Meanderings with Trudy

Hot on the heels of last month’s introduction to this book, today we’ll dive into the first two guideposts – cultivating authenticity, and cultivating self-compassion.  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 meanderingswithtrudy@gmail.com. I read everything you...

“Women of a certain age have a lot of beauty inside them to share,” Sylvie tells us in the opening few minutes of today’s meander. Her lovely blog, “Little Old Lady… In Waiting” is a joy to read and she is offering a window into the world of middle-aged women that is often left shuttered. In our society that values youth and beauty, women over 50 are often overlooked and left out. In her blog, Syl...

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...

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  meanderingswithtrudy@gmail.c...

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  meanderingswithtrudy@gmail.com ....

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 s...

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.”...

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 abou...

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...

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 g...

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 surr...

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  meanderingswithtrudy@g...

Connection! This is the chapter where I really feel like the rubber hits the road. We see how the practices support us in our relationship with ourselves, and then we can apply these skills to our relationships in the bigger world. That’s what we cover in this next to final chapter in the book. Feel free to share your thoughts with me at  meanderingswithtrudy@gmail.com . I’d love to hear how your...

Laughter! That’s the focus of today’s meander, as we explore the third last chapter in Martha Beck’s book, “The Joy Diet: 10 daily practices for a happier life.” We visit a laughter yoga class from 2023 on Australia’s sunshine coast and hear from two laughter yoga teachers about the benefits of such a thing. There’s good science behind it too, that Beck explores in the book. I hope you’ll have a r...

In this chapter on play, I feel like I have really “shown my work.” I liked this chapter, and the invitation to make all that you do in your life feel like play. The exercises are great, and I walk through my answer to what my real career actually is, and if I am living into that in my every day. Sneak peek: I am!  Feel free to share your thoughts with me at meanderingswithtrudy@gmail.com . I’d lo...

...Welcome to Lac Nominigue in Quebec for a summer soundscape by the water. In early August, my family and I took some time at a friends' cottage to regroup and recharge. It was a gorgeous, hot week and we thoroughly enjoyed being by the water. When I collected this sound, the lake was a little riled up, just perfect for capturing for this soundscape episode. I hope you enjoy the sounds from this...

Treats! Everyone loves treats... and they can be a crucial tool in supporting you in the joy diet. They can help offset the inner challenge of taking a risk, and they can reinforce good habits. I hope you enjoy this meander as I share some of the things that I think of as "treats." It's more than chocolate and pizza, I can assure you! I hope you'll take some time to consider what a treat means to...

As the saying goes, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Risk is the pathway through something that you fear, which paradoxically, helps you grow. Risk is a skill you can practice, and this chapter helps you find your way through.  I hope you’ll enjoy this episode. Please, share my work widely, and give the podcast a review to tease the algorithms. If you have comments or questions, please send the...

Creativity is this week’s focus in chapter 4 of “The Joy Diet.” I found this chapter really helpful and I encourage you to grab a pen and a piece of paper so you too can work through the exercises she offers. She doesn’t as much talk about creativity as much as invite you into a few practices that help you explore yours, in relation to the desire you may have articulated in the previous chapter. I...

After five years podcasting around joy in the every day... what have we learned? 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 always told to live our best lives, but what does that really mean? In this book, coach Beck introduces us to the 10 daily practices that she believes will help us live more joy-filled lives. We're on chapter three, which dives into finding your heart's desire. Today, I meander with you from the hot tub, the site of my daily meditation practice. Truth be told, I've been struggling with this...

We're always told to live our best lives, but what does that really mean? In this book, coach Beck introduces us to the 10 daily practices that she believes will help us live more joy-filled lives.  Today, we’re looking at chapter 2, called “Truth.” The practice in this case is all about getting quiet enough in our body and mind to hear what is true for us in this very moment. Beck walks us throug...

We're always told to live our best lives, but what does that really mean? In this book, coach Beck introduces us to the 10 daily practices that she believes will help us live more joy full lives.  We are starting this week with chapter 1, habit #1: do nothing. In this episode, I explore this practice a bit with you, talk about how doing nothing has helped me live a more balanced life, and invite y...

While May 2-4 weekend (we still celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday in Canada, on the third weekend of May, typically called "May 2-4" after our cases of beer that hold 24 bottles or cans) marks the beginning of summer in Canda, nothing marks summer like the end of school followed by Canada Day, on July 1. The festivities were great this year, our new national motto of "elbows up" seems to have sp...

In this final meander of the season, I spend a little time and go back over my work these past five years to see if I can articulate a more satisfactory definition of joy. Not the noun or the verb, but the concept of joy. With help from a few dictionaries, and a few poets, as well as my many guests, I show you where I’ve landed. I’m keen to hear what you think about this, so please take note, and...