Spirituality & Practice

By Zach Young for KidSpirit's Ethics and Morality issue.

What are morals and where do they come from?

Is morality like the laws of physics, ironclad dicta from nature? Or is morality like language, where there is no “right answer” but different languages that different groups of people speak?

These are eternal questions with many answers. . . .

By Jack Miles for KidSpirit's Adventurous Spirit issue.

When I was called up to the center altar of my church by the members of “Drums No Guns,” I froze.

Who was I kidding? I often fidget by drumming pencils on desks or chopsticks on tables, but drumming in front of a few hundred people during a Palm Sunday service that’s webcast to potentially hundreds of others seemed more like a nightmare than reality. I had beat the drum during the procession, and maybe improvised a little, but in no way was I qualified to join the group. I tried to casually play it off and back away, but when I turned around to be absorbed by the crowd, I faced a wall of white robes, colored stoles, and beaming faces.

The priests were not going to let me back out of this one. . . .

By Vanita Sharma for KidSpirit's Resilience issue.

Landing on my high school’s junior varsity tennis team for the third time in a row was devastating.

After spending hours, even years, vying for a position on varsity while watching my sister rise up through the ranks and observing my peers compete in the official leagues, I was desperate to make the team. I am not usually superstitious, but I used to blow a wish on every eyelash that I found to help me get onto the team.

After getting rejected I wanted to quit. I stopped believing that I was good enough for any team . . .

By Kavya Shah for KidSpirit's Interfaith Connections issue.

The ability to question is a power that we all have.

Sometimes I find answers to my questions, but sometimes I don’t. When I was a small child, there were times when my parents told me that there are no answers to certain questions. However, I have learned that even after we know they may not have answers, all questions are worthwhile. They can help us to discover more about our religion, our family, and even ourselves. Therefore I am always on a quest to understand the unknown.

Some children might just forget about difficult questions, but I like to explore the depth of everything . . .

By Sofia Mesh for KidSpirit's Awesome Moments issue.

My life was a confusing labyrinth. I was always overwhelmed by the pressure to succeed and to reach the top because I had been brainwashed into thinking that would make me happy.

Since I was young, I had been taught I needed to achieve perfect grades, fill my schedule with after-school activities, and study until I was at the point of tears.

Tears meant I was working hard. If I didn't accomplish this, then what would others think of me?

By Celie Johnson for KidSpirit's Numbers and Symbols issue.

My spirituality revolves around the use of numbers and symbols, a cloud of reasoning and a bit of mysticism.

I believe in numbers and that brings me comfort. It comforts me to count the stars, understand why they exist, and how they came to be. It comforts me to think of adding and subtracting, equations and notations, that make sense of this crazy and complex world. However, I didn’t always feel this way.

I was raised Jewish, but my father is Christian ...

By Yani Li for KidSpirit's Simplicity and Complexity issue.

Let our worries wash away
the nuances of complexity
Like stars fallen from heaven’s seam,
swept into the darkness of a sorcerer’s dream

Look past the blurry film placed in front of our eyes ...

By Heer Cheema for KidSpirit's Unity and Division issue

They are restless, moving backward and forward, surrounded by a miasma of uncertainty and despair. Sleeping in airports, caught in transition, they have no homes, because bans and war-ravaged countries are their reality. They are a reflection of my past.

Pakistani history and literature is rife with this familiar tale of displacement. Saadat Hasan Manto, an Indo-Pakistani writer, in his 1955 short story titled “Toba Tek Singh,” reflects on the anguish and loss associated with the divisions on paper that wrought destruction on millions of lives during the Partition of the Subcontinent in 1947. His protagonist, Bishan Singh, lies lost in “no–man’s–land,” unable to return home as a result of these arbitrary borders. “No–Man’s–Land” is not only a region in conflict but, as Manto highlights, a state of distress and disconnect.

Bishan Singh’s dilemma is universal, shared not only by today’s refugees and diasporas, but also by my ancestors ...

By Nimai Agarwalfor in The God issue.

I was born into a spiritual family. My parents practiced Vaishnavism, a monotheistic sect of Hinduism based on worship of Krishna, the Supreme. As a result, I’ve grown up immersed in this rich and ancient tradition.

I have woken up every morning to the sound of ringing bells and fragrant billows of incense. I’ve learned how to sing Sanskrit prayers to Krishna, a Sanskrit name for “God,” and I love it. They’re fun to sing, have beautiful meanings, and allow me to express myself.

Over these years, I’ve learned a lot about the philosophy of Vaishnavism ...

By Jung Woo Bae in the Simplicity and Complexity issue.

I blow the pitch pipe on the key of A-flat, and, almost instinctively, the four of us huddle closer together, forming an intimate circle.

As the A-flat gradually dissipates after a few seconds of held uniformity, the bass starts humming his first note, the baritone follows with his, and the tenor concludes the neatly stacked chord.

After a swift intake of breath, we begin singing the 1905 classic "Wait ‘Til the Sun Shines Nellie," known for its arrangement in the barbershop style . . .