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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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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6

  • With a blurred gym in the background, a white person with short hair holds a handweight out from her body, so that it's the center of the picture's focus.
    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
  • An array of glasses, bowls, and trinkets set on a table for a yard sale.
    Sometimes, I know I'm hanging onto a part of my life that I'll eventually need to let go of...but not just yet.
    Reflection | By Amanda Poppei | April 22, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Beginnings, Children, Direct Experience, Ending, Humanism, Letting Go, Limitations, Sacrifice, Secular
  • A ring of leaves: from small green leaves, to large green ones, to yellowing leaves, to dry leaves.
    Who are you going to be, today? And tomorrow? Who are we all becoming, together?
    Reflection | By Amanda Poppei | May 8, 2019 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Beginnings, Change, Children, Mothers, Parents, Searching, Transformation
  • A content kitten rests its chin on an outstretched hand.
    What, exactly, are we doing when we invite love into our lives? Surely we know that it's much tidier without it, when things stay at a distance.
    Reflection | By Amanda Poppei | November 28, 2018 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Animals, Direct Experience, Love, Parents, Relationships, Vulnerability
  • From behind, the shoulders and heads of a mother and toddler gazing into a pond. Both are wearing Minnie Mouse ears.
    It's an impulse of the human self to be known fully, and that’s almost never possible unless we risk the conversations that help us see past our initial impressions.
    Reflection | By Amanda Poppei | September 5, 2018 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Anti-Oppression, Connections, Direct Experience, Empathy, Family, Humanism, Humility, Identity, Individualism, Listening, Playfulness, Secular
  • A close up of jigsaw puzzle pieces scattered across a table, and two people's hands sorting those pieces.
    In real life, we can only place the pieces, one by one, and see what kind of picture we create. Sometimes we turn out to have chosen the wrong piece. Sometimes the picture is wildly unexpected.
    Reflection | By Amanda Poppei | April 4, 2018 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Bridging Ceremony, Calling, Choice, Coming of Age, Coming-of-Age, Contemplation, Courage, Direct Experience, Discernment, Hope, Humanism, Journey, Playfulness, Searching, Secular
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