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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 - 20 of 22

  • Vanessa, a Black person with her hair in a ponytail, stands between church members with signs. Vanessa is wearing a mask and clergy collar, and is holding her hand in the "peace" sign.
    Just as I can believe in others, I also believe in me.
    Reflection | By Vanessa Titang | January 10, 2024 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Activism, Direct Experience, Discernment, Doubt, Humanism, Identity, Leadership, Ministry, Self-Respect, Worship
  • A woman sitting on a large tree branch, with the tree around her, holds her hands to her heart with closed eyes, as if meditating.
    Our bodies are so wise, and they hold so much information.
    Reflection | By Julica Hermann de la Fuente | September 27, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Body, Discernment, Wisdom, Worship
  • An illustration, in tones of peach and pink, of a spiral of people holding hands, as seen from above.
    We must choose each other again and again, though conflict and through plenty.
    Reflection | By Abbey Tennis | June 29, 2022 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Conflict, Discernment, Love, Reconciliation, Relationships, Worship
  • Two Black women pack toys into a box, as though preparing a donation
    Every time someone showed up for me, I learned that love is greater than skin deep.
    Reflection | By Melissa Jeter | January 12, 2022 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Challenge, Choice, Direct Experience, Discernment, Living Our Faith, Love, Pain, Parents, Relationships, Worship
  • A worn, chipped statue of Mary, pictured from the shoulders up, with a weary expression.
    Each Advent, my empathy for Mary’s situation returns.
    Reflection | By Taryn Strauss | December 8, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Advent, Children, Choice, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Discernment, Women, Worship
  • A person in a medical coat, mask, and gloves braces themselves on a balcony, head bowed as though in prayer.
    May we release ourselves from the need to fit every truth neatly into our own language.
    Reflection | By Sally Fritsche | November 24, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Atheism, Compassion, Direct Experience, Discernment, Empathy, Ministry, Spiritual Practice, Spirituality, Worship
  • A woman slighty bows her head as a priest's hand moves away, having just left a cross of ashes on her forehead.
    Impermanence, mortality, ashes, dust: this is the truth of being human.
    Reflection | By Lora Brandis | February 17, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Christianity, Death, Discernment, Grief, Humility, Lent, Love, Spiritual Practice, Worship
  • "2021" is written in the snow on a gravel surface outdoors.
    What’s the one word you hope will define your upcoming year?
    Reflection | By Tim Atkins | December 30, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Choice, Discernment, Identity, New Year, Spiritual Practice, Worship
  • From beneath a bed, a parent and child hang over, flashlight pointed at the camera, as if checking for monsters under the bed.
    In these days of so much uncertainty, may we choose honesty over comfort, love over complacency, and truth over convenience.
    Reflection | By Rachel Lonberg | September 30, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #COVID19, Children, Direct Experience, Discernment, Fear, Parents, Secular, Trust, Truth, Worship
  • the view from a plane's cockpit, with instruments lit up and a view of terrain and a rising sun through the cockpit window
    The most life-giving coping strategy—for me—is to attune to a voice calmer and wiser than mine, and allow that seeking to be its own expression of faith.
    Reflection | By Erika Hewitt | July 22, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Calling, Direct Experience, Discernment, Faith, Letting Go, Listening, Presence, Searching, Spiritual Practice
  • Seen from above, in light cast only by flames, a solitary person swings two "poi" fire weights on chains (sometimes called "fire juggling")
    We all have our foibles; pieces of ourselves that we both admire and occasionally revile. These gifts and struggles exist in tandem.
    Reflection | By Alix Klingenberg | March 4, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Body, Compassion, Direct Experience, Discernment, Self-Care, Self-Respect
  • In the background, a desolate street. In the foreground, yellow "caution" tape wrapped around a pole.
    Can we strive to have the grace to back away when our presence doesn’t feel like safety?
    Reflection | By Misha Sanders | November 13, 2019 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Discernment, Humanism, Privilege, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Unitarian Universalism
  • A time-lapse photo showing graceful, dance-like movements of a person against a black background
    We can be cheerleaders for simple joys (even when we don't share them) and compassionate about the fact that we’re all just trying to survive.
    Reflection | By Erika Hewitt | November 6, 2019 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Arrogance, Beauty, Direct Experience, Discernment, Humanism, Joy, Secular, Self-Care, Self-Respect
  • A hand plants a row of seeds in soil, with tiny seedlings emerging from elsewhere in the soil.
    This is the beauty and sparkle of spiritual communities: needs arise and beloveds appear to ask, “How can I help?” There’s no fixed timeline, just the spiritual practices of generosity and stewardship.
    Reflection | By Rebekah Savage | October 16, 2019 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Balance, Direct Experience, Discernment, Hope, Humanism, Interdependence, Purpose, Responsibility, Secular, Stewardship, Unitarian Universalism
  • The Kanuti River winds through banks of golden trees in autumn on the Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
    There are so many spiritual lessons from the natural world and—in a season filled with Ingatherings and Water Communions—this is one for me: oxbow lakes as a beautiful combination of resiliency, strength, and flexibility.
    Reflection | By Tim Atkins | September 11, 2019 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Beginnings, Direct Experience, Discernment, Earth, Earth-Centered, Environment, Homecoming / Ingathering, Journey, Nature, Power, Strength, Water Communion
  • A pile of empty green and brown wine and liquor bottles.
    Once I quit drinking, my inner voice and I began the harder work: that of creating a life from which I do not need or want to escape.
    Reflection | By Alix Klingenberg | January 2, 2019 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Addiction/Recovery, Body, Change, Direct Experience, Discernment, Health, Humility, Letting Go, Self-Respect, Vulnerability
  • Two children run -- one is mid-jump -- through an alley, smiling.
    We could see the main path to the swimming hole ahead, but we had to pick our way through sand spurs to get there. Behind us were rattlesnakes. What did the youth do? They started playing.
    Reflection | By Teresa Honey Youngblood | October 10, 2018 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Children, Choice, Direct Experience, Discernment, Earth, Joy, Nature, Playfulness, Salvation
  • 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
  • A close-up of a man, wearing purple latex gloves, bending over a person's arm as he uses a tattoo gun.
    I’m not the same person who stood in that tattoo parlor eleven years ago. Still, I don’t for a minute regret being permanently marked with this snapshot in time, of my wounds and my hope.
    Reflection | By Mandie McGlynn | January 20, 2018 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Body, Children, Direct Experience, Discernment, Humanism, Secular, Self-Care, Self-Respect, Women
  • A hand holds a paper airplane in an open window, the tops of buildings visible underneath.
    Life is neither a playground nor a game. The folded lies are real. With our voices, we can and will undo them.
    Reflection | By Maureen Killoran | May 24, 2017 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Discernment, Integrity, Truth
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