Taha Wairua / Spirituality

Hikoi ki te Hauora provides young people with opportunities to explore the concept of spirituality and what this means to them. Spirituality is defined in the Health and Physical Education Curriculum in New Zealand (1999, p 31) as:

"The values and beliefs that determine the way people live, the search for meaning and purpose in life, and personal identity and self-awareness (for some individuals and communities, spiritual wellbeing is linked to a particular religion; for others, it is not)."

It is important that young people are recognised as individuals in their own right, with their own ways of thinking, feeling and expressing themselves. When young people are listened to, appreciated and understood, they become truly involved in life, sharing their experiences and having meaningful relationships.

Teachers need to recognise that many young people do not participate in institutional religion. Hikoi ki te Hauora aims to promote wellness and provide young people with opportunities to explore their values, attitudes and beliefs. The challenge is how to nurture a sense of meaningfulness in life for young people for whom institutional religion is unimportant. Religion and religious practices are only one way of many of embodying the spiritual dimension of life.

While young people may not belong to a particular religion or place of worship, this does not mean that they are not curious about spirituality. Author, John Bluck, views spiritual curiosity as being related to national identity and this is especially so for Pakeha watching the renaissance of Maori culture and wondering about their own. He says that spirituality has to be grounded in ordinary, everyday things and events which belong in everyone's experience, not just those things which are considered holy or worthy.

Some features of a healthy Kiwi spirituality (Bluck):

• Commitment to finding wholeness and integration of different interests
• Engagement in the world as it is, rather than some fanciful version of how it might be or once was
• Desire for growth toward a richer and fuller humanity, beyond any form of dependency, reaching out for life in all its fullness
• Respect for the diversity of people as they are and the beliefs they hold
• Willingness to be accountable to the community rather than working in isolation
• Freedom from coercion, bullying and manipulation
• Commitment to seek justice and give respect for all, regardless of gender, race or creed, and to resist anything that distorts or diminishes the dignity of the person.

A spirituality that speaks credibly about human limitation and the meaning and purpose we derive from finding a place to stand in the world, is a timely gift indeed.

For adolescents living in Aotearoa New Zealand, the following definition of spirituality may be of relevance and provide a means for opening up discussions about what spirituality means to them:

"I believe spirituality is being in tune with one's self, with the land and the environment.
Being true to your self, inside and outside.
A combination of everything that makes you what you are today - history, culture, sexuality and knowing your ancestry."
(Stewart, 1997).

The challenge is for all those who interact with adolescents to be aware of the need for young people to develop a sense of personal identity and self-worth, and to provide them with opportunities to explore what spirituality means for them.