Spirituality & Practice

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 . . .

By Andrew Lu for KidSpirit's Mysteries of the Universe issue.

We all wonder about our origins, births, and deaths. We’ve all asked our parents questions about where we came from.

As a third culture kid (TCK) and international school student from Canada and China, I grew up among different versions of stories about my own origin. Not only is my own background religiously diverse, but I am surrounded by people from all over the world who follow many different traditions. The girl who sits next to me in French class is Catholic and she comes from India. The make-up artist for my theater production club comes from a Mormon background and she is fabulous at applying eyeliner. The lady who serves my lunch everyday wears a bracelet made out of prayer beads, and the Chinese-American girl who lives next door goes to church every Sunday. These people are wildly different. Their religious backgrounds may or may not have taught them to see the mysteries of our universe in a certain way, but they all have their own interpretations.

It is hard for some of us to believe that our births and lives are simply scientific ...

By Fatema Karimi for KidSpirit's Unity and Division issue.

I feel very lucky to be part of the Muslim community where I can study how humanity affects the earth, as well as understand my duty towards it.

Islam is a religion that teaches duty and responsibility. We are made dependent on one another so that we may help each other. My relationship with the earth isn’t limited to just my lifetime, but to those born after me. While it is true that I must use the earth’s resources, I must always keep in mind the effect that use has on the present and future. In this way, taking care of the earth is important in Islam.

We are taught to use resources carefully ...

By Christopher Woods in the KidSpirit Unity and Division issue.

A discussion of unity and diversity of anything should start at the very beginning — for me and many others, when Jesus Christ began preaching to the people in Judea and revealing that He was the one they had been waiting for, the Messiah, sent to redeem all mankind.

It’s a well-known story. After Jesus’s death and resurrection, His apostles traveled all over Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Paul visited many Greek cities, and eventually ended up in Rome, as did Peter; James found his way to Spain; Thomas journeyed all the way to India; and Mark preached to the Ethiopians. Everywhere they went, they baptized people into the Church, and ordained priests and bishops to continue their work.

But communication was slow in those times. ...

By Jocelyn Ruffner in the KidSpirit Creation and Destruction issue.

The thing that most people
choose to ignore is the fact
that we are both

A flower in the never ending
fields and hills of time
Pulled up by the roots
In just one tug

But

We are also history.
We can change our lives
We can change others’
We have the power to shape the destiny
Of the world as we know it.

We are created for a purpose
For what purpose?
For no purpose?

The truth is I don’t know ...