Spiritual Development
As an adolescent, I didn’t know what it meant to truly connect, with others, with nature, or even with myself. I was unsure of my place in the world. I wasn’t avoiding it intentionally, but I wasn’t aware of it either. I existed in a kind of personal fog. I couldn’t speak to adults with confidence, didn’t understand how I was part of something larger, and certainly didn’t see myself in the world-centric way I do now.
One memory sticks with me. I was eleven years old, wearing a Michael Jordan jersey and oversized jean shorts with a hammer loop that kept catching on my bike seat (this was 1998). My best friend and I stopped for ice cream, and after unwrapping it, I threw the trash on the ground. I remember feeling a twinge of guilt, but I left it there anyway. At the time, it felt like nothing. But I’ve carried that moment with me for over two decades. I haven’t littered since. That tiny act, and the discomfort I felt after, planted a seed. It wasn’t conscious, but something shifted in me. That was the beginning of a deeper awareness, my first step toward seeing myself as part of the larger world.
Moments like that happen all the time, especially for adolescents. And I think this is what spiritual development really is, not about belief systems or rituals, but about growing in awareness. About becoming the kind of person who reflects, questions, and feels their impact.
As someone who has always leaned toward logic and science, it took me time to realize that this kind of reflection is spiritual work. Teaching helped me see it. The classroom became a place where I could watch young people confront themselves and their choices, and slowly come into a deeper sense of who they are. I’ve come to welcome those moments, especially the hard ones, because they help shape how we move through the world. They teach us who we want to become.
And if we can create classrooms that hold space for those moments, without rushing to fix or label them, we give students the room to begin their own journey toward something fuller, more connected, and more alive.