Spirituality & Practice

By Ryeaan Chaudry for KidSpirit's Reality and Perception Issue.

When human beings are born, they are essentially blank templates. By the time they reach the age of maturity, how they view the world is already well formed, be it through exposure to their religion or culture, or instilled by their family.

We cannot separate ourselves from our culture; it is an inherent part of us, and forms our identity in this complex world we live in today. We see facets of our culture express themselves intrinsically in our daily interactions, and in our lives as a whole. Culture is the underpinning of most aspects of character and expression; accents, colloquialisms, even the way one eats and walks are all aspects of culture. No matter how much I adore pasta alla norma and other Italian cuisine, my comfort food will forever be a bowl of daal (lentils) and rice.

When I view the world, I can’t remove my cultural frame of reference . . .

By Andrew Unthank for KidSpirit's The Adventurous Spirit issue.

The Bible and its message have been in my life as long as I can remember.

I have had the privilege of growing up in a Christian home. Being a true follower of Christ is not just a part of who I am but rather defines who I am. It is prominent and hopefully evident in my behavior, my convictions, and my decisions. I believe the Bible completely, and because of this, the Bible and its teachings play a role in every aspect of my life. In every situation I strive to fulfill my obligation as a born-again follower of Jesus Christ, which is to be a light and spread the message of love to everyone I encounter in all situations. The Bible and the wisdom it provides guide me when an opportunity for adventure arises, when I decide whether or not to try new things and explore the unknowns of life.

When most people are blessed enough to have the opportunity to experience a new adventure, . . .

By Meenu Ravi for the KidSpirit Exploring Humor Issue

Laughter is the world’s most common language. I can’t imagine life without laughter. It’s like cake without the yummy frosting.

I think of humor as a sister to love, because when someone is laughing, it seems they beam. When I’m laughing, the air smells sweeter to me, the colors around me are more vivid, nothing else seems to matter much at that moment.

We’re given the power of laughter, not only to laugh AT things, but to laugh things OFF. . . .

By Himadri Agarwal for KidSpirit's Happiness Issue.

The other day, I began to ask
people what made them happy.
I heard of dinner dates and bookshelves, of
baby’s laughs and rainbows that curl over the sky
and wink at the passers-by,
Of cups of coffee and Taylor Swift, of earphones, gaming consoles and
children that look straight at you and never stop asking why.

I heard of marble cake . . .

By Nimai Agarwal for KidSpirit's The Soul of Gender Issue.

For those who don’t know, the Vedas are ancient Hindu scriptures, a vast collection of knowledge that stretches over many subjects, compiled in Sanskrit, one of the oldest languages known to humans.

From art, music, archery, martial arts, politics, religion — the Vedas have it all. They’re described as being a guide to the world.

I grew up in the Hindu tradition, . . .

By Akrash V. Mehta for KidSpirit's The Question of Meaning issue.

Perhaps I should start off by making one thing clear: I know nothing about anything I’m about to write about. This article is purely engendered from curiosity — it’s merely my personal exploration of questions that happen to interest me.

I haven’t read much work of the great philosophers or scientists (although I do have a three-year-old baby brother, who is arguably the wisest person on the planet), and there is no reason why my personal opinions and thoughts on things have anything to do with reality.

So where do I go from here . . .

By Julia Li for KidSpirit's Storytelling and Narrative Issue.

Author's Note: In the original Chang’E legend, Chang’E and her husband Houyi are immortals living in heaven. When the Jade Emperor’s ten sons turn into suns and start wreaking havoc, Houyi is called upon to fix the problem and does so by shooting down 9 of the 10 suns. The Jade Emperor consequently banishes Houyi and Chang'E to earth. Houyi ventures on a quest to get the pill of immortality. When he comes back home, he hides the pill in a box and tells Chang'E not to open the box. When Houyi catches Chang'E peeping into the box, she swallows the entire pill in terror. Because only half the pill is needed to become immortal, Chang’E ends up floating beyond heaven and landing on the moon, where she stays for eternity with the Jade Rabbit.

Chang’E’s new life starts with a push.

Technically, it started when the Jade Emperor struck his gold gavel on the table with the strength of a lion to seal her banishment . . .

By Maya Mesh for KidSpirit's Heritage issue.

Some people say that being Hispanic can mean a lot of things. It can mean that you are an honor student, a writer, a CEO, even a Supreme Court justice. But it can also mean that you are oppressed, poor, an alien, an outsider.

Being white can mean a lot of things, too. It can mean that you are a school principal, the President of the United States, House Majority Leader. It can also mean that you are racist, entitled, privileged. At least, that’s what I hear.

I am white, but I am also Hispanic. . . .

By Lila Hazan KidSpirit's Human Dignity issue.

The concept of human dignity has never been in the forefront of my mind.

I have been raised in a primarily atheist family within a primarily atheist culture, so this idea of inherent human worth does not connect back to religion for me as I believe it does for many others. However, despite my lack of theistic belief, much of my moral code originates in the beliefs established by religious practices. I believe that there are universal laws that we must abide by. I used to think of the idea that everyone possesses inherent dignity — that everyone is born with a universal sense of good and bad — as one of those laws: simple and concrete. But recently I have realized that everyone has their own idea or perception of morality, and so there is no real inherent human dignity.

I remember when I used to think that the world was clearly divided . . .

By Olivia Bailey, for KidSpirit's The Speed of Now Issue

Media: today’s version of a synthetic reality that people are readily willing to accept as truth.

Face-to-face conversations are few and far between, and people’s chosen forms of communication often allow for them to pick out any mistakes — letting them hide their flaws before anyone has a chance to see inside. There’s only one problem with this. We’re engulfing ourselves in these fake feelings, almost to the point that we forget we belong to a real, tangible world. We turn into our labels and give in to made-up happinesses — to the point where we can look in a mirror and not recognize ourselves as proper human beings. Technology, this wonderful tool we’ve invented to better our day-to-day lives, has managed to replace reality. And most of us don’t even realize it.

The first time I truly realized how much technology twists our self-image was during a trip to Texas . . .