"Invited to Speak is like spending time in the company of someone who will remind you-even with all its suffering-of the beauty and mystery of the world." -Ellen Bass, co-author of The Courage to Heal

"Joseph Bednarik has given a gift to all of us in this series of stories and meditations." -Stephen Tobolowsky, author of My Adventures with God

Gliding into the spaces between inspirational TED talks and late-night conversations around a beach fire, these seven presentations-delivered to Unitarian Universalist congregations throughout the Pacific Northwest-are open invitations for readers and seekers to consider the manifold layers of the world with joyful curiosity.