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 - 15 of 15

  • Holy Reconciler, help us make peace with each other.
    Reflection | By Amanda Udis-Kessler | November 15, 2023 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Arts & Music, Conflict, Division, Friendship, Peace, Politics, Relationships, Secular, Worship
  • If love is a law, how may I follow it with more faithfulness?
    Reflection | By Joanna Fontaine Crawford | December 21, 2022 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Arts & Music, Christianity, Conscience, God, Justice, Worship
  • 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
  • I experience the creative impulse as living just under the surface of the daily grind: tugging; imploring, When do we all get to sing together again?
    Reflection | By Erin J. Walter | January 6, 2021 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: #COVID19, Arts & Music, Creativity, Direct Experience, Humanism, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Self-Care, Worship
  • 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
  • May I always remember that Tango, like life, is a dance of the people. It’s meant to be shared, not practiced in isolation.
    Reflection | By Katie Romano Griffin | September 18, 2019 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Arts & Music, Balance, Body, Connections, Direct Experience, Family, Humanism, Multiculturalism, Playfulness, Power, Relationships, Secular
  • As a hospital chaplain, I often listen to painful stories. We call it compassionate presence, but I may be crying inside. When words fail, I pray and sing.
    Reflection | By Yuri Yamamoto | June 12, 2019 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Arts & Music, Brokenness, Challenge, Despair, Direct Experience, Faith, Fear, God, Presence, Unitarian Universalism
  • It's hard to feel gratitude for something when you're focusing on what’s wrong with it.
    Reflection | By Kat Liu | May 1, 2019 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Arrogance, Arts & Music, Class, Humility, Searching
  • God is not a distant force, far away. God is in the beating of our hearts and the backbeat of a funky baseline. God is in a four-on-the-floor drum fill, and in the achy joints and sore muscles the day after.
    Reflection | By Alex Haider-Winnett | October 24, 2018 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Arts & Music, Awe, Body, Culture, Direct Experience, God, Immanence, Joy, Letting Go, Spiritual Practice, Young Adults
  • Music is my solace and my comfort, the one thing that’s always with me. I feel its vibration deep in my soul; it’s my spiritual practice. Music tells the story of my life.
    Reflection | By Connie Simon | May 23, 2018 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Arts & Music, Body, Creativity, Direct Experience, Music Sunday, Secular, Spiritual Practice
  • “Now,” the yoga instructor said, “begin to chant GOD GOD GOD as you vigorously circle your arms.” Oh boy, I thought, Here we go. Of course it couldn’t just be arm circles.
    Reflection | By Tara Humphries | February 7, 2018 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Arts & Music, Challenge, God, Interfaith, Joy, Letting Go, Spiritual Practice
  • I wanted so badly to break free and let loose—but I just couldn't. I was stuck in my own false ideas of the congregation's expectations of me. Luckily, there’s still time.
    Reflection | By DeReau K. Farrar | January 16, 2018 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Acceptance, Arts & Music, Body, Direct Experience, Empathy, Freedom, Joy, Limitations, Multiculturalism, Race/Ethnicity, Self-Respect
  • The most important lesson pottery has taught me is to not be attached to the final product—the process matters more than the product.
    Reflection | By Tim Atkins | June 28, 2017 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Abundance, Arts & Music, Beginnings, Creativity, Direct Experience, Humanism, Playfulness, Secular
  • It's in one tiny moment in time / for life to shine to shine Burn away the darkness You've got one tiny moment in time / for life to shine to shine To burn away the darkness I will be light. — “I Will Be Light” by Matisyahu About six months ago, I got a new tattoo. It’s a lit match on my...
    Reflection | By Sean Parker Dennison | February 1, 2017 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Activism, Anger, Anti-Oppression, Arts & Music, Despair, Direct Experience, Humanism, Identity, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Secular
  • An awakening passed through the whole theatre, and as if touched by some invisible hand, the people stood, clapped, shouted with joy, laughed, and wept… It was blessed to be connected to—no, to be a part of a community—a people. —Volker Kühn, in his essay about a cabaret performance during...
    Reflection | By Sean Parker Dennison | December 14, 2016 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Arts & Music, Community, History, Personal Stories, Power, Responsibility, Self-Respect, Suffering, Tradition

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