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 141 - 160 of 322

  • Sometimes, there is no reprieve from the pain of this world. Sometimes, it is too big and too obvious to ignore.
    Reflection | By HP Rivers | October 21, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Caring, Christianity, Connections, Family, Generations, God, Goddess, Paganism, Presence, Sorrow, Spiritual Practice, Worship
  • Arm's length: What was once a defensive or suspicious expression has now become a gesture of care, an indication of love and protection.
    Reflection | By Karen G. Johnston | October 14, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Animals, Caring, Climate Justice, Direct Experience, Environment, Humanism, Interdependence, Nature, Worship
  • I feel disoriented when I’m in a new place or situation and can’t figure out whether the rules are real or imaginary.
    Reflection | By Erika Hewitt | October 7, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Community, Direct Experience, Interdependence, Limitations, Living Our Faith, Secular, Self-Respect, Worship
  • 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
  • None of us would be here were it not for those who lived and won a fight that they were not meant to survive.
    Reflection | By Daniel Gregoire | September 23, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, History, Humanism, Justice, Living Our Faith, Race/Ethnicity, Unitarian Universalism, Worship
  • Part of being in community is noticing what's needed. Part of being in community is doing what is necessary but unclaimed.
    Reflection | By Christine Slocum | September 16, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Animals, Caring, Community, Conscience, Generosity, Humanism, Interdependence, Nature, Responsibility, Secular, Unitarian Universalism, Worship
  • One day, I’ll have to care for my mother as she once cared for me. I’m not ready to handle the truth that our relationship must change.
    Reflection | By Erica Shadowsong | September 9, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Caring, Child Dedication, Children, Coming of Age, Coming-of-Age, Direct Experience, Fear, Generations, Growth, Humanism, Love, Mother's Day, Mothers, Parents, Secular, Worship
  • What once seemed certain is now unpredictable, even dangerous.
    Reflection | By Leslie Ahuvah Fails | September 2, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Challenge, Change, Children, Direct Experience, Earth, Humanism, Nature, Parents, Spiritual Practice, Worship
  • Over the years, I’ve built up an impressive array of tools for meetings: I-statements, being assertive, and all of that stuff. What I could improve on, though, is knowing when to switch tools.
    Reflection | By Liz James | August 31, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Community, Conflict, Relationships
  • 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
  • The assumption that all people remember the same set of events, or enjoy the same set of things, puts enormous burdens of assimilation onto members of marginalized communities.
    Reflection | By Yuri Yamamoto | July 15, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Anti-Oppression, Children, Class, Culture, Direct Experience, Diversity, Inclusion, Multiculturalism
  • It often feels like we’re shouting into the void. It was a gift to be reminded that sometimes someone is listening.
    Reflection | By Jodi Cohen Hayashida | July 8, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), Activism, America, Belief, Democracy, Direct Experience, Imagination, Justice, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Solidarity, Truth
  • The drag show was heaven broken open, given to us for the evening. Everything for a little while was perfect—and I saw the face of my God.
    Reflection | By Jami Yandle | July 1, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Freedom, Gender, God, Identity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Pride Sunday, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Sacred, Sexuality
  • I miss the way things were, and I know they’ll never really be the same.
    Reflection | By Erica Rose Long | June 24, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #COVID19, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Caring, Connections, Direct Experience, Friendship, Humanism, Ministry, Secular, Service, Unitarian Universalism
  • Our conversations about the history of our country—the actions of our ancestors—can be made new and relevant and understandable. We can and must have these conversations.
    Reflection | By Heather Rion Starr | June 17, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Activism, America, Children, Direct Experience, Generations, History, Humanism, Parents, Race/Ethnicity, Responsibility, Secular, Unitarian Universalism
  • May we all remember how inextricably we are linked in this fight for justice and freedom.
    Reflection | By Otto O’Connor | June 10, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #BlackLivesMatter, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Direct Experience, Generations, History, Justice, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Pride Sunday, Race/Ethnicity, Responsibility, Secular, Solidarity, Unitarian Universalism
  • My mother and father armed us with this truth: The world is awful, magnificent, and belongs to you as much as it belongs to anyone else.
    Reflection | By Carol Thomas Cissel | June 3, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #BlackLivesMatter
  • I hope that this Great Silence, which has come alongside the suffering, holds the beginnings of our healing.
    Reflection | By Elea Kemler | May 6, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Balance, Beauty, Body, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Hope, Humanism, Imagination, Nature, Presence, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Secular, Spring
  • “Specialists without spirit, sensualists without heart; this nullity imagines that it has attained a level of civilization never before achieved.” ―Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Raise your hand if you believe you’re not doing enough right now. Do you feel like...
    Reflection | By Jude Geiger | April 29, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #COVID19, 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 5th Principle (Conscience & Democracy), America, Anti-Oppression, Ethics, History, Humanism, Secular, Work, Worry
  • 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

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