeners to action. Her modular workshops map the steps to build team cohesion and commit to big plans plus she specializes in executive presentation skills and storytelling coaching. She has been a communications consultant for government, higher education, public policy, banking, healthcare, and technology clients craving emotionally savvy, neuroscience-baked methods to persuade audiences. Lisa is Communications Director at?Unify Consulting .