Braver/Wiser: Courage and Compassion for Life as It Is

Life is full of hard edges and complicated choices. Braver/Wiser gives you weekly message of courage and compassion for life as it is. Every Wednesday we deliver an original written reflection and brief prayer, grounded in Unitarian Universalism. Join the Braver/Wiser community and sign up today!

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Displaying 1 - 20 of 321

  • People who aren't neurodiverse tend to frame neurodiversity as symptoms of inconvenience to people around them. For me, my ADHD means beauty.
    Reflection | By Quinn Gormley | March 13, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Acceptance, Beauty, Direct Experience, Identity, Multiculturalism, Psychology, Self-Respect, Wonder, Worship
  • Appreciation and deep witness are beautiful gateways for returning to our most authentic selves.
    Reflection | By Jami Yandle | March 6, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Compassion, Friendship, Humanism, Interdependence, Listening, Love, Vulnerability, Worship
  • When someone lists Unitarians or Universalists, they usually name white men. Never anyone Black like me.
    Reflection | By Connie Simon | February 28, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #8thPrinciple, #BlackHistoryMonth, #BlackLivesMatter, 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Generations, History, Identity, Race/Ethnicity, Self-Respect, Truth, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarianism, Universalism, Worship
  • From the beginning, the story of Black people in America has been told through the lens of white supremacy.
    Reflection | By Bev Spears | February 21, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #BlackHistoryMonth, #BlackLivesMatter, Generations, History, Justice, Race/Ethnicity, Truth, Worship
  • Scorekeeping is about who hurts whom more. In the long-term, no one wins.
    Reflection | By Anne Griffiths | February 14, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Commitment, Humanism, Love, Marriage, Men, Psychology, Relationships, Secular, Teamwork, Trust, Women, Work, Worship
  • If you’re seeking sacred Black “text” in our tradition, you have to examine the way our Black ancestors lived.
    Reflection | By Takiyah Nur Amin | February 7, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #8thPrinciple, #BlackHistoryMonth, #BlackLivesMatter, 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Anti-Oppression, Covenant, Generations, History, Identity, Living Our Faith, Race/Ethnicity, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarianism, Universalism, Worship
  • Remind me that success is not the only measure of a life.
    Reflection | By Amanda Poppei | January 31, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Acceptance, Compassion, Failure, Humanism, Secular, Self-Respect, Vulnerability, Worship
  • May the words that I speak remind others that they are beloved.
    Reflection | By Aaron Stockwell Wisman | January 24, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Caring, Friendship, Good, Humanism, Ministry, Relationships, Respect, Responsibility, Worship
  • Death is a regular part of my job, which makes small talk weird for me at parties.
    Reflection | By Sarah Gillespie | January 17, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Death, Direct Experience, Friendship, Grief, Humanism, Ministry, Presence, Worship
  • Just as I can believe in others, I also believe in me.
    Reflection | By Vanessa Titang | January 10, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Activism, Direct Experience, Discernment, Doubt, Humanism, Identity, Leadership, Ministry, Self-Respect, Worship
  • What “toast, boast, and oath” might you offer this January?
    Reflection | By Sarah Klinger Osborne | January 3, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Beginnings, Choice, Contemplation, Integrity, New Year, Searching, Self-Care, Self-Respect, Worship
  • Fear not, the angels would text me. Hallelujah, I’d write back.
    Reflection | By Marcus Liefert | December 20, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Advent, Awe, Children, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Direct Experience, Family, Hope, Parents, Wonder, Worship
  • Spirits of winter, I celebrate you!
    Reflection | By Erica Shadowsong | December 13, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Animals, Earth-Centered, Generations, Goddess, Imagination, Spiritual Practice, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule, Worship
  • The Magnificat is a courageous and subversive song of praise; a call to social justice.
    Reflection | By Laura Dobson | December 6, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Activism, Advent, Anti-Oppression, Christianity, Courage, History, Justice, Multiculturalism, Worship
  • I encouraged my students to question authority, especially my authority, because only rarely can we recognize our biases without help.
    Reflection | By JD Stillwater | November 29, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Body, Humanism, Humility, Imagination, Reason, Science, Searching, Secular, Wonder, Work, Worship
  • Building relationships requires the risk of being open and curious.
    Reflection | By Melissa Jeter | November 22, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Community, Compassion, Connections, Healing, Humanism, Love, Mental Health, Relationships, Secular, Trauma, Unitarian Universalism, Worship
  • Holy Reconciler, help us make peace with each other.
    Reflection | By Amanda Udis-Kessler | November 15, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Arts & Music, Conflict, Division, Friendship, Peace, Politics, Relationships, Secular, Worship
  • We did what humans frequently do: we created a ritual.
    Reflection | By Seanan R. Holland | November 8, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Ethics, Humanism, Military, Spiritual Practice, Teamwork, Work, Worship
  • God of our ancestors, may we find the ways in which we can connect across generations.
    Reflection | By Chrissy Bushyager | November 1, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Children, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, History, Parents, Worship
  • I believe that we are all "life drummers" just waiting to join in the rhythm.
    Reflection | By Christin Green | October 25, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Body, Community, Direct Experience, Interdependence, Self-Respect, Worship

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