Volume II, Number IV

How do we find balance in a fast-paced world? KidSpirit writers discuss stewardship of the planet, and how to be physically and psychologically healthy.

1. In the Big Question, Katie Hartman describes feeling like she can never stay in a state of equilibrium. Even being a teenager creates instability, being poised between a child and an adult. After going through a number of changes, Katie finds that the best way for her to deal with them is to take control, and to go with each new change as if jumping off the edge of a cliff. Do you feel like your life is always changing? How? Is it possible to be comfortable with the changes you face?

2. In “Walking the Same Sand,” writer Anya Dunaif talks about a memorable trip to Lake Michigan, in which she felt connected to everyone—young and old—climbing the steep sand dunes. She describes feeling like the dunes were binding everyone together, and thereby creating a strong sense of unity. Have you ever had an intense experience that you shared with other people, which made you feel more connected to them and/or to the place where you had the experience? Do you think such an experience can change the way you interact with the world afterward?

3. One of the most fundamental experiences is eating. This issue of KidSpirit explores how this affects our balance. Through this lens our writer's explore vegetarianism, how food is produced, and solving the obesity problem. What kinds of things do you eat? Have you thought about your relationship to your food? Do you fast for certain religious holidays? Do you think it is important to pay attention to what and how we eat?

4. PerSpectives writer Mariko Hirakawa is one of the west’s foremost experts on Ayurveda Yoga. Take a few minutes to try her three steps for Pranayama (Yogic Breathing Practice) for Centering. How do you feel afterwards? Does it connect your mind and breath? What challenges, if any, did you encounter while focusing on your breath?