Yes, this will be the last PauseCast for a while. Maybe a long while. I’ve decided to close this chapter of the podcast, and if "Meanderings with Trudy" comes back, it will be in a different form. So this is the last of these PauseCasts, and we dive deeply into endings. We explore why endings matter, and what that means for bringing presence to our experience. And how endings can draw attention to the soul of our being human.

Please drop me a line if anything piqued your interest at [email protected]. And share this episode around. Thank you for sharing your ears with me over these last six years, and these many episodes with Angie. Such conversations matter. 

Episode links:

Information about Angie’s community event in June is via Big Stone House

Two poets we talked about and read from today include: Richard Wagamese’s “Embers: One Ojibway’s Meditations” and David Whyte’s “Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words”

Marie Kondo, Japanese American expert on how to tidy, in a meaningful way.

Robin Wall Kimmerer, "Braiding Sweetgrass"

Liz Bucar, "Beyond Wellness"

Angie's substack, "The Bigger Picture"

Trudy's substack, "Meanderings with Trudy"

As always, this podcast is sponsored by the guests who give of their time, and by my company, Chapman Coaching Inc.

Royalty free music is gratefully received and is called Sunday Stroll – by Huma-Huma

Live life joyfully, and always let kindness guide you.

As this podcast is about joy in the everyday, I'm bringing you deeply into what brings me joy, today. We meander through the story of my garden, and how my mother helped me build my garden and her legacy to me. A gift that keeps on giving.

As I meandered, I realized how every plant has a story. Most every plant was a gift to me from someone. The lavender from my brother Steve, the hydrangea from my friend Mary, the allium from my Dad and so on. A community garden of a sort.

I hope you enjoy this little window into my world, as it stands right now. If you have comments you'd like to share, please shoot me a note at [email protected]. 

As always, this podcast is sponsored by the guests who give of their time, and by my company, Chapman Coaching Inc.

Royalty free music is gratefully received and is called Sunday Stroll – by Huma-Huma

Live life joyfully, and always let kindness guide you.

We’re now covering the ninth and tenth guideposts to wholehearted living – cultivating meaningful work, and cultivating laughter, song and dance.

I hope you enjoy this episode. Please subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts, and share this episode widely. If you have questions or comments, please send them to me at [email protected]. I will address them in the next episode.

Episode links:

The 2010 TedTalk that started Brené’s rise to international helper

Biography

Brené Brown podcast “Dare To Lead” with Adam Grant on her new book

We did another deep dive into Martha Beck’s “The Joy Diet: Ten Daily Practices for a Happier Life.” You can find the first episode here. The rest unfold after that. 

Gordon Lightfood’s “Song for a Winter’s Night” is my favourite; and “The Last Farewell” is my favourite by Roger Whitaker

As always, this podcast is sponsored by the guests who give of their time, and by my company, Chapman Coaching Inc.

Royalty free music is gratefully received and is called Sunday Stroll – by Huma-Huma

Live life joyfully, and always let kindness guide you.

Career coach Michelle Schafer returns to the podcast, but this time, we talk to her from the seat of her expertise as a career coach. Michelle has been on the podcast twice already. Both times we explored how she faced down adversity: once as she healed from breaking her leg, the other as she hiked to Machu Picchu in Peru. And both times, she had to draw on deep inner resources to persevere. 

Today, we talk about the very difficult job market people are facing. Fewer jobs, more people looking, the encroachment of tech eradicating whole sectors of work. It’s tough out there. It’s an exhausting environment, and resilience is that much more important. 

Relationships connect us to job opportunities, and support us as we do the shift. Michelle speaks to this and so much more in our meander: what does it take to navigate through this job market, and how can we stay positive in the process?

You can find her award-winning book, "Cultivating Career Growth, Navigating Transitions with Purpose" at your local independent bookstore. And you can read about it on her website. (You can also find it on Amazon.)

Michelle is just a delight to chat with; her clients are well-served by her effervescent outlook on life and vast array of support to offer them in their coaching adventure. 

Please drop me a line if anything piqued your interest at [email protected]. And share this episode around, and if you’re of a mind, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Episode links:

Michelle’s coaching company is called: Michelle Schafer Coaching. Here are the links to her previous episodes: healing from a broken leg, and hiking in Peru.

As always, this podcast is sponsored by the guests who give of their time, and by my company, Chapman Coaching Inc.

Royalty free music is gratefully received and is called Sunday Stroll – by Huma-Huma

Live life joyfully, and always let kindness guide you.

We meander far and wide this week… who are “we” when we are we? Why do we avoid community? What is it about being connected to others that we find so difficult? 

There is no real answer to these questions we ask, but that’s ok. As Angie says here, “It’s not the answer that comes, it’s the art of asking the question. And when we can do that with someone else… we find the sweet spot.” It’s in the wrestle that our sense of loneliness and isolation evaporates, and we find connection, and compassion, caring and yes, community. 

I hope you like this wrestle. 

Please drop me a line if anything piqued your interest at [email protected]. And share this episode around, and if you’re of a mind, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Episode links:

Angie, and her Big Stone House, are proud sponsors of this podcast.

Have a read of Mary Oliver’s poem: “The Summer Day” which Angie references.

As always, this podcast is sponsored by the guests who give of their time, and by my company, Chapman Coaching Inc.

Royalty free music is gratefully received and is called Sunday Stroll – by Huma-Huma

Live life joyfully, and always let kindness guide you.

I had a fabulous time in Victoria, at a writer’s retreat with Alison Wearing. I talk about that a bit and compare this retreat to the other one I shared with Alison in Tuscany in 2024. The comparison could not be more profound! I also spent a week on the west coast of Vancouver Island, visiting with the Pacific Ocean. 

There’s a wee treat in here for you too…

Thank you again to all my golden lights... new and old. I so appreciate your company on this journey.

Please drop me a line if anything piqued your interest at [email protected]. And share this episode around, and if you’re of a mind, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Episode links:

Alison Wearing is a wonderful Canadian memoirist. You too can study with her, just visit her website to learn how!

Angie’s company is Big Stone House

And if you are interested in any of my podcasts, both soundscapes, that I did from Tuscany, you can listen here, and here.

As always, this podcast is sponsored by the guests who give of their time, and by my company, Chapman Coaching Inc.

Royalty free music is gratefully received and is called Sunday Stroll – by Huma-Huma

Live life joyfully, and always let kindness guide you.

We’re now covering the seventh and eight guideposts to wholehearted living – cultivating play and rest, and cultivating calm and stillness. 

I hope you enjoy this episode. Please subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts, and share this episode widely. If you have questions or comments, please send them to me at [email protected]. I will address them in the next episode.

Episode links:

The 2010 TedTalk that started Brené’s rise to international helper

Biography

Brené Brown podcast “Dare To Lead” with Adam Grant on her new book

If you're interested in any offerings at Big Stone House, you can find them here under "Happenings"

As always, this podcast is sponsored by the guests who give of their time, and by my company, Chapman Coaching Inc.

Royalty free music is gratefully received and is called Sunday Stroll – by Huma-Huma

Live life joyfully, and always let kindness guide you.

I have enjoyed many a brunch and lunch at Amir's restaurant, Grounded Kitchen. 

Amir is an Ottawa entrepreneur who has built a space in which people can connect and build community. It’s important to him that his is a scratch kitchen where every bite is homemade and fabulous. His restaurant came about through relationships – with himself, with his family, with friends, with his religion, and with his staff. He’s built it from the ground up and he loves what he does. 

His family immigrated to Canada from Pakistan via San Francisco. And the spirit of his Ismaili Muslem faith guides his life. Our meander is wide and the topics are varied. 

We have a lovely meander! I hope you enjoy this too.

All comments are welcome. Please drop me a line at [email protected]. And share this episode around, and if you’re of a mind, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Episode links:

Learn more about Grounded Kitchen at their website, and via their FaceBook and Instagram

"On Joy and Sorrow" from The Prophet by Khalil Gibran 

As always, this podcast is sponsored by the guests who give of their time, and by my company, Chapman Coaching Inc.

Royalty free music is gratefully received and is called Sunday Stroll – by Huma-Huma

Live life joyfully, and always let kindness guide you.

Angie and I meander further around the idea of community, but this time, it’s through Angie’s remembrances of the communities she’s been part of in different times of her life. 

Stories matter. Sharing happens here, and it’s kinda lovely in the doing. I hope you’ll relate to some of what she shares. I certainly did.

I forgot to voice the sign off properly, but I didn't add it after the fact because I liked how we ended this week. I hope you'll subscribe and share, and reivew, despite it all. Thanks, all. Please drop me a line if anything piqued your interest at [email protected]. 

Episode links:

Information about Angie’s community event in June is via Big Stone House

As always, this podcast is sponsored by the guests who give of their time, and by my company, Chapman Coaching Inc.

Royalty free music is gratefully received and is called Sunday Stroll – by Huma-Huma

Live life joyfully, and always let kindness guide you.

Spring has sprung in my neck of the woods... the snow and ice are melting and the world is awakening. I love this time of the year!

Today's podcast is short and sweet. I give you a brief review of what's on offer in the coming weeks, but there's wee treat in today's offering... a little sound of the season. I hope you enjoy!

Please shoot me a note if you'd like more sound. I can be reached at [email protected]. I read everything you send. And like and subscribe, as you wish.

As always, this podcast is sponsored by the guests who give of their time, and by my company, Chapman Coaching Inc.

Royalty free music is gratefully received and is called Sunday Stroll – by Huma-Huma

Live life joyfully, and always let kindness guide you.