What does spirituality mean to you?
Of course, this is pretty personal stuff. For many people, it’s a lifelong journey of discovery. To some it can be as simple as having a positive attitude, seeing beauty in nature, being mindful, listening to your heart, and being kind to others.
You can be religious and spiritual at the same time, but you don’t have to be religious to be spiritual. In your busy day-to-day life, being spiritual can help you to be more grounded and find meaning and purpose. By slowing down and living in the moment, you can become more aware, compassionate, and appreciative of the world around you.
But is being spiritual really all that important?
It can be. Research has shown that both spirituality and religiousness are linked to increased happiness for both adults and adolescents. In teens, being spiritual or religious can curb alcohol or marijuana use.
Being spiritual can help you navigate your teen years as you struggle to find your identity and see where you fit in.
Read all about it
If you’re wondering how to become more spiritual, a good place to start is to read some books about it. For instance:
• Fire in the Heart: A Spiritual Guide for Teens, by Deepak Chopra—who’s written dozens of books about spirituality—includes thoughts how to find order in chaos, looking for that missing “something” in life, how to achieve meaningful communication, and believing in things you can’t “see.”
• The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Spirituality for Teens, by William R. Grimbol, focuses on helping teens connect with the world around them—as well as the world inside them—whatever their religious background.
About 80 percent of teens identify themselves as being Protestant, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Mormon or Jewish, following their parents’ faith tradition, according to the National Study of Youth and Religion.
It’s a journey
We all want to know what our purpose in life is and wish that we could see the answer in a crystal ball. That would make life so much easier, but then what fun would it be if you already knew how everything was going to end? It would be like knowing what happens at the end of a mystery novel or watching a movie backwards. That’s why we all have to go on our own unique spiritual journey to discover our own meaning of life.
Spirituality starts “small”: The benefits from being spiritual start at an early age. A 2008 study by University of British Columbia researchers found that between 6.5 percent and 16.5 percent of children’s happiness could be accounted for by spirituality.
But how to get started?
- Slow down, meditate, become more observant
- Follow your heart and trust your intuition
- Find joy in simple things
- Laugh and have a sense of humor
- Explore your creative side
- Help those in need
- Be more compassionate
- Exercise and eat healthy
- Be more forgiving of yourself and others
- Make time for yourself
- Go for long walks and explore nature
- When the going get’s tough...get spiritual!
In some ways, your teen years are the perfect time to develop your faith and spirituality. If you have a strong foundation, it can help you get through tough times, both now and in the future. We all get stressed out and anxious about things, but if you have meaning and purpose in your life—and friends and family to support you—you’ll learn how to get around life’s speed bumps and road blocks. And you might just be happier!
