Raising a Teenager by Jeanne Elium

Author:Jeanne Elium [Elium, Jeanne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-77905-2
Publisher: Potter/TenSpeed/Harmony
Published: 2012-03-27T16:00:00+00:00

The Spiritual Quest in the Landing Years

Teens in the falling years experience a spiritual longing for a home; a home where they are accepted for who they are, how they feel, and what they think. What they experience instead is alienation, misunderstanding, and loneliness. During the early landing years (fifteen to sixteen), teens reach a turning point, a fork in the path that requires a choice between saying “Yes” or “No” to life. They require something meaningful to latch onto now, something that ignites their imaginations and fires their creativity. Churches put more emphasis on their youth programs for teens in this age group, because they are hungry for structure, deep contemplation, open dialogue, and charitable service. Teens in the landing years are an enormous, untapped resource of willing volunteers.

Teenagers, now easily influenced by philosophies that appeal to their spiritual longings, may adopt unconventional religious beliefs. What if a teen’s spiritual path conflicts with her parents’ views? We have all read about the cults that brainwash their devotees, cutting them off from the outside world, and we do not want our children to be controlled or hurt. The best way to deal with our teen’s spiritual search is to avoid criticism about her ideas, lest we push her further into something that she was merely investigating. Be open and interested in what her beliefs are, what appeals to her about a certain religious group or spiritual path, and why. What arouses fear in us may be another, although different, way of worshiping the Divine. As the teen grows, these beliefs will either mature or transform into other ways that nourish the spirit and soothe the soul. If the adolescent beliefs are truly dangerous or frightening, then finding out everything about the creed and the group perpetuating it will help parents know where to find help. Seeking the counsel of a minister, priest, rabbi, shaman, or transpersonal therapist often offers the guidance and reassurance a parent needs when spiritual conflicts arise.

Waldorf high schools recognize this crucial turning point when teenagers begin to grapple with themselves and the choice between life and death. In the eleventh grade they recognize Shakespeare’s Hamlet in themselves: Hamlet, who loses himself in the emotional life; Hamlet, whose father is displaced by another; Hamlet, whose mother marries again, too soon; Hamlet, who flirts with madness; Hamlet, who contemplates suicide. Each year Meg Gorman, Waldorf high-school teacher, asks her juniors to close their eyes and raise their hands if they have ever thought about committing suicide. She relates that twenty years ago, about five in a class of thirty raised their hands. Today, almost every hand in the class goes up. “I never tell them the answers at this age. There aren’t any, anyway,” she says. They come to terms with themselves and their own answers with Hamlet.”(8)

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.