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 - 8 of 8

  • If I’m not cultivating an open heart and watching for the helpers, the teachers, and the angels, I may miss them when I need them the most.
    Reflection | By Sue Ferguson | May 24, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Caring, Character, Compassion, Direct Experience, Gratitude, Hospitality, Trust, Worship
  • We already have everything we need within us to meet the life that is before us.
    Reflection | By DanaLee Simon | November 10, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Animals, Character, Earth-Centered, Growth, Limitations, Nature, Purpose, Worship
  • If a friend were in my situation, I would have seen their failings as human. So why hold someone to an unforgiving standard just because that someone is me?
    Reflection | By Kat Liu | August 8, 2018 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Character, Children, Compassion, Direct Experience, Forgiveness, Friendship, Humility, Kindness, Love, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Self-Care, Self-Respect
  • Liking somebody, even loving somebody, is not enough to protect them from shade that you cannot even see, much less understand.
    Reflection | By Teresa Honey Youngblood | January 10, 2018 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Anti-Oppression, Character, Children, Coming-of-Age, Direct Experience, Humanism, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Truth
  • My oldest child was confused: why would no one stop and help us? Even though people weren’t stopping to help us, my son said, he wanted to be more like me and stop to help someone anyway.
    Reflection | By Rayla D. Mattson | January 3, 2018 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Caring, Character, Children, Compassion, Conscience, Direct Experience, Generations, Integrity, Living Our Faith, Mothers, Parents
  • I long for progressive religious communities that are confessing communities—places where we admit our wrongdoings, are held accountable, and called back into covenant.
    Reflection | By Robin Tanner | May 3, 2017 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Character, Christianity, Community, Conscience, Direct Experience, Honesty, Humility
  • We humans have both a natural desire and a spiritual need to feel connected and to grow roots, even if those roots aren't necessarily tied to a geographic place.
    Reflection | By Marisol Caballero | April 19, 2017 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Character, Commitment, Direct Experience, Discernment, Family, Home, Humanism, Identity, Secular
  • October 5, 2016 "The heart was made to be broken." ― Oscar Wilde I'm sitting here broken-hearted. I could try to convince you that it’s about the state of the world with its tragedies, suffering, and seeming lack of compassion, but it’s not. I’m broken-hearted because a relationship that had...
    Reflection | By Sean Parker Dennison | October 5, 2016 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Brokenness, Character, Conflict, Healing, Hope, Integrity, Love, Relationships

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