Edit Header for Braver/Wiser Search
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

  • In the foreground, the edge of a Christmas tree decorated with baubles and a blurred string of white lights. In the background, a blurred grouping of people indoors, as if at a restaurant or party.
    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
  • Outdoors in a field, a person crouches near the ground. In their hand is a clump of soil, which they're displaying to the camera.
    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
  • Outdoors, an older man and a younger woman sit next to each other. She is holding a folded book or pamplet, and he's looking at it while talking.
    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
  • A Black person's hands, cupped together, hold a polished, red heart-shaped stone.
    “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
  • Two hikers wearing backpacks, seen from behind, hiking on a path in the woods.
    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
  • A woman cups her forehead in her hand, as if crying. She holds a coffee mug in the other hand. In front of her, on a lap desk, is an open journal and a lit candle.
    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
  • A cluster of Black volunteers, wearing matching blue T-shirts, talk and smile outdoors. Similarly-dressed volunteers chat in the background, implying a large group event.
    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
  • In a muddy field under a gray sky, people in raincoats kneel in the mud, harvesting vegetables to stack in plastic crates.
    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
  • Two LatinX preteens, crouched on the ground, feeding three black chickens and a speckled rooster.
    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
  • A close up of a clear, bubbly beverage being poured into a clear wine glass, held by a person.
    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
  • A light-skinned Black woman sits in an office chair, grasping her head in exasperation and gritting her teeth. Around her, blurred, are the figures of office workers rushing by.
    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
  • A person inside a stationary car, in the driver's seat, sits with closed eyes, holding their hand to their forehead as if trying to calm down.
    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
  • In a dark room, several taper candles and smaller candles in red, cut-glass holders are all alit.
    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
  • A small rainbow flag, on a small stick, is held by the outstretched arms of two different people of color.
    “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
  • Two middle-aged people, seen from the shoulders up, press their faces together intimately and smile broadly. A Pride flag is wrapped around their shoulders.
    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
  • A nonbinary teen--white, with freckles and shoulder-length brown hair--holds a camera up, partially obscuring their face, as they look at the photographer.
    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
  • A fabric rainbow tote bag dangles from someone's hand. They're standing on a sidewalk, wearing trousers, visible only from the hip down.
    My queerness is about mindset and attitude and intention.
    Reflection | By Paige Getty | May 29, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #Pride, Worship
  • In profile, a person prays: their eyes are closed, and their forehead rests on their clasped hands.
    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
  • An elderly woman wearing a paing-spattered apron sits in front of an easel, smiling, as she paints a beautiful landscape.
    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
  • An infant, lying on a bed and swaddled in a blanket, has their hand held by an adult. Their hands and part of their torso are all we see.
    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
Edit Sidebar for Braver/Wiser Search

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!