Sometimes things happen that push us back to our deepest questions and force us to answer. A marriage breakdown, loss of a job, kids leaving home, or simply the midlife re-evaluation that all of us go through — any of these can push us back to asking what it's all about, what we really want in our lives, what matters and what doesn't ... what we want our life to count for.

Sometimes the question gets asked more directly. An Islamic family moves in down the street, and their children ask your children what they believe. You become friends with a Buddhist coworker, and find yourself deeply impressed with the quality of his or her life, and wondering if that is available in your own tradition. The local Jehovah's Witness buttonholes you and you wish you could put into words what it is you be…