Aditya Naik

One day I came back from school, full of fatigue and exhaustion,
Here went my bag, there went my shoes, almost already in prostration.

Extremely hungry I was, and mom was ready with food,
At the dining table I spoke with dad, so as to lift my mood.

With so much served on the table, what to have and what not?!
I ate with relish all I could, without giving it another thought.

I decided to entertain myself by watching some television,
I saw a box wrapped, just like it had come from an excursion.

It was beautifully covered with my name on it, and I was stupefied,
My friend had sent it, I wished to open it although my brain denied,

Saying unwrapping a friend’s gift is a foolhardiness.
Still, I thought, it must be good just to make me feel better, I guess.

No, I refrained; my friend cannot be so nice,
It must be a prank, maybe for a surprise.

The husk must be removed, and it must be something cool I perceived,
And stunned I was with a punch in my face; oh! My heart deceived.

Never expect too much, it might lead to depression,
Stop over perceiving and accept the reality,
Enjoy life’s beautiful season…

Poetry

In a KidSpirit poem, teen poet Aditya Naik shares a humorous tale about perception versus reality. 

Oh! The Reality

Jack Miles

If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? 

When addressing perception and reality, people’s thoughts on the subject always boil down to their answer to this age-old thought experiment. Those who say the tree does make a sound would argue that reality and perception are separate. Those who say the tree does not make a sound would speak to reality and perception being one and the same. Despite these broad concepts, there is an answer: perception and reality are different. We can look to both the meaning we assign these words and to science to find a distinction.

The words themselves are not synonyms. Perception evolved from the early Latin word percipere, which means to understand or grasp. The word has maintained its connotation. Today, the Oxford Dictionary assigns it two definitions: “the way in which something is regarded, understood, or interpreted” and “the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses.” In both definitions, the word involves processing an object or event through a filter. The "something" is an entity as it exists in reality, and the filter is either the five senses or the moral outlook used to interpret the reality. Reality, as defined by Oxford Dictionary, is “the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them.” Instead of being the method through which we observe a thing, reality is the nature or truth of this thing. Reality, in plain terms, is the way events actually unfold in the real world. Reality is unaffected by the filters and lenses through which it is observed, and therefore unaffected by a person's perception. 

Optical illusions demonstrate how this  impacts our own lives. Whether it is an intricate pattern that seems to be trapped in perpetual motion or the seemingly endless spiral of a barbershop pole, the image is not what it seems. If you were to ignore outside information and instead rely purely on your five senses for understanding the phenomena, you would perceive and believe that the illusion you’re witnessing is really taking place. 

A more drastic example of a misconception caused by false perception is the Earth’s position in the cosmos. For much of modern human history, people believed the Earth was the center of the universe. People would look up and see the stars fill the sky in all directions, and it seemed like the Earth was the center of it all. Without background knowledge or a modern understanding of science, you would likely perceive that the Earth is the center of the universe as well. When European astrologists began to explore space and question the position of the Earth in our universe, it took a long time for the rest of society to accept the practice of questioning a fundamental belief, let alone the results. Nicolaus Copernicus’ heliocentric hypothesis, continued by Galileo, was met with much hostility. Even when they provided scientific evidence, people were too baffled by the prospect of misconceiving a basic principle. It was too unsettling, and it had heavy implications regarding religion and our ability as humans to understand our world. Perception can clearly create barriers to progress and an objective worldview. 

These barriers do not only drive us away from an accurate understanding of our surroundings, they also drive us away from each other. Two major issues regarding perception can cause conflict: misperception about the situation at hand, and within that, the misperception of another’s perception. All forms of argument stem from this issue. When people argue, it is because they both view a topic in a different way. This disagreement sparks debate on which perception is right, and therefore how to act in the situation. From petty “he/she started it!” arguments between siblings to the ideological rifts that caused the American Civil War, disagreements over whose perception is closest to reality can affect the relationship between two people, or even between millions of people. 

It is difficult to break these barriers. To disassociate bias from our outlook and have a more objective perception, or even to merely acknowledge and account for the separation between perception and reality, is no easy task. This “gap” between perception and reality is likely inevitable, and raises questions about what we know to be true. Does the world exist, or is life just a dream? Do we have free will, or are all of our actions predetermined by past events? Questioning the foundations of our world and lives is daunting. However, to reduce the weight of the task, we can start by dissociating the complex metaphysical concepts from the day to day applications of perception. There are many great questions that have baffled us and will continue to baffle us for centuries to come, but a more realistic goal is to instead try to reduce the thickness of the filter we inevitably put on reality when we attempt to observe it. 

Understanding the concept of perception can make a huge difference in happiness and personal well-being. To see this, we can turn back time to the days of our early education. If you are American, you most likely sang “if you’re happy and you know it clap your hands” hundreds of times as a child. The tune is cheery and upbeat, and when I was little I would choose to clap along even when I was upset, then find myself in a better mood. Despite its simplicity, the song offers more insight than we might think. When hard times hit and life seems glum, it is easy to feel helpless. However, we can often look inwards and reflect on our perception in order to find the positivity we lack. To be told “look on the bright side” by others may be obnoxious and counterproductive while we are struggling, but when we do this for ourselves, we often find the solace we seek to get through tough times. While cautiously unraveling our presumptions, we can discover we may have overestimated the severity of an issue, and de-stress. If we can perceive a happier reality, within the realm of reason, we will know we are happier and therefore be happier. We can clap our hands and feel better.

Ironically, perception is an arbitrary concept. When discussing perception, the thoughts and standpoints of the people present would inhibit an objective conversation. I write about my thoughts on the word, yet they may be worthless. This essay is merely my perception of the word perception. 

In a KidSpirit Big Question response, teen writer Jack Miles looks to science, etymology, and experience to illustrate the distinction between perception and reality.

Is There Really a Difference Between Perception and Reality?

Abraham Weitzman

It is often suggested that we try to walk in someone else's shoes or see through someone else's eyes.  What this really means is that we should be aware of others' perspectives so we can understand  their feelings.  

It is not enough to read an account of their experiences or to watch a documentary. We need to identify with them, to care about them, to see past their personal failures, so that our feelings about their lives go from sympathy to empathy. This is difficult when the other people are real with characteristics that are ugly. Fiction and drama provide the opportunity to tell a story by promoting heroic characters with flaws, instead of just ordinary people. Authors paint characters in a light that emphasizes what they want the reader to focus on, whether good or bad. They adjust the view and frame the subject.

In our real lives, we know imperfect people. Sometimes their bad qualities outshine what we admire. This does not mean they are bad, though it may seem that way. In stories, authors adjust the emphasis on different aspects of people. They can show a kind thief and a generous mobster. In my life I have seen people hurt each other's feelings. It is tempting to label them as mean. Instead I think of Sherlock Holmes. He often hurts and insults his friends, but Arthur Conan Doyle does not show us a mean man. Sherlock is a brilliant detective with bad manners. This knowledge changes my perception of real people. I think about their strengths and minimize rudeness next to accomplishments. If we can focus on what makes someone great, we may discern the distinction between flaws and terrible character.

In his tragedies, Shakespeare shows heroes as they evolve. They start out in an important social position. They are from important families and often achieve greatness before they are tormented by losing what they value most. The fall of a great person was designed to appeal to a society centered on the Elizabethan monarchy. Shakespeare's audience cared about kings and those next in line. In his plays, Hamlet is undone by revenge and Macbeth by ambition. These traits are found in ordinary people as well. By seeing them in otherwise idealized characters, we can identify similar people in reality and perceive them as separate from their actions. 

Hamlet is a prince, well liked by friends and loved by Ophelia, the woman he plans to marry. His father's death brings his tragic flaw, an unbridled drive for revenge, to the surface. We can hardly blame him, since we are meant to admire him. This allows us to gain an understanding of vengeful people. We can see how someone might be a good person who commits malevolent acts. Justice is easily confused with revenge.  It feels unfair when a criminal evades punishment or is rewarded. Justice is a societal process that can be slow. The wronged party may not want to wait while the wheels putter along. I have a friend who will not wait to have justice served. She takes revenge instead. Hamlet helps me understand her, even when I am upset by what she does.

Macbeth is a successful general and a nobleman. He is highly regarded by his soldiers and other military leaders. His trouble begins when the war is won. Excellence cannot be achieved nor victory attained by sitting at home. Macbeth is driven, internally and by Lady Macbeth, to greatness. This ambition gives him the will to kill his king, Duncan, so that he can ascend the throne. Shakespeare shows us the two sides of ambition: success and desperation for more. It is important to have ambitious goals. Without them we may lack direction. It is only when the drive to achieve overwhelms our morality that we have a problem. 

Just as there is one king, there is one gold medal. When I think about all the athletes who, after a lifetime of training, resort to performance enhancing drugs, I think that the trouble starts with the idea that extraordinary effort entitles them to automatic success. They cheat because they have worked so hard and cannot accept failure. As Macbeth sees his chance to be king slip away, he is spurred to action by Lady Macbeth. Similarly, athletes are pushed by coaches when they also will benefit from the ring or trophy. Macbeth changes my perception of real people who avoid failure by any means necessary. For these athletes, the combination of their efforts and the pressure from their community makes them feel they have no choice but to seek greatness at any cost.

In modern tragedies, it is the ordinary person we are supposed to care about. These characters are small, with little influence in the world. It is their persistence in the face of failure that makes us admire them. They struggle to hold on to a life that no one would choose. The struggle is foremost, the goal is irrelevant. 

Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is tragedy at its plainest. Willy Loman is just trying to make it through his life. He lives paycheck to paycheck. He tries to connect with his sons, but they have no respect for him. His career is over, and yet he continues to show up. He is a sorry shell of a man, but he keeps trying. We all know men who are past their prime but refuse to give up. They insist they have "still got it" long after "it" is gone. They can be incredibly annoying; we are stuck listening to them at family gatherings. If I think of Willy Loman, I am reminded that bravery is not always about confronting a monster in the forest. It can also be brave to face inadequacies and continue despite certain failure. That sort of bravery is deep and invisible.

While the focus of the play is on Willy, his wife is the hero we overlook all the time. She is the only one who cares about him. She is loyal despite his infidelity. She believes in him when everyone else knows he is at the end. She works to make a happy home, though her efforts go unappreciated. It is doing the right thing in the face of failure that makes us admire her, if we pay attention. The world is full of people whose efforts go unnoticed. Real women and men put nutritious meals on the table, fresh laundry in dressers, and words of encouragement in their spouses' ears. Reading about Willy's wife reminds us to notice and appreciate the small kindnesses of those who protect and care for us. 

Over the course of our lives we find people who disappoint us. It helps to see their strengths too. The way we perceive our family and friends impacts the reality of our relationships. We can change our perceptions by reading and thinking about idealized fictional characters who are similar to those we know. Stories can also help us understand people we have not met. They help us see refugees and convicted felons as real human beings worthy of care. We live in an imperfect world, filled with imperfect people, trying to make it through the day. It is easier to empathize with real people when we perceive them as flawed heroes. Give it a try.         

In a KidSpirit Feature article, teen writer Abraham Weitzman reveals how tragic literature and plays can build empathy, shift our perceptions of others' faults, and help us understand the flawed heroes in our lives.

Seeing Through Heroic Eyes

Ryeaan Chaudry

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, because my culture has shaped who I am. However, although religious and cultural values play a significant role in my life, I as a conscientious individual can choose to embody and possess the best of those values, in order to become a better human being. 

I come from a culture where religion and cultural values are intertwined, as religion forms a large stream of our cultural interaction. Quranic teachings and Islamic values have influenced my growth as a person. I do not insinuate that orthodoxy has molded my identity, but rather I have learned to derive the best values from my culture to become a better person. Respecting all, being fair and just, and keeping clean intentions (known as “Niyah” or “Niyat,” an extremely important concept in Islam) are just some of the values that have molded me into who I am and can do the same for many others. 

Niyat has shaped my frame of reference by teaching me that good intentions are at the crux of human nature. I have come to understand that a small action with genuine intentions is worth far more than an action done to achieve popularity or a higher social status. In my lifetime, I have seen figures like Abdul Sattar Edhi, a prominent Pakistani philanthropic figure, with his genuine intentions of helping Pakistani society, house thousands of orphans and elderly and tend to the ill without publicizing his actions and without changing his humble ways. This is the very essence of a good Niyat — it is a satisfaction at heart that you have done good, and done good to fulfill yourself and your religious duties above all. 

Everyone’s view of the world, even within the same household, is unique and different. At the end of the day, what matters is being a good person, holding good values, and being true to yourself.  It doesn’t matter what cultural or religious background you come from. It matters how you implement the teachings and values of your culture or religion to become a better version of yourself.  After all, whether a Jew or a Christian helped the elderly woman cross the road does not matter, just the intention and the nobility of the action. Goodness and generosity is not determined by your religion because essentially all religions preach the same values of kindness and generosity towards all.

I can testify to the fact that simply upholding good religious and cultural values can make you a better person. By saying this, my aim is not to blow my own horn, but rather to give an example to ordinary people that we can uphold good religious-cultural teachings and apply them to our daily interactions and life to become kinder. Applying the best values of my culture have made me instinctively greet everyone I see respectfully, learn to respect those above and below me, and most importantly understand the value of equality and justice for all, making me fearless when calling out instances of social injustice or wrongdoings. 

Be the best version of yourself, and uphold the values that make you a better human. Although values may differ from culture to culture, or religion to religion, at the end of the day what matters is the way you inculcate these values into your daily life and interactions. If your intentions are always good, and if you use your frame of perception in the right manner, it will always lead to a greater sense of self-fulfillment and satisfaction while in turn sculpting you into the best version of yourself.

In a KidSpirit Interfaith Connections article, teen writer Ryeaan Chaudry shares how cultural and religious values shape our view of the world, and how we can apply this framework to be the best versions of ourselves.

My Frame of Perception

Katie Hay

I’ve never trusted the dark side of my yard, I hate the dark because it shields my enemies, the sound of a ticking clock always makes me check my surroundings, and a pocket knife protects me at night. 

It makes me feel safe; I could stab someone if I need to. I’m actually a nice person though! I just feel safer if I can protect myself. On the other hand, fear is sometimes an awesome feeling. I'm pretty sure humans are probably one of the only species to enjoy the feeling of fear. If you think about it, we've created so many things, like Ouija Boards, haunted houses, horror movies, even Halloween to incite fear. 

Fear can either be good or bad. Rational fears will protect you most of the time, whereas irrational fears might hurt you. I’ve had a couple of experiences with both. Fear once helped me establish a new level of trust with one of my closest friends.

My friend, Teresa, and I walked up to the house covered with eerie decorations. “Trick or treat!” we said excitedly.

The family greeted us with candy, then we left. We repeated the process down the row of houses.

“Trick or treat!” we requested at each house. 

Before the next house, Teresa stopped. “We’ve already been there,” she said.

“No, we came from that way.” I pointed in the opposite direction. “Well, this isn’t good . . . ” I usually plan ahead, knowing my moves before I make them, but I wasn’t prepared for this.

“No, you’re the one that confused me!”

“Okay, I have an argument that I am too tired to present right now, so let’s just walk around. M’kay?”

I turned on a small finger flashlight that barely changed the situation. Teresa did the same.

We roamed the streets, searching for something familiar. Nothing matched images from my memory. I wasn’t the type to explore our neighborhood much.

It was getting dark. “Can I ask you something?” I questioned.

I nodded as well. “You’re not alone in that.” I had never really seen Teresa scared before. That was just something that didn’t happen. She’s usually a very closed off person. The fact that she was willing to let me see her fear would have brought a smile to my face, if I wasn’t so scared, too.

We roamed around for a while. It was cold and dark. We found a small path. It was our best bet so we followed it. “I think this leads to the park.” 

After we walked for a while, we finally made it to the park. My hopes instantaneously rose. I felt safer. 

Now, you might be thinking this story doesn’t seem that bad, but think of it this way; it’s dark and cold, you are badly prepared. The only lights you have are a few glow sticks and two colored finger flashlights. It’s the holiday of razor blades in candy, when we celebrate phobias. PHOBIAS!!! You have no idea how to get home and the rest of the trick or treaters have dispersed. How would you feel?

Probably not awesome. You might say, “Oh, I’d have remembered my way around… I wouldn’t be scared.” In reality, you probably would be afraid! We may put our guards up and say we are strong and tough, but everyone gets scared. It’s not something to be ashamed of. It’s natural for us to not want others to see our fear. In nature, if a predator sees something that looks scared it will most likely go after it. We don’t want to be targeted. 

Knowing this, when Teresa opened up and told me honestly that she was afraid, it made our bond even stronger. The fact that we are willing to let our guards down at least a little bit is a really nice feeling. 

Fear, within a single person, has the power to break us, but when our fear is shared with an ally, that is when we gain the power to overcome it.

In a KidSpirit Awesome Moments article, teen writer Katie Hay explores the awesome powers of fear and friendship.

A Fearful Bond

Satya Shaw

When I first heard about Ready Player One, I thought, “This is probably gonna be another just ok sci-fi book.” But I was wrong. 

I loved it so much that I read it in one night. The characters were described well, the plot was exciting and intriguing, and it was written with depth and description. I just couldn’t put it down. 

Ready Player One is a sci-fi adventure novel by Ernest Cline. It takes place in 2044 in a futuristic dystopian universe, in which a virtual reality program called the OASIS has taken over people’s lives. The main character, Wade Watts, is no exception. The OASIS is like a second life. You can control your avatar’s name, characteristics, personality, and actions. You can level up by killing monsters, get awesome new gear, and travel to different planets. The plot of Ready Player One revolves around the search for three keys that the game’s creator, James Halliday, hid within the OASIS. There is a clever riddle and test to achieve each key. The first person to get them all will inherit an enormous sum of money and get complete control over the OASIS.

One important theme that runs through this book is escaping reality. Characters mask their identities by changing their gender or race and by deceiving others, both within the OASIS and out. Players often don’t know whom they’re talking to.  

"In the OASIS, you could become whomever and whatever you wanted to be, without ever revealing your true identity, because your anonymity was guaranteed. " (Chapter 0005)

Everyone wants to escape reality because of the terrible state of their real surroundings. Cline portrays the world in 2044 as a bleak, dismal place where almost everyone is poor and much of America lives in giant trailer towers called stacks. It’s a dangerous and crime-ridden world with no trees or nature, so it’s no wonder that people want to escape into the OASIS. 

One prominent character is an African American lesbian who gets kicked out by her homophobic mom. The poverty, racism, and homophobia she suffers in the real world are the reasons she chooses to be white, straight, and male in the OASIS. When I think about the horrors this character has faced, I find myself understanding her decision to run away into virtual reality, even going so far as to create an avatar that is exactly the opposite of her real identity. However, I worry that by hiding deeper in the OASIS she’s making her problems worse.

Wade, on the other hand, has different motivations for spending time in the OASIS. One would think that because Wade has the most reasons to want to escape into virtual reality, he would hide the most, but of all the characters, he hides the least. This is because he has the least to lose. Wade is an orphan. His dad was shot while looting a store and his mother died of a drug overdose. Our orphan hero is a victim of the bleak world in this book. As I read, I found myself wondering why so many protagonists are orphans: Harry Potter, Oliver Twist, and Huckleberry Finn, just to name a few. I think so many writers create orphan heroes in order to capture our hearts and demand our sympathy. An orphan will go to extreme lengths to achieve his goals because he doesn’t have much to lose. Whereas another person would be too afraid, Wade risks his life in an attempt to win the final battle.

In the OASIS, each key opens a gate, and each gate is an easter egg. The player who opens the last gate will receive money and ownership of the OASIS.  It struck me as beautiful that an egg, a source of life, is the ultimate goal in this awful world. However, it’s only a virtual egg. Surely, our ultimate goal should be life in the real world. Most of the action in this book takes place not in reality but in the perceived reality of the OASIS. Cline shows us how much the characters depend on this second life. It seems that without the OASIS, all the characters would be lost, or not even alive. 

I would rate Ready Player One 4.5 stars out of 5. It is a phenomenal book filled with adventure and humor, and I would read it a thousand times over. I recommend it to anyone over eleven, including adults.

Ready Player One serves as a warning to save ourselves and our planet before it’s too late. In the first chapter, Wade wishes someone had warned him. 

"So now the polar ice caps are melting, sea levels are rising, and the weather is all messed up. Plants and animals are dying off in record numbers and lots of people are starving and homeless. And we’re still fighting wars with each other, mostly over the few resources we have left. " (Chapter 0001)

This description is as true of our world as it is of Wade’s. Ready Player One is a cautionary tale about the way we’re living our lives today. I was aware while reading the book that the book is set in the near future, and I will only be 37 in 2044. Cline was warning me that if I’m not careful, my world could be the same as Wade’s. 

In my modern world, everywhere I look there is a device out. Whether it’s at a playdate, at dinner with my family, or just on my morning walk to school, I always see people looking down at their phones instead of at each other. Even I am guilty of this. Cline wants us to live our lives in the real world and not run away into the internet. We may have terrible poverty, crime, war, hunger, and an environmental crisis, but as bad as things are, we still have forests and oceans, and most importantly, we have the chance to save our planet. In short, we have hope. And it is up to us to make the most of it.

In a KidSpirit Media review, teen writer Satya Shaw gives his take on Ernest Cline's sci-fi adventure novel Ready Player One.

The Hazards of Escaping Reality

Jianyi Zhang

I opened my eyes to a shadowy forest.
Bugs were everywhere, feasting away at the rotten logs.
The contorted trees were towering over the young saplings on the ground.
The air smelled of decaying plants and mud.

I wandered around and came across a particularly perfect tree.
I could see every detail, even through the dense smog.
Everything was geometric, symmetrical.
Not a leaf was misshapen, not a branch was misplaced.
The pieces of bark were perfect, congruent triangles,
overlapped in a meticulous pattern.

The tree seemed to call out my name.
I was drawn towards it like a magnet.
I hesitated for a while; this seemed too good to be real.

I decided to reach out to touch the tree.
But right before I laid my hands on it,
suddenly,
it vanished.

In a KidSpirit poem, teen poet Jianyi Zhang asks if perfection can ever be real, or if it is only just a vision.

The Perfect Tree

Megan Kelleher

To everyone else, she was perfect.
She had a bubbly personality.
She had a fit physique.
She had a beautiful pair of eyes.
And she had a smile known to make boys’ jaws drop.

To everyone else, she was perfect.
She was blonde but not too blonde.
She was tall but not too tall.
She was curvy but not too curvy.
And she was just the right amount of sassy and sweet.

To everyone else, she was perfect,
But in her mind,
She could never seem to fit into jeans.
She could never seem to find real friends.
She could never seem to be happy.

And she could never tell a soul . . . 
How much she struggled with body-confidence.
How much she wanted laughing to come naturally.
How much she felt imperfect.

And still, she would never crack, crumble, cry.
She would never admit her weaknesses.
She would never ask for help.
She would never be okay with not being okay
Because admitting your struggles highlights your flaws

And she was supposed to be perfect―
To everyone else at least.

In a KidSpirit poem, teen poet Megan Kelleher explores perfection and self-perception.

To Everyone Else

Pahal Bhasin

I am a lonely shepherd standing here,
Daydreaming that birds will take me to heaven,
I see people flying above me,
Is it real or just a dream?

I’m the ploughman, working day and night,
I need to provide my family shelter,
Dishhhhh! I hear a splash in the lake next to me,
Some creature is drowning in the deep lake.

I am the fisherman, looking for fish,
I need to feed my family,
Someone fell in lake next to me,
But I have a ton of work to do.

I fell from the collosal sky,
Into the turquoise lake,
I am drowning, water filling my lungs,
I think I am meeting death. 

In a KidSpirit poem, teen poet Pahal Bhasin imagines the classic myth of Icarus from different perspectives.

A Different Perspective

Nargis Kachrumathur

Imagine you were the opposite gender; do you think you would be treated differently by your family, friends, teachers, and even strangers? Instead of having dolls and dresses, would you have cars and superhero costumes? Instead of being put in soccer practice, would you be put in ballet class? 

Do you think it’s right for the lives of youth -your lives- to be shaped by other people, or do you want to choose your own path and be your own person? The Mask You Live In, directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, is an eye-opening, controversial documentary that shines light on the much discussed and researched topic of “masculinity” in the United States. 

To give a brief overview of the movie, boys ranging from toddlers to adolescents and even adults are interviewed on how they have managed to keep up the mask of masculinity while going through rough patches in their lives. Most of them do not have a stable father figure in their life, or they have been bullied and beaten in school and at home. The movie shifts between different interviews of men and boys, interviews of educators and psychologists, and clips that show how masculinity is portrayed in hip hop culture, toys, sports, and entertainment. 

From a very young age, these males have been told to “man up,” and to not cry “like a girl.” They have been given the idea that being weak, showing emotions, and not being muscular means being feminine. These boys are s are forced to live up to certain expectations, or else become “uncool” social outcasts. This pressure contributes to a number of rapes, homicides, suicides, and sexual abuse cases. The whole idea of masculinity is to contradict anything feminine, which is portrayed as naive and trivial. Females are described as the weaker sex, and in subtle ways, such as messages in advertisements, entertainment, and sports, this stereotype has carved itself into the way we process and look at things in our daily lives.

The interviews were very powerful; the tears in many boys’ eyes clearly displayed how the pressure of being masculine and going against their true natures had destroyed them. Some of the ideas they shared about their experiences were extremely insightful. Their words show how, at a time when teenage boys become closed off and don’t feel comfortable talking about their feelings with others, violent video games give them that extra dopamine to make them feel like they are winning at something, even when their real lives are a mess. Then they start taking drugs and drinking alcohol to dull all their feelings, so they don’t have to feel hurt and scared anymore. Breaking down and crying is not an option, so they take all their pain out on others through physical abuse and violence.

The clips of educators and psychologists further explore various aspects of masculinity and how it affects d people differently on the basis of their age, gender, and economical background. A beautiful point that one of the psychologists brings up is that sex is nothing more than a biological term, determining a difference in body parts of males and females, and both genders are far more human, and far more similar than they are different. Having experts in the field talk about the subject is somewhat reassuring, because as I was watching it, knowing that there is actual data and science behind the conversations made them seem more serious and impactful. Other viewers might change their opinions because they are seeing educated, knowledgeable people addressing issues that they may have wrongly thought to be unimportant. 

 I really appreciate how this film shows masculinity from all angles, including how it affects lives and people and how people in turn shape the definition. Additionally, the examples of how males are portrayed as violent and dominating in video games, movies, and songs helps deepen the points the educators and psychologists make about the topic. The way in which the story and main ideas pan out through the movie, giving each aspect of masculinity a real-life example and illustrating how it impacts the world and is impacted by the world, really makes the film it strong and memorable, something that gives me food for thought even after watching it. 

The movie could mean different things for different people; it could ask them to reflect upon themselves, make them more aware, touch them, or even interest them enough to start studying gender in more depth. Being born and brought up in a feminist household myself, none of this was very new to me, but the movie certainly broadened my perspective and knowledge of masculinity. The many examples shocked me, but also gave me something to think about. They made me look at some people in my life in a different way, because now I can understand what they may be going through, and why that makes them interact or communicate the way they do. I think that if males with experiences similar to those discussed in the film watch it, they can finally rebel against the people in their lives who oppress them and force them to act a certain way. The way one approaches and sees life definitely changes after watching the movie. It shows you the world and its troubled men hiding behind masks of power, toughness, and dominance, when inside they really need someone to comfort them and love them. Knowing just how vital it is to be aware about these many issues under the wider umbrella of masculinity might even lead people to make a global impact in the future. Though it isn’t mentioned in the documentary, I personally believe that this film is powerful enough to inspire people to do something about the stereotypes and pressures it discusses. 

The only improvement the movie could use is more comparison to the way girls are brought up and treated by society. This was done to some extent by the psychologists and through anecdotes that the interviewed teenage boys brought up. However, it would have been more impactful if there were more visuals shown of the way stereotypes of girls are expressed through entertainment, advertisements, and media, in order for the viewers to get a better sense of just how erroneous the images and stereotypes associated with masculinity are. Doing so would also help bring more comparison into the film, and help people visualize the full situation better. If females were also interviewed, one could get a real-life feel for the difference between the upbringing and lifestyle of the two genders.

On a scale of one to five, I would rate The Mask You Live In a four, and strongly suggest that boys and girls above the age of twelve watch it and maybe even have a discussion about it with their parents, or in school. Perhaps if more people saw the world like this, the whole concept of gender would fade into a biological term instead of all these judgements of femininity and masculinity, and nobody would have to hide behind a mask anymore.

In a KidSpirit Media review, teen writer Nargis Kachrumathur gives her take on Jennifer Siebel Newsom's documentary on masculinity, The Mask You Live In. 

(Wo)Man Up

Debora Samudio

I live where everybody appreciates everything
Except when you achieve something better than them
I live where people don’t see what you did
Except when you did something wrong to them

I live where politicians have enough to eat
While a little boy drowns for some fish
I live where people do things only for doing them
And it doesn’t matter how they’re handed in

I live where young people want to have good friends
But they don’t try to be a good one
I live where a lot of people see our reality
And are trying to change it

I would like to live where everybody can think
Can talk and do more things
Things that would help us to grow up

In a KidSpirit poem, teen poet Debora Samudio shares her perception of the challenges facing her society.

Where Do I Live?

Wyatt Cooper

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Mead

How do you typically spend your weekend? Do you and your family shop? Do you go to the movies? Do you attend sporting events? These are all normal leisure activities that many people, including myself, take for granted. But Mrs. Smith* from Flemingsburg, Kentucky, could not participate in these activities. Mrs. Smith spent the majority of her time taking care of her daughter, Anna*, who was 24 years old. Anna was born with Aicardi Syndrome, so she was unable to walk and required a wheelchair for mobility. With no way of feasibly getting her daughter to the car safely, Mrs. Smith had to carry her daughter down the front steps of their home to the car. This made even the simplest errand a daunting task for her. My involvement in local mission work exposed me to the reality of Mrs. Smith’s situation.

I got involved with local mission work about four years ago, when I was finally old enough to go to Kentucky Changers for the first time. Kentucky Changers is an organization that provides home repair and maintenance to those in need. I was about 12 years old and was very excited to finally be a part of this great opportunity. Most of the youth in my church participate in this organization after completing the seventh grade and all, like myself, find it to be an amazing experience. The year I started Kentucky Changers, the job my crew and I received was to paint a house for an older lady who was taking care of her adult son, who was confined to a wheelchair. In the following years, with each new project, I accrued new talents. I learned to pour concrete, construct wheelchair ramps and decks, and install siding for people who were in need. As I was building my own carpentry skills, I was also building other invaluable skills I needed to help others. One of the most important is empathy; empathy is an indispensable skill that enables you to see someone’s situation from their point of view or “put yourself in their shoes.” What I saw is that some of the things that I took for granted were next to impossible for others. 

From Kentucky Changers was born Generation Changers, a group led by Brother Tony Leiss, pastor of First Baptist Church of Maysville, along with his family and other teens from the area, that carries out additional local mission projects. When I was fourteen years old, I was on a crew with Generation Changers to build a ramp for Mrs. Smith so that she would no longer have to struggle down stairs to carry  her daughter to the car. It was unexpectedly cold the day we started to build the ramp for Mrs. Smith. I vividly recall that my hands and feet turned white from the damp cold. The terrible conditions that day would have caused many to give up and come back another day when the weather served them better. But our crew of adults, myself, and some other teenagers persevered. Fortunately, we all stuck with the task, and we completed Mrs. Smith’s ramp to her house in just one day. It made me proud to see what we did even through the horrid conditions. 

When Mrs. Smith saw the ramp, her eyes lit up like this construction of wood had suddenly changed everything for her and her daughter, which made all our work worthwhile. In that moment, I wished I had a pause button to capture the feeling you get when you serve someone who cannot repay you. It is an indescribable sensation that is impossible to recreate in any other way than to serve others, but those are just the short-term effects. In the long term, you get a sense of joy and hope that sticks with you and never fades. That is what makes me want to take time out of every summer to do this type of work.

Mrs. Smith then guided Anna to the porch in her wheelchair, but this time, instead of struggling to pick her up, she easily wheeled her down her brand-new wheelchair ramp. 

Before I became a part of Kentucky Changers, I really didn’t have a deep sense of what my neighbors went through to perform the simple tasks in life that I took for granted. Being a part of this team has caused me to be more apt to help the people near me, no matter how big or small the problem is, and has helped me understand that we all build the world we want for ourselves and for our neighbors.

Everyone has their own unique story. This is mine. Mother Teresa said, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” Not only has my experience changed the world for Mrs. Smith, it changed my perception of the world as well. It has given me the desire to want to continue to build a better world — one person at a time.

In a KidSpirit Awesome Moments article, teen writer Wyatt Cooper shares how mission work and community service have helped him see the world from his neighbors' perspectives. 

Building Character

Alexandra Collins

In a KidSpirit blackout poem, teen poet Alexandra Collins evokes ideas about perception, reality, lies, truth, and dishonesty.

Truth from a Liar

Dr. Anil Seth

“What is the question that you asked as a child, and are still asking today?”

Dr. Humberto Maturana, the legendary Chilean biologist, asked me this when we met a few days ago in the leafy suburb of Providencia, in Santiago de Chile. Maturana is now 90 years old but is still sprightly and sharp as nails. After some thinking, I replied: “Who am I?” 

I think this is a question we all ask ourselves at some point – probably beginning when we are still young. Some people find answers in religion, others in their roles in society or in their family, others in their passion for sport or some other activity, and still others put the question aside, at some point, as life presents them with other things to worry about. But questions like this never really go away. 

What does it mean to be “me”? I want to give you a sense of how I’ve come to think about this from the perspective of a neuroscientist (someone who studies the brain), and what lessons we can all take from this “story of the self.” But we start not with the self itself. We start with the world around us.

Open your eyes and a world appears. This is the most natural thing ever, no conscious effort required. Whenever we are awake, we have vivid experiences of being in a world full of things, things with colors and shapes, with textures, and perhaps with smells, too. When I opened my own eyes just now, I saw a table in front of me, with a computer and a few empty mugs of different colors. It seems as though my eyes, all my senses, are windows onto an external “real world” which contains all these objects – and that these objects really have the properties they seem to have. It seems-as-though the mug nearest to me is actually red, and is actually round.

But how things seem is quite often a poor guide to how they actually are. The cats and coffee cups and dogs and donuts that make up our conscious perceptions are better thought of as things the brain “makes up” in order to best account for the stream of sensory signals in which it is continually immersed.  The world we perceive comes as much from the inside-out, as from the outside-in.

To see this, imagine being a brain. There you are, locked inside the bony vault of the skull, trying to figure out what’s out there in the world. There’s no light in the skull; there’s no sound either. It’s completely dark and it’s utterly silent. Your eyes and your ears just deliver streams of electrical signals to the brain. These signals don’t come with labels attached – “I’m from a cat! I’m from a coffee cup!” – they are just electrical signals, signals which do not themselves have any shape, color, or sound. Therefore, in order to figure out what’s out there in the world, the brain has to combine these ambiguous sensory signals with some prior “expectations” or “predictions” about the way the world is.  And that’s what we perceive – the brain’s “best guess” of the causes of its sensory signals.

Here's a very simple example, a visual illusion called “Adelson’s checkerboard.” In the left-hand image, the patches A and B look like they are different shades of grey. But they are in fact exactly the same shade of grey. The image on the right proves this by joining up A and B with a rectangle that has a uniformly grey colour.  

What’s happening here is that the brain is using its knowledge that things in shadow appear darker than they actually are, so we end up seeing B as lighter than it really is. This “knowledge” is not something you are aware that your brain has, but it certainly has it. This is what I mean by the brain having “predictions” or “expectations” that are needed to transform raw sensory signals into vivid conscious perceptions.

If we take this example and run with it, our common sense way of thinking about perception gets turned on its head. It’s natural to think that what we perceive depends on “reading out” sensory signals that come from the outside world. In fact, the world we perceive depends on the brain’s predictions – its “best guesses” – which are continually created and recreated by the complex circuitry inside your head. Sensory signals just keep these best guesses in check, so that what we perceive doesn’t deviate too far from what’s actually there. The reality that we experience – the way things seem – is not a direct reflection of what’s actually out there, it’s a clever construction by the brain, for the brain.

Now, the next trick is to realize that this process also applies to the experience of “being you” – to the self. The brain, remember, just sends and receives electrical signals. It is almost as isolated from the body as it is from the outside world.  So, perceptions of “what it is to be me” must also depend on combinations of sensory signals and brain-based predictions. Only this time, these sensory signals and predictions have to do with the “self” and not so much with the world outside. This turns our common sense view upside down once again. The “self” is not the thing that does the perceiving. The self itself is perception, another kind of brain-based “best guess,” though one of a very special kind.  

When we think of the self this way, it becomes clear that there is no single thing that is “me.”  Instead, the experience of being me is composed of a whole different range of self-related perceptions – from what is and what is not my body, to experiences of making choices and seeing the world from a particular point of view, to recalling memories and making plans for the future. Nowhere behind any of this is a fixed “self.” You are the sum of your self-related perceptions, nothing more and nothing less.

This is how I’ve come to think about the question “who am I” – and it’s a picture that I find oddly reassuring. When we realize that “what-it-is-to-be-me” is just a special kind of perception, I think it makes it easier to deal with the anxieties and worries that may challenge us at various times in our lives. These emotions, too, are just perceptions, and while we shouldn’t ignore their causes, there’s also no need to identify ourselves with them, convinced that things will never change. Just as the world changes, we, too, are always changing. This is the nature of perception, and it is to be welcomed, not feared.

Having said all this, I’ve also learned to be very modest about the conclusions we scientists reach, whether from theories or from experiments. As much as I like the story I’ve told you, it’s surely only a step along the way to a full understanding of the self, and it may turn out to be completely wrong. Science too is a story, a story that corrects itself against the evidence of nature. Nobody will ever be completely “right,” and each one of us can only strive to be less wrong than those who came before us. The beauty of science is only rarely in the answers it provides; it’s usually in the journey of discovery along the way.

Let me end by asking you about your life question – what is the question that you can always remember asking and which has not gone away? If you can hang on to this, and keep seeking answers to it in whatever way you can (science is not the only way!), then you’ll have kept alive one of the most wonderful things about being human: the ability to be curious.

In a KidSpirit PerSpectives article, neuroscientist Dr. Anil Seth shares how reality informs our perception - or vice versa. 

Reality Is Not What It Seems – and Neither Are You! 

Michael Deschenes

Objectivity is of utmost importance to—and is accordingly prioritized by—some of the most influential members of American society. 

Conventionally, this emphasis on objectivity is thought to reinforce the expectations for these individuals’ behavior, conduct of the highest moral and spiritual caliber. For judges, the oath of office dictates that they “will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and the rich.” In journalism, the industry-wide obligation to report the whole truth and nothing but the truth steers reporters clear of irresponsible or manipulative coverage. But what if the implicit promise of these professions — to maintain and further objective truth — is forgotten? Or, worse yet, what are we to do if these standards were unattainable to begin with? In most cases, objectivity is simultaneously a non-factor and an unrealistic aim. Many of the aforementioned individuals try to minimize the influence of their subjective views, and admirably so, but these attempts inevitably fall short. Instead of striving for crystalline objectivity, a diverse breadth of subjective views should be acknowledged and consciously synthesized to achieve something proximal, even superior, to objectivity.

Because individuals have distinct experiences and circumstances, objectivity is a fatally lofty goal for which to aim, both philosophically and situationally. As early as elementary school, children begin considering whether their view of the world is the same as that of their peers. Often, this curiosity manifests in the visual interpretation of colors. “What if we see different things for the color red?” a seven-year-old may wonder. Although an inchoate idea, in this way even a child can strike at the central problem with objectivity: it is ultimately impossible to tell if each of us perceives the world in the same manner. This notion also reveals far more about objectivity’s flaws than possible ocular variation. Just as our perception of colors may not be shared, the objectivity of our individual experiences is corrupted by the way in which we interact with and experience the world. Whether because of race, gender, religion, or class, each person’s ride on this roller coaster — or, as some may see it, lazy river — we call life will be unique.

Even those tasked with expertise in a given field, such as food critics, automobile columnists, and sommeliers, often struggle with objective reviews of their respective products. Most famously, wine reviews seem to have only a marginal basis in objectivity. Of course, wine-tasting is a necessarily subjective pursuit, but even sommeliers cannot maintain a consistent subjective framework. Wine competitions, as judged by professional wine-tasters, seem to award top placings virtually at random. Robert Hodgson, a retired oceanographer and vineyard owner, first investigated this phenomenon in 2005 at the California State Fair wine competition and found remarkable variance in judges’ preferences and scores. An article in The Guardian, which cites Hodgson’s research, explains how little a wine competition’s winner has to do with its objective characteristics: “some [white wines] rated as gold medallists in one contest do badly in another. [Red wines] adored by some panels are dismissed by others.” Similarly, an average consumer of wine or any other high-end product cannot objectively appraise goods. Subjects in numerous studies have favored wines that are supposedly pricier even if their “cheaper” counterparts are, in fact, the exact same brand and product. This sort of perceptive trickery has been demonstrated with a number of other products, like water and medicine, and by adjusting a wide range of variables, including scarcity and presentation. Although through different means, these studies illustrate one unfortunate reality about people: our minds cannot objectively assess the world around us. Rather than irresponsibly placing weight on objectivity, an ideal that is functionally nonexistent, we must actively seek out and understand diverse thought and opinions to more closely render the truth.

The existence of individuals’ perspectives is seldom questioned, so personal truth can serve as a far better lens through which we can analyze the world, especially in comparison to errant attempts at objectivity. As Ralph Waldo Emerson recounts in his speech “The American Scholar,” delivered to the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Cambridge in 1837, “[t]he scholar of the first age received into him the world around; brooded thereon; gave it the new arrangement of his own mind, and uttered it again.” In this way, “[the world] came into him, life; it went out from him, truth.” Emerson describes the necessarily individual and sacred process of personal reflection, spurred by simply immersing oneself in life, which produces subjective thought. No matter the extent to which the scholar processes “the world around,” his or her mind will have rendered its perspective distinct from those of others as a function of not only natural input and biological variance but also cultural present and past: “As no air pump can by any means make a perfect vacuum, so neither can any artist entirely exclude the conventional, the local, the perishable from his book, or write a book of pure thought.” Regardless of to what extent, environment will naturally alter thought, taking with it any hope of even mere individual objectivity. This individual variability should be accounted for and leveraged to form a rational and cohesive perspective, for who is to say whether my interpretation of the world is more valuable than yours or someone else’s?

Although a collective consideration of the personal views Emerson describes is valuable, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian author, rightfully warns against the acceptance of any individual’s truth as objective, or even complete, in her TED Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story.” She explains that “[i]t is impossible to talk about the single story,” the general description of an entire people, “without talking about power.” The hierarchy of relative societal privilege, determined over years of cultural interplay, defines this sort of brash storytelling. Power dictates “how [stories] are told, who tells them, when they are told, [and] how many… are told.” These types of generalizations, which pervade every aspect of mainstream culture and media, can be temptingly easy to accept. In some communities, certain beliefs are so universally accepted that they seem functionally objective, taken for granted, like the overwhelming subscription to climate change in scientific circles, Catholicism in Italy, or support for Donald Trump in Roberts County, Texas. But allegedly objective narratives about any group are fallacious and should be treated as such. Even in examples of extreme consensus, a minority dissents. With that dissent, the possibility of objective fact, even to a narrow portion of the population, also collapses. What is left, then, is Emerson’s individual truth, which still allows for productive discourse and diversity of thought.

A comprehensive review of a multitude of individual, subjective perspectives — Emerson’s truths—ensures a conclusion that, while not objective, is holistic, trending toward a collective, moderate, and probably more accurate result. This practice is crucial to our democracy, manifesting in various forms: juries, voting, and reporting, for example. Of course, even an optimized strategy can implode upon implementation. An all-white jury failed to convict the murderers of Emmett Till; foreign governments have attempted to sway American elections; mainstream news networks have been charged with partisan bias regardless of content. Critics of the contention that a communal understanding is better than a singularly definitive one may point to these examples as failures of this seemingly hodgepodge approach. In reality, the ideals were not the issue; the applications of them were. If networks were to actively incorporate the views of every subset of society and minimize their own commentary, they would surely be less partial. The all-white jury obviously did not have sufficient diversity of thought to come to a sensible decision. In a time where candid reporting is described as untruthful and political division gradually destabilizes the foundations of democracy, fantastic pursuits of objectivity should be abandoned in favor of sympathetic understanding of as many perspectives as possible. 

Moreover, the value of subjectivity transcends politics. There is an idea in Jainism, an ancient, nontheistic Indian religion, called anekant, which roughly corresponds to the notion of many-sidedness. Jainism accepts the limitations of ordinary or individual knowledge, instead giving weight to truth in relation to perspective. A stronger belief in this sort of empathetic thought, a subscription to the validity of everyone’s views, could very well bring about the change most needed today. With this shift we may finally re-establish the link that connects us all as humans: our humanity itself.

“28 U.S. Code § 453 - Oaths of Justices and Judges.” Legal Information Institute. www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/453

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. “The Danger of a Single Story.” YouTube. October 7, 2009. www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg

Derbyshire, David. “Wine-Tasting: It's Junk Science.” The Guardian, June 22, 2013 www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/23/wine-tasting-junk-science-analysis

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “The American Scholar.” Phi Beta Kappa Society. August 31, 1837, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

“Primum Non Nocere.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation.  October 12, 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primum_non_nocere

In a KidSpirit Feature article, teen writer Michael Deschenes posits that objectivity is impossible, and that we should instead make room for the countless individual subjective truths of those around us.

The Shortcomings of Objectivity

Renee Yu

I gazed peacefully at the sun kissing the sky
A rippling blue blanket dashed the sand
Emerald palm trees stood in rows
Each bow in obedience as the crisp, morning wind danced by

I ambled further, savoring the sea's sweet tunes
As I sat on the silky sand and closed my eyes, inhaling the salty perfume
Relaxing my nerves, I reflected on what was said
Beads of water trickled down, falling one after another, as I thought of what I had done
Sensing my misery, the sun awoke

She spoiled me and bathed me in her warm arms, banishing the icy wind away
I wiped my marble eyes and focused on the laughter of the waves, lost in thought
My eyes widened in realization
Running home, filled with hope, I knew I could make things right again

In a KidSpirit poem, teen poet Renee Yu shares how solitude and reflection can change her perception of reality after an emotional event.

My Runaway Place

Lucy Liversidge

Suddenly, it is Sunday night. Forty-eight hours of respite dwindle to a few more minutes. Deep breath in through my mouth. Hold it. And out through my nose. Once more. 

The smell of burning sage, carried in wisps about the room, and a line of polished crystals (rose quartz for activating the heart, obsidian for protection) on my windowsill prove my centeredness, my enlightenment. Yet there remains an emptiness no amount of material goods can fill. I had perceived the holistic wellness boutiques situated in West Los Angeles as a one-stop- spirituality-shop peddling the solution to my discomfort, pain, and anxiety in the shape of an organic scented candle. I would learn later (but not before spending too much money) that the acquisition of more spiritual paraphernalia was never a marker for improvement to my mental health or growth in my spirituality. In reality, spirituality is the rightful opposite to this kind of consumerism, with its emphasis on the human spirit or soul instead. It seems to me that Martin Luther was on to something when he claimed good works do not achieve salvation. It may not be salvation that I am after, but it is apparent that the symbolic stones I purchase in Highland Park are not going to carry me over the finish line. 

The increased commercialization of spirituality has marketed kombucha, yoga, veganism, and essential oils as cure-alls to fragmented inner peace. Corporations have commodified spiritual direction, all wrapped in a compostable bow, and I’ve bought into it. Exploiting the movement to seek spirituality outside of mainstream religious organizations, particularly in white middle- and upper-class America, corporations are more inclined to advertise their products for a mass market, leaving little room for alternative spiritual groups in any context outside of a commercial one. These powerful companies have trampled over age-old traditions and rebranded spirituality as shiny, new, and innately materialistic. Alternative wellness and spirituality are now an accessory branded for me, the privileged American white girl. What I sought, innocently, was quick relief and comfort, and I thought it was available for pickup in-store. 

Spirituality seekers, well-intentioned and committed, should not rely heavily on what are supposed to be material supplements. Enigmatic descriptions and impressive promises led me astray as I made a preliminary attempt to navigate the commercial spiritual movement. “Exuding the spiritual energy of the wise guru” made me believe spiritual progress was mine for the purchasing from someone else, rather than mine for the earning through self-reflection. Not only did this misguidance leave me feeling unfulfilled, it also left my spiritual progress stagnant. I yearned for interconnectedness but refused to make the effort needed to achieve it. As it turns out, paying for tangible affirmation in the form of spiritual tools comes much easier than the price of changing your way of life for spiritual equilibrium.

Business and spiritual values differ fundamentally. The commodification of transcendence opposes the very nature of a transcendent person. What is logical about selling for a profit the one thing that transcends earthliness most? Spirituality is no one’s to hand out, nor is it anyone’s to purchase. The finest incense, healing crystals, or adaptogenic edible dust that money can buy will hardly earn you the one thing money can’t buy. Spiritual progress requires time. It was not until I began to see any symbolic possessions I had invested in as reminders rather than progressors that I bore witness to growth. Considering my materials for what they were — of the Earth — allowed me to make connections between a spiritual realm and my daily, terrestrial one.

Corporations are looking to sell a watered-down, fast-tracked version of spirituality to consumers who aren’t looking for the real thing. These products have become tools customers may use to become “at peace” with themselves and the world around them, but by catering to the feelings of an individual consumer, companies have betrayed an initial intention of the religions these commodities appropriate: to develop a meaningful world view. Buying into a material spirituality reinforces big companies’ incentive to market transcendent goods in eye-catching packaging backed by descriptive language to make their customer comfortable with the status-quo. The last person you want narrating a path to enlightenment is a CEO aiming to sell as many downloads of a meditation app as possible. Material goods marketed as enlightened or full of good energy are not a replacement for reflection, knowledge, and time. 

In a KidSpirit Interfaith Connections article, teen writer Lucy Liversidge asks if material, commercial products can deliver on promises to bring spiritual fulfillment and enlightenment. 

The Commodification of Spirituality

Elijah Olson

A carcasustelinum is a leafy sort of plant,
Some portantainum is an element in cooking pans,
Slopa-Koppa-Glippy-Glunk is a type of adhesive,
Did you know there is a bird called the Red-Necked Sketiv?

If those are really words or not
I don’t really care
Because from my mind to my pen they just appeared there.

If you don’t know what a Feather-Faced Gibber Lout
Could possibly be,
Than make it up and say it has 47 legs and lives in the sea.

And if you say for that I am crazy and lost my lid,
You might be right. It’s just what I did.

In a KidSpirit poem, teen poet Elijah Olson delves into questions surrounding meaning, language, words, and how we construct reality.

Words

Writers and artists take up the very fabric of our experience in this issue of KidSpirit. Is our perception accurate? Is reality actually real? Join us to explore the world through different eyes.

Oh! The Reality

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