Edit Header for Braver/Wiser Search
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!

Displaying 161 – 180 of 395

Changing a filter will refresh results (and remaining options) immediately. Searching by keyword requires use of the "Search" button.

  • On a nest of straw and holiday tinsel three white paper stars, or Froebelsterne, are nestled.
    May we continue to find ways to connect while keeping safe this holiday season.
    Reflection | By Laura Shay | December 22, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Advent, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Community, Worship
  • In the foreground, a slice of pecan pie and a hot beverage sit on a table. In the background, there's a merry decorated Christmas tree.
    For me, “surrendering everything tenderly” brings an awareness of grace.
    Reflection | By Jake Morrill | December 15, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Advent, Food, Grace, Patience, 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
  • In a nest woven from twigs and leaves, a small spotted eggshell is broken.
    Acknowledging that our dream was not happening didn't end the grief, but it did offer closure.
    Reflection | By Leslie Gatto | December 1, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Children, Direct Experience, Grief, Mothers, Parents, 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 young teen lies on their bed, eyes closed, listening to music on headphones. A guitar lies on the bed next to them.
    Spirit of Life who dwells before and between and beyond all words… we open ourselves to you.
    Reflection | By David Glasgow | November 17, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Anti-Oppression, Arts & Music, Coming Out, Courage, Direct Experience, Friendship, Identity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Pride Sunday, Secular, Solidarity, Worship
  • Bright red-orange kokanee salmon swim in the water of a shallow stream flanked by foliage
    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
  • A clear hourglass filled with blue sand rests on the page of a calendar
    If this year is a "lost" year, then I am bound to live a lost life.
    Reflection | By Shaya French | November 3, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #COVID19, Worship
  • The stub of a lit taper candle burns brightly on a bed of cempasúchil, or Mexican marigolds.
    The dead aren’t really dead; their stories are perpetually being told by the world around us.
    Reflection | By Tania Y Márquez | October 27, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: All Souls Day, Día de los Muertos, Interfaith, Worship
  • Seen from behind, a person walks along a low-tide beach. Kelp covered rocks in foreground. Gentle surf and ocean waves in distance.
    I am learning to give up needing to know the answers, and instead live with the questions.
    Reflection | By Diane Dassow | October 20, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Body, Direct Experience, Illness, Patience, Peace, Spiritual Practice, Worry, Worship
  • A starry night sky and and an atmospheric glow blanket the well-lit southeastern African coast as the International Space Station orbited 263 miles above.
    I need to celebrate our human family, whose power and potential shimmer against the backdrop of deep time, because we aren’t at our best right now.
    Reflection | By Erika Hewitt | October 13, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Awe, Humanism, Science, Wonder, Worship
  • Four members of the Squamish and Lil'wat Nations, with their backs to the camrea, are each draped in a traditional Squamish or Lil'wat blanket.
    I was leaving my mom in another world, located far away from mine.
    Reflection | By Mike Adams | October 6, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: History, Identity, Indigenous American, Indigenous Peoples Day, Race/Ethnicity, Resilience, Worship
  • Five people of color are seen in a line, holding hands with arms crossed in a sign of solidarity.
    In order to be welcoming, the systems of power and privilege in our spaces need to be actively dismantled.
    Reflection | By Shannon Lang | September 29, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #8thPrinciple, #BlackLivesMatter, Anti-Oppression, Direct Experience, Diversity, Equity, Hospitality, Humanism, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Unitarian Universalism, Worship
  • A person's hands shape a clay vessel on a potter's wheel.
    I want to be shaped in a way that lets me serve the eternal.
    Reflection | By Jake Morrill | September 22, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Contemplation, God, Meaning, Presence, Purpose, Transcendence, Worship
  • On a rocky ledge overlooking the wildnerness, a Black man wearing a backpack holds a map.
    Dear Creative Life Force, the infinite healing power of creativity is the best gift you've given to us.
    Reflection | By Erica Shadowsong | September 15, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Creativity, Direct Experience, Family, Identity, Personal Stories, Self-Respect, Worship
  • A person holds their palm to the camera, obscuring their face. Their palm is painted with streaks of bright paint in yellows, reds, and blues.
    My God lives in the margins and witnesses to the broken-hearted.
    Reflection | By Jami Yandle | September 8, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Acceptance, Self-Care, Self-Respect, Worship
  • Six adults sitting in a circle comfort and listen to a seventh person, who appears distressed.
    Somehow, the things that are too much to bear alone are bearable together.
    Reflection | By Elizabeth Stevens | September 1, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Caring, Disaster or Crisis, Grief, Resilience, Trauma, Wisdom, Worship
  • A hand with red nail polish cups a compass, above the mossy floor of a forest, and the other hand points to moss or another object on the ground.
    My inner compass reminds me of the power we’ve been given to create a new future.
    Reflection | By Mariela Pérez-Simons | July 14, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Earth, Earth-Centered, Imagination, Limitations, Nature, Self-Care, Self-Respect, Worship
  • Two hands, of dark skin color, reach to each other. Each hand holds a jigsaw puzzle piece with half of a red heart on it, suggesting that the two pieces fit together perfectly.
    I learned that love and support can be expressed in many different ways by different people.
    Reflection | By Ndidi Achebe | July 7, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Brokenness, Community, Compassion, Direct Experience, Fear, Humanism, Limitations, Love, Relationships, Worship
  • Hanging underneath an outdoor surface is a new green chrysalis, a clear one that’s about ready to emerge, and a butterfly that’s already come out.
    Emergence, becoming, is inherent in each of us.
    Reflection | By Kimberlee Anne Tomczak Carlson | June 30, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Change, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Growth, Nature, Patience, Transformation, Worship
Edit Sidebar for Braver/Wiser Search

Writing for Braver/Wiser

If you’re interested in writing for Braver/Wiser, please refer to Writing for Braver/Wiser (PDF) to learn more!

Ready to Submit?

If you’ve reviewed our “Writing for Braver/Wiser” guidelines, visit our submission page!