Join 12-year-olds Mikaeel and Ella every month as they share perspectives on life as a child sees it.

What does it mean to you to be spiritual?

Mikaeel:

To have some sort of religious belief whether it is God exists or God doesn’t or who made your religion or who the first people on earth were.

Ella:

I liked this definition for spirituality that I found online “spirituality includes a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves, and typically involves a search for meaning in life.” (www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu)

Is your family a religious family? What would you like to share with us about that?

Mikaeel:

My family is not super religious but we still fast during Ramadan and we pray on Eid.

Ella:
Yes, our family is Anglican and Mennonite and we believe in God and Jesus. I was baptized when I was a baby and welcomed into our church.

What is the biggest religious holiday of the year in your family? Tell us about it.

Mikaeel:

The biggest religious holiday in my family is Eid Al-Fitr. It is the day we celebrate after the holy month of Ramadan, which is a month of fasting.

Ella:

The biggest religious holiday in our family is probably Christmas. We get together with all of our grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins and spend time together. We also go to church on Christmas Eve Night.

How does being spiritual or religious affect your day to day life?

Mikaeel:

It affects my day to day life because I’m a Muslim so don’t eat pork.

Ella:

We say grace every day and thank God for our food.

How do you think we should better work together to accept everyone’s different beliefs?

Mikaeel:

We could start by not judging people and work to together to accept everyone.

Ella:

We shouldn’t judge people because of their beliefs. We should be friends and work with people even if their beliefs are different than ours.