Meanderings with Trudy

Angie and I believe the Enneagram is critically useful in helping us live lives of meaning and joy. You see, we trip over ourselves every day. And with time, we develop habits around that, grooves in who we be that become unconscious... like a background operating system, but one that doesn’t always serve us well. 

The Enneagram provides us a lens through which we can see ourselves – the gifts and the challenges that are both burden and joy. This is how I approach the Enneagram in my own self, and with my coaching clients.

Angie comes at the Enneagram from a deeper place, a reverent one. In this context, reverence means having a deep respect for someone or something. It includes a sense of awe and wonder. In this case, the Enneagram provides a spiritual portal for showing up fully as human, and holy, in our lives, and bringing our gifts to service of this world. Angie tells us that the personal and spiritual journey on offer from the teachings and practice of the Enneagram reminds us both of how awesome we are, and also, how much space there is for improvement. 

Understanding the Enneagram in our lives enables us to choose how we want to be in our life. With awareness, we engage with life from a sense of presence. Which, with any luck, enhances our relationships and creates ripples of goodness in the world. 

And that's why we're talking about the Enneagram, because all of us bringing our best sefl forth is how we change the world for the better. Love and be loved... that's the ballgame, folks.

If you have questions about the Enneagram, or anything we covered here today, 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. And stay tuned, there is more to come.

Episode links:

The Enneagram  as explained  by The Enneagram Institute 

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.

Picking up on our previous episode on influences, Angie and I pick up the threads and look at the role of expectations and ask: what happens when our expectations are not met by those who we look up to? We meander all around this, and call “human!” on feelings that come up when disappointment comes for a visit.

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:

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Father Richard Rohr and The Center for Action and Contemplation

Our previous meander on Expectations from May 9, 2023

The Enneagram Institute

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.

November is always a reminder to me that I can “begin again.” As light levels drop, so do my spirits. In today’s meander, I offer a wee check in to where I am at this time, and I hope it affords you the space to check in with yourself too. How are you now that winter is just around the corner – assuming you’re in the northern hemisphere that is. Drop me a line at [email protected].

Following my check in, I’ll set the table for what is to come this month in our programming. I hope you enjoy this episode, please share it around, and if you’re of a mind, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Episode links:

Trudy’s Substack  if you’d like to have a read. I write about my podcast, and a few other things Canadian. 

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.

This book was foundational to my personal development, and I hope you’ll find it equally as useful. A researcher, storyteller from the University of Houston in Texas, Brené Brown helped me to see how shame and vulnerability have run rampant through my life and upended my sense of belonging. She also helped me to accept this very human part of myself, and work with it in a healthy way. 

Today, we set the table for the ten guideposts she outlines in the chapters to come. The ten guideposts support what she calls “wholehearted living.” I hope you’ll read along with it all as we go. 

This is tender work folks. Brené’s got a lovely mantra that can help: “Stay awkward, brave, and kind.” I hope you’ll keep that in mind as we dig in.

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 leadership book, "Strong Ground" 

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.

Like many of us, Petra Fisher settled into a job that didn’t fit her, but unlike so many of us, she made an intentional switch and that has made all the difference!

Petra shares with us her experience of switching professions from law to movement coach, how it has enhanced her life, and why she thinks we all need to focus on “future-proofing our bodies” so we age well and increase our “joy span.”

Petra is offering a new foot fitness webinar as of this week, so please have a look at the link below if you're interested. I love all her programs, I hope you will too!

I’m keen to hear what you think about this, so please take note, and send comments to me at [email protected]. I read everything you send.

I hope you enjoy this episode. Please subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts, and share this episode widely. 

Episode links:

Petra Fisher Movement, and Petra's new foot webinar. You can find Petra's social media on her website.

Katy Bowman

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.

In this second PauseCast, Angie and I explore influences from our past, and how they differ from Influencers of the now, and why that matters. And of course, we finally explore why we love Alan Alda, but also Mr. Rogers, and Nancy Drew, and why THAT matters too. 

What is it about those people and things that influenced us that tells us so much about who we are?

I’m keen to hear what you think about this, so please send comments to me at [email protected]. I read everything you send.

I hope you enjoy this episode. Please subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts, and share this episode widely. 

Episode links:

The movie Angie mentioned is called “Pieowa” and here’s the trailer

Some background about Alan Alda; his podcast is called “Clear and Vivid”

Anne Lamott, author, and PBS children’s TV show host, Mr. Rogers

Ken Burns latest documentary on the American Revolution, premiering Nov 16, 2025 on PBS

Bob Ross paintings to be auctioned off to raise money for PBS

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.

Rituals matter and so Angie shares with us what she did on her summer vacation this year. It’s the way we begin every season opener on this PauseCast, and always reminds me of my first days at school when I was a kid. You heard about my summer last week, so I hope you don’t mind me dedicating this space to Angie’s experience.

Angie and her husband Peter, and their two golden retrievers, went on a 7,000 mile (11,265 kilometres) road trip, returning to places that feel like home, seeing old friends and making new ones along the way. They did a big loop from Arizona to the east coast of the US, north to Almonte, Canada where they lived for a number of years, then back down to Iowa and back home to Arizona. They travelled through some of the reddest states in the US union, only to find that people are people, regardless of political stripe. Kindness and generosity met them at every turn, and much BBQ was had. It was a good trip, and a reminder to slow down, let go of expectations, be present to each other and to the road, and be open to love. 

This was a good meander, and we’ll have more on this PauseCast. I’m always keen to hear from you, so please share your thoughts at [email protected]. I read everything you send.

I hope you enjoy this episode. Please subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts, and share this episode widely. 

Episode links:

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.

Most podcasts make only 3-4 episodes… this season, we’ll have dropped more than 200! That's quite an achievement.

I am thrilled to be back with all of you, exploring joy in the everyday. This year, we’ll follow the same cadence has last year, and I explain all that in this episode. We’ll also have a sub theme of aging well, and how that connects to joy. 

I hope you’ll enjoy this coming season! I give you a sneak peek into what’s to come in our episode toay.

I’m always keen to hear from you, so please share your thoughts at [email protected]. I read everything you send.

I hope you enjoy this episode. Please subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts, and share this episode widely. 

Episode links:

My new trailer

Drayton Theatre Festival in Grand Bend on Lake Huron, and Penetanguishene on Georgian Bay

Canada’s five great lakes

Petra Fisher Movement

Trudy’s SubStack

Terry Fallis and his new book The Marionette 

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.

Every fall my husband and I trek out to British Columbia to check on my aged father-in-law who lives on a lake at the edge of the wilderness. But before we go, we visit my sister-in-law who lives in West Vancouver. Her home is a beautiful, modern, cedar home which she shares with her husband, and two gorgeous cats, one of whom came to visit while I was taping this soundscape. 

Old cedar trees surround her home and a salmon stream runs down the back part of the property. It's as close as you can get to nature without leaving the city. Her home is halfway up the side of a mountain... (I just can't bring myself to call it a "hill") on your way out of Vancouver. It's idyllic and I love it here. I try to capture the spirit of the place through sound, and fail every time. Although I don't stop trying.

I hope you enjoy this last "summer" episode, although by now it feels like fall. I return to regular programming next week. I hope you'll join me wherever you get your podcasts. All kind comments welcome.

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.

Feasting… author Martha Beck tells us that feasting has three essential elements: celebration, nourishment and gratitude. That’s what we talk about today in this final episode of the book, and of this 2024 spring season.

Thank you for your good company as we close out this review of this informative guide into joy in the everyday!

Feel free to share your thoughts with me at [email protected]. I’d love to hear how your work has gone, and how you are onboarding, or playing with, these ten daily practices. 

Episode links:

You can find "The Joy Diet: 10 Daily Practices for a Happier Life" by Martha Beck at Indigo in Canada, and at local bookstores near you, like Books on Beechwood.

Learn more about Martha Beck.

“What Comes From Spirit,” by Richard Wagamese

My friend Richard Godin shot this beautiful picture of the water lily.  I use it with permission.

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.