Spirituality & Practice

By Prerna Chaterjee for KidSpirit’s Rituals and Traditions issue.

The autumn sun warmed up my bare arms and legs. Looking up, I saw the turquoise sky and the ragged clouds. I walked to the other side of the terrace. The lakeside was adorned with milk-white, feather-like kaash flowers. The lake water was almost as blue as the sky, with tints of golden sunlight, gleaming like sequins on its surface. A faint sound of the drumming of dhaks came to my ears. I smiled. Today was special. It was Diwali.

Diwali has always been an important Indian festival . . .

By Naomi Chasek-Macfoy for KidSpirit’s Beauty and the Senses issue

I am a Jew, by heritage and ethnicity. No one in my family is particularly religious; I don’t think any of us believe in God. We attend services for the two most important holidays, Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish new year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), and celebrate a handful of others at home.

Regardless, at 13, I did become a Bat Mitzvah (literally ‘daughter of the commandments’), a traditional Jewish coming-of-age ceremony and initiation into the adult community. I enjoy the intellectual aspects of Judaism — Torah study, vigorous discussion — but, at its heart, Judaism, to me, is a singing tradition. Prayers set to a revolving cast of generations-old melodies are essential to the core of religious practice, both in temple and the everyday. From the raucous merriment of weddings to the peaceful solemnity of commemorating the dead, in Judaism, singing figures importantly into every aspect of life. At temple, a Hazzan, or Cantor, often with special training and a status near the Rabbi’s in importance, leads the congregation in frequent musical prayer. Although I am not particularly religious, or even very spiritual, singing has helped forge some of my strongest ties to the faith.

Musical prayer is intensely spiritual . . .

by Prerna Chatterjee for KidSpirit’s Conflict and Peacemakers issue

"Love feels no burdens, thinks nothing of trouble, attempts what is above its strength, pleads no excuse of impossibility; for it thinks all things lawful for itself and all things possible."
– Thomas à Kempis

One fine evening during our stay at Madhya Pradesh, Daddy took me to a local fair. I was hardly five years old then. Fairs always excited me. Daddy bought tickets for a ride on the Ferris wheel. He also bought me some colored bangles from a shop. Then we both devoured candy floss. Suddenly at a distance I noticed a crowd of people. I dragged Daddy over. He scooped me up and had me sit on his shoulders. I saw a strange man amidst the crowd, draped in a simple cloth which clung to his waist. His head was clean shaven and he wore specs. He also carried a stick in his hand. People all around us clapped and cheered as he bowed. I wondered if he was a film star, but as far as I knew, film stars were drop dead gorgeous and this weird little fellow was anything but handsome. While walking back to our hotel, I asked Daddy who the man was.

"It’s just some local chap . . . "

by Khalid Husain in KidSpirit's A Lens on Learning issue

“Children are 25 percent of the population but 100 percent of the future. If we wish to renew society, we must raise up a generation of children who have strong moral character. And if we wish to do that, we have two responsibilities: first, to model good character in our own lives, and second, to intentionally foster character development in our young.”

This quote from the introduction of Thomas Lickona’s book, Character Matters, illustrates both the importance of character education and a possible way of teaching it. In its essence, character education is the teaching of basic morals, values, and principles which will guide people toward an ethical, well-behaved, healthy, and successful path.

Character education is important . . .

By Katie Reis in KidSpirit's Myth & Magic issue.

I’m not a religious person. I was baptized a Catholic but slowly realized that many of Catholicism’s beliefs and principles did not fit my own. Over the years, I have explored many different religions.

After I visited Japan as part of a student exchange program about a year ago, I became fascinated with Shintoism. Shinto beliefs are encapsulated by a perspective of seeing nature and the world in all its beauty. Shintoism emphasizes an aesthetic sensitivity, placing great value on nature, harmony, and balance in a person’s life.

As part of my trip to Japan I stayed with a host family in the mountainous region of Nagano Prefecture in the town of Hakuba Valley. My hosts were a Japanese couple who spoke little English but showed me the silent wisdom of nature and the importance of kindness and hospitality, values that are greatly emphasized in Japanese culture.

One morning . . .

by Maria Christian in KidSpirit's The God Issue.

Interfaith Connections is a column for teens to dialogue about how their faith or wisdom tradition influences their view of life’s big questions. In each issue, three teens from different backgrounds respond to a question posed by the Editorial Board, based on the theme. This quarter the Ed Board asks:

How has your concept of God developed? Is it still based on the tradition you were raised in or is it changing?

Maria Christian responds:

The first time I wanted to go to church, I was about six or seven.

I had always been a weird little kid . . .

by Gracie Griffin in KidSpirit's The Nature of Truth issue.

Interfaith Connections is a column for teens to dialogue about how their faith or wisdom tradition influences their view of life’s big questions. In each issue, three teens from different backgrounds respond to a question posed by the Editorial Board, based on the theme. This quarter the Ed Board asks:

Is searching for truth an important part of your faith or spiritual tradition?

Gracie Griffin responds.

Truth. It is something you can wear emblazoned on your chest with a cape flapping in the wind behind you. It is a true superpower.

by Allie McIntosh for KidSpirit's Creativity & Imagination issue.

As I write this, I’m looking out over a wide, vibrant meadow.

There’s a huge mountain staring back at me, snow-capped even now, in the middle of the summer. Birds chirp and the air is crisp. I remember that years ago, sitting on this very bench with my legs swinging back and forth and mosquitoes buzzing around my ears, I would look upon this beauty and the most fantastical images would run through my head. In my mind I would spin tales of mighty warriors taking refuge from some great evil in the copse of trees to my right, stories about how that scrawny deer in front of me spends its evenings. Back then, this meadow held the most spectacular inspiration. But right now, I just feel tired. It’s a peaceful fatigue — I still love this place, I still appreciate its beauty. But somehow, it’s not the same. The stories and images aren’t far from my grasp, but I simply don’t have the energy to take them in my hands and let them grow. I think about this and it makes me kind of sad — where is the imagination I once had? Where are the words and the colors that used to dance around my head in a flurry of excitement and wonder? Does this mean I’m growing up? I should hope not. It scares me a little to feel this absence of imagination, but then I look around me. I see love and faith, happiness and amazement and I realize that imagination is still here. It’s everywhere.

This meadow in which I sit . . .

See the complete cartoon from above.

by Saim Alam for KidSpirit's Rituals & Traditions issue.

Eid al-Fitr means the celebration of the end of Ramadan and giving donations to those in need in the community, which are called Fitrana. The significance of this holiday is to celebrate the completion of Ramadan.

Ramadan is the holy month of fasting . . .

By Oscar Luckett for KidSpirit’s Heritage issue.

Maybe it was because I was only seven years old, but my patience level was near zero. When my dad finally came around the bend of that Montauk road, the crowd cheered.

Everyone was cold and exhausted, even the spectators waiting to cheer on their own significant athlete as they whizzed past. All the built-up excitement, hyperactivity, and frenzy, erupted out of me when my dad crossed the finish line. It really showed me how his hard work and effort paid off and it sparked my curiosity. I wondered whether a small boy of my size could ever achieve something like that. I longed to feel the accomplishment of finishing a triathlon.

The thing about triathlons is they are three sports . . .