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!

Changing a filter will refresh results (and remaining options) immediately. Searching by keyword or changing the number of items per page requires use of the "Search" button.

Displaying 1 - 20 of 347

  • The winter holidays are beautiful and celebratory; they’re also hard and complicated.
    Reflection | By Kim Mason | December 4, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Advent, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice / Yule, Worship
  • May we recognize that our gardens and our lives can grow abundantly, even when we don’t understand how.
    Reflection | By Rayla D. Mattson | November 27, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Worship
  • There are many ways to connect.
    Reflection | By Jo VonRue | November 20, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Connections, Courage, Empathy, Friendship, Gratitude, Personal Stories, Worship
  • “What is the most loving, life-affirming choice I can make in response to life’s circumstances?”
    Reflection | By Takiyah Nur Amin | October 30, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Anti-Oppression, Conscience, Contemplation, Direct Experience, Discernment, God, Interfaith, Living Our Faith, Love, Power, Self-Respect, Spirituality, Worship
  • Only when my knowledge is combined with uncountable others does Truth emerge.
    Reflection | By JD Stillwater | October 23, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Worship
  • After the shattering, all that remains is another ordinary day.
    Reflection | By Donna Moriarty | October 16, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Brokenness, Despair, Direct Experience, Disaster or Crisis, Grief, Healing, Hope, Parents, Purpose, Sorrow, Spirituality, Strength, Worship
  • The work of justice can’t be carried out by one person–or even a few diverse people.
    Reflection | By Antoinette Scully | October 9, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #UUTheVote, Worship
  • I care that fascism is not just approaching, but is already here, rising, like this cresting river.
    Reflection | By Karen G. Johnston | October 2, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #UUTheVote, Disaster or Crisis, Worship
  • Like the free-roaming roosters of the Caribbean, no one can tell me I don’t belong.
    Reflection | By Raquel V. Reyes | September 25, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Anti-Oppression, Character, Direct Experience, Identity, Integrity, International, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity, Self-Care, Self-Respect, Vulnerability, Worship
  • All of us are active participants in co-creating congregational and community life.
    Reflection | September 18, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Accountability, Addiction/Recovery, Hospitality, Inclusion, Individualism, Responsibility, Worship
  • What do you do when you’re really angry with someone and you can’t seem to let it go?
    Reflection | By Laura Horton-Ludwig | September 11, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Anger, Brokenness, Buddhism, Compassion, Worship
  • Staying present to what’s real—our world, our hope, our stories—can help us embody our values.
    Reflection | By Lindasusan Ulrich | September 4, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Worship
  • This is a year in which hard, brave choices will be required of all of us.
    Reflection | By Martha Durkee-Neuman | June 26, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Choice, Courage, Creativity, Direct Experience, Discernment, Imagination, Integrity, Interdependence, Journey, Secular, Worship
  • “Queer” challenges the status quo; it dares me to be authentically myself.
    Reflection | By Vanessa Titang | June 19, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #Pride, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Coming Out, Direct Experience, Humanism, Identity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Multiculturalism, Pride Sunday, Searching, Self-Respect, Sexuality, Transformation, Worship
  • May everyone feel safe and free to love as they choose.
    Reflection | By Lynette Yetter | June 12, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #Pride, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), Brokenness, Community, Despair, Direct Experience, Fear, Friendship, Humanism, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Oppression, Pain, Pride Sunday, Searching, Women, Worship
  • Being nonbinary has finally brought me home to myself.
    Reflection | By Mare Martell | June 5, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #LGBTQ, #Pride, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Coming-of-Age, Direct Experience, Discernment, Gender, Identity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Pride Sunday, Searching, Self-Respect, Transformation, Wholeness, Worship
  • My queerness is about mindset and attitude and intention.
    Reflection | By Paige Getty | May 29, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #Pride, Worship
  • I have often felt the divine most present when I feel dissolved into a holy community.
    Reflection | By Julie Yeeun Kim | May 22, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Worship
  • It takes a community to remember someone in all of their many facets.
    Reflection | By Aaron Stockwell Wisman | May 15, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Worship
  • Dear world, how does love right now move me to action?
    Reflection | By Sarah Pirtle | May 8, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Children, Direct Experience, Love, Mother's Day, Mothers, Parents, Patience, Worry, Worship

Writing for Braver/Wiser

If you're interested in writing for Braver/Wiser, please refer to Writing for Braver/Wiser (PDF) to learn more!

Ready to Submit?

If you've reviewed our "Writing for Braver/Wiser" guidelines, visit our submission page!