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 21 - 32 of 32

  • 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
  • Who are the angry birds in my life? What are the sticks I carry in my heart so as not to be hurt again?
    Reflection | By Yuri Yamamoto | September 12, 2018 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), America, Animals, Anti-Oppression, Community, Direct Experience, Earth, Earth-Centered, Fear, Inclusion, Nature, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Race/Ethnicity, Self-Respect
  • I choose to believe in community. I choose to believe in the difficult, slow work of building a common life.
    Reflection | By Elea Kemler | May 16, 2018 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Challenge, Community, Conflict, Democracy, Direct Experience, Humanism, Interdependence, Relationships, Secular, Seven Principles, Unitarian Universalism
  • Pray, if you pray. Send love and money, too. We will be rolled and covered, but we will rise and carry others with us. Watch for the opportunities to rise and carry. Watch for the holy moments where some people see God.
    Reflection | By Teresa Honey Youngblood | August 30, 2017 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Awe, Brokenness, Caring, Community, Disaster, Healing, Nature, Transcendence, Unitarian Universalism
  • Remembering is the art of holding a memory and sharing it; it’s drawing upon that memory so it can help us to grow into people who live lives of meaning and service. As a practice, remembering connects us deeply to each other and to the love that sustains us.
    Reflection | By Elizabeth Harding | August 23, 2017 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Community, Death, Direct Experience, Family, Friendship, Grief, Humanism, Love, Memorial Services, Remembrance Day, Secular, Unitarian Universalism
  • Spirit that runs through us all, help me to remember all the ways in which I am connected to others.
    Reflection | By Aisha Ansano | August 16, 2017 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Activism, Agnosticism, America, Atheism, Commitment, Community, Democracy, Direct Experience, Hope, Humanism, Interdependence, Race/Ethnicity, Secular, Solidarity
  • What DO we do in the face of evil? Anything. Everything. Pray, protest, bake, hug, grieve, wail, laugh, explain, linger, research, fight, cry. What we absolutely must not do is ignore it.
    Reflection | By Becky Brooks | June 14, 2017 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Anti-Oppression, Caring, Children, Community, Direct Experience, Disaster or Crisis, Humanism, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer, Love, Multiculturalism, Parents, Secular, Unitarian Universalism, Violence
  • I am not alone. I don’t have to face the world alone and I don’t have to fix the world alone. When I need hope, I find it in on the faces of my people. All we need is hope... and for that, we have each other.
    Reflection | By Sean Parker Dennison | June 7, 2017 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Activism, Community, Connections, Direct Experience, Hope, Relationships
  • I long for progressive religious communities that are confessing communities—places where we admit our wrongdoings, are held accountable, and called back into covenant.
    Reflection | By Robin Tanner | May 3, 2017 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Character, Christianity, Community, Conscience, Direct Experience, Honesty, Humility
  • “We are not primarily put on this earth to see through one another, but to see one another through.” — Author unknown Standing roadside, stranded, watching thousands of dollars rise in the smoke coming from under the hood, it’s easier to fight about who forgot to put oil in the car than to...
    Reflection | By Teresa Honey Youngblood | April 12, 2017 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: Anger, Community, Conflict, Self-Respect
  • 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
  • "Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." —Rumi ...
    Reflection | By Robin Tanner | September 14, 2016 | From Braver/Wiser
    Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), 6th Principle (World Community), Community, Direct Experience, Diversity, Division, Humanism, Secular, Unity

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