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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 28

  • A close-up of hands beating on drums outdoors: Earthen Rhythms, a local african drumming group at the Summertime in Maitland, NSW, Australia celebration.
    I believe that we are all "life drummers" just waiting to join in the rhythm.
    Reflection | By Christin Green | October 25, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Body, Community, Direct Experience, Interdependence, Self-Respect, Worship
  • From above, the back of a person's head as they sit in meditation and use a Tibetan singing bowl.
    I have struggled forgiving myself for not knowing how to create appropriate boundaries.
    Reflection | By Lynette Yetter | September 20, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Acceptance, Buddhism, Compassion, Forgiveness, Journey, Relationships, Spiritual Practice, Worship
  • In a spring garden, dark purple peony shoots rise from a flower bed while a person in gardening gloves works.
    Self-compassion was one of the best gifts I gave myself.
    Reflection | By DanaLee Simon | September 6, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Acceptance, Change, Earth, Healing, Nature, Patience, Personal Stories, Self-Respect, Stewardship, Worship
  • Seen from below looking up, a circle of BIPOC people clasp hands.
    We have to keep finding ways to widen the circle of care and concern.
    Reflection | By JeKaren Olaoya | June 22, 2022 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Acceptance, Anti-Oppression, Hospitality, Identity, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity, Unitarian Universalism, Worship
  • A group of people, backs to the camera, walk holding a giant rainbow flag under their heads, as if in the middle of a Pride parade.
    To be queer is to know the ways of holding all that shimmers to the light.
    Reflection | By Laura Solomon | June 8, 2022 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Acceptance, Anti-Oppression, Humanism, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Secular, Unitarian Universalism, Worship
  • Seen from behind, at the beach, a father has his arm lovingly wrapped around his child's shoulder.
    Happy kids are safer kids, because happy kids have adults they can ask for help.
    Reflection | By Quinn Gormley | March 2, 2022 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Anti-Oppression, Children, Coming Out, Direct Experience, Humanism, Identity, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Parents, Pride Sunday, Secular, Worship
  • In a yoga studio, called Fat Yoga, seven people move into a powerful pose on their yoga mats.
    To understand that my humanity and my abundant flesh both demand dignity is to embrace fat liberation.
    Reflection | By Andrew Tripp | January 19, 2022 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Acceptance, Body, Fat Liberation, Love, 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 A. Yandle | September 8, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Acceptance, Self-Care, Self-Respect, Worship
  • In a kitchen, a mother with an iPod and headphones dances and sings while her teenage daughter also dances.
    Spirit of Life, remind me to release that which no longer serves me so that I may be present to joy.
    Reflection | By Katie Romano Griffin | May 5, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Acceptance, Children, Family, Generations, Home, Mothers, Parents, Worship
  • 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
  • A singer with a microphone, reaching with dramatic body language, with smoke and lights in the background.
    We have so many opportunities to bless each other in this world, but they don’t always announce themselves as moments of profound transformation.
    Reflection | By Lindasusan Ulrich | February 5, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Acceptance, Body, Direct Experience, Diversity, Fat Liberation, Friendship, Humanism, Kindness, Relationships, Secular, Youth/Teens
  • A close-up of green strips of broken glass, as if petals of a flower.
    Surround yourself with skillful teachers. Let them teach you, but don't let them do it for you. That learning is yours to do.
    Reflection | By Karen G. Johnston | January 22, 2020 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Arts & Music, Beauty, Brokenness, Creativity, Direct Experience, Growth, Humanism, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Secular
  • On a city street strewn with fallen leaves, a person with long hair is seen from behind, wearing a backpack.
    Sometimes grief sends notice ahead of time; sometimes, it shows up as an unwelcome, uninvited guest.
    Reflection | By Monica Dobbins | October 30, 2019 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Bridging Ceremony, Change, Children, Direct Experience, Grief, Growth, Humanism, Letting Go, Mother's Day, Parents, Secular, Transformation
  • In the crowded pews of a church, adults and children sing with energy.
    Despite being warmly welcomed over and over by the greeters, by the family sitting behind me, and by the lead pastor, I couldn’t shake that “guest” feeling.
    Reflection | By Erika Hewitt | March 6, 2019 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Children, Community, Direct Experience, Hospitality, Relationships
  • A small button, leaning against a rock, that says "you are beautiful"
    It is deeply spiritual work to learn to treat ourselves with compassion; to learn to see ourselves, if only in moments, the same way we look at something or someone we find beautiful: a newborn baby, the ocean, a sunset.
    Reflection | By Elea Kemler | February 13, 2019 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Acceptance, Beauty, Body, Caring, Compassion, Direct Experience, Integrity, Love, Relationships, Self-Care, Self-Respect
  • 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 pieces of colored chalk, lying on a flat chalkboard, with a multi-colored heart drawn on it.
    It is my only memory of a lesson from Kindergarten Sunday School class. Maybe it’s the only one that counts.
    Reflection | By Misha Sanders | August 1, 2018 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Acceptance, Children, Direct Experience, Forgiveness, God, Grace, Imagination, Love, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Relationships, Transcendence, Unitarian Universalism
  • rainbow mosaic
    I’d gotten in the habit of keeping my head down and hardly noticing where I was or who was around me. On this day, I decided to greet the world differently.
    Reflection | By S.J. Butler | May 30, 2018 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Acceptance, Children, Compassion, Direct Experience, Humanism, Mothers, Multiculturalism, Parents, Secular
  • A large box of crayons in the foreground; in the background, a child bent over a drawing
    What if we encouraged and celebrated each other for who we are? What if, instead of criticizing, we challenged with love, affirming the good we see in one another?
    Reflection | By Connie Simon | March 21, 2018 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Acceptance, Compassion, Connections, Direct Experience, Humanism, Secular, Self-Respect, Unitarian Universalism, Worth
  • A person, with two hands, receives a glass of water from another person.
    To offer hospitality, we first have to identify ourselves — sometimes in inconvenient or uncomfortable ways — as helpers; as willing to offer kindness or connection to someone we might disagree with.
    Reflection | By Erika Hewitt | March 7, 2018 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), Abundance, Acceptance, Connections, Direct Experience, Diversity, Generosity, Hospitality, Stewardship, Unitarian Universalism, Unity
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