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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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  • Rev. Lindasusan, a person of color, stretches out their arm to reveal their tattoo by James Chase: a dandelion going to seed, with its scattered seeds spelling the word L I B E R A T I O N
    What if each of us made a lifetime commitment to get free and to bring others with us?
    Reflection | By Lindasusan Ulrich | February 12, 2025 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Arts & Music, Body, Direct Experience, Freedom, Friendship, Letting Go, Living Our Faith, Worship
  • A shaggy, black, medium-sized dog wearing a purple harness sits alertly on the grass, with its face turned away from the camera. A leash from the harness is in a white person's hand; we see only their sleeve and a portion of their leg.
    Choice by choice, we make an effort to live out what we say we want, and who we claim to be.
    Reflection | By Erika Hewitt | February 5, 2025 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Animals, Faith, Integrity, Interdependence, Living Our Faith, Playfulness, Relationships, Religion, Worship
  • A metal anchor rests on a patch of sand on a beach. Behind the anchor, a chain trails towards the incoming tide.
    Hope is challenging, if not impossible, to grasp alone.
    Reflection | By Oscar Sinclair | January 29, 2025 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Worship
  • A pair of white Gizeh Birkenstock sandals rests on a wooden fence or pallet. In the background, beachgrass and sand give way to water, and the sun is setting in the distance.
    Holy one, for you I will watch and wait.
    Reflection | By Susan Maginn | January 22, 2025 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Worship
  • In profile, and silhouetted by light coming in through a window, a person with long hair in a ponytail holds up both hands in anguish. Their face is tipped skyward and their mouth is open as though crying or shouting.
    Anger is not at all what people think it is. Anger has been kind and caring to me.
    Reflection | By Julie Yeeun Kim | January 15, 2025 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Activism, America, Anger, Christianity, Immigration, Politics, Race/Ethnicity, Resilience, Spirituality, Worship
  • In a kitchen, a child sits on top of a counter, facing their mother who holds a coffee cup. She's bending towards the child to press her forehead and nose against theirs. They're both smiling affectionately.
    Joy arises like a gift, beyond my own deserving.
    Reflection | By DanaLee Simon | January 8, 2025 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Abundance, Acceptance, Aging, Anger, Balance, Choice, Imagination, Joy, Resilience, Worship
  • In a snowy bank, a small cave has been dug out: about two feet wide and a foot tall. Inside that cave are two glowing candles, a metal goblet, and a plate with small items.
    I’ve found it helpful to think about parts of my life as cycles or spirals instead of a single, often meandering path.
    Reflection | By Geoff Duke | December 18, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Earth-Centered, Paganism, Worship
  • A brown-skinned person wearing a puffy jacket has their back to the camera, viewing lush mountains covered in coniferous trees in Dharamshala, India.
    Holiness is within us; wholeness is around us.
    Reflection | By Rumni Saha | December 11, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Buddhism, Worship
  • 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 Hollamon | 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
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