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September 23, 2025 17 mins

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Sometimes the universe flips your plans upside down. What you thought would be resistance turns out to be grace. What looked like disruption becomes a gift.

In this special episode of Unchartered & Unfiltered: A Journey Back to You, I take you behind the scenes of the 45th Anniversary Terry Fox Marathon of Hope — where nearly 10,000 people walked, ran, and wheeled across Canada’s longest bridge, raising over $830,000 for cancer research.

For me, the day carried more than just the distance of 13K across the Confederation Bridge. It was about community, resilience, cosmic timing, and the surprising ways life invites us to release, rebalance, and trust.

✨ Inside this episode you’ll hear:

  • Why detours often carry hidden gifts (and sometimes even wind at your back)
  • How community multiplies joy and transforms hard miles into lighter ones
  • What the eclipse and equinox reveal about releasing perfection and restoring balance
  • Four leadership lessons about intent, resilience, asking for help, and building legacy

If you’re standing at your own bridge right now, this episode will remind you: you don’t have to cross it alone — and love will always meet you with the wind at your back.

These aren’t just running lessons they’re life and leadership lessons. And if you’re ready to apply them in your own journey, there are two ways to walk with Cynthia: 1:1 coaching, or inside Be the Light a community for leaders who want to shift from fear to love, from control to trust.

Everything's better with friends. 🧡

Support the show

Please rate and review with your honest opinion. Subscribe and share with your colleagues especially if you have worked with me and found value in the work we’ve done together.

Connect with me in my favourite places, LinkedIn and Instagram and my website is: https://www.cynthiajamiesoncoach.ca/

Make it a great week!

Cynthia Jamieson 🧡🌱

Leadership coach for high-integrity leaders who want to thrive without proving or burning out | Ex-HR Exec | ICF PCC Coach | Podcast Host | Intuitive Intelligence® Method Guide


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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Cynthia (00:06):
Welcome to Unchartered and Unfiltered the journey back
to you.
I am Cynthia Jameson, your host,and this is where we break free
from the noise and dive deepinto what truly matters you.
If you're tired of the shoulds,the expectations and the
pressures to fit into a moldthat doesn't serve you, you're
in the right place.
This isn't a podcast about easyanswers or sugar-coated advice.

(00:32):
This is your invitation toreclaim your path, embrace the
unknown and become the bold,unapologetic version of yourself
that's been waiting to show up.
It's time to get unfiltered.
Let's get started.
Hello, hello and welcome backto Uncharted and Unfiltered a
journey back to you.
I am your host, cynthiaJamieson, and if you are new to

(00:52):
me and my work, welcome welcome.
And if you have been here sincethe beginning or any time in
between, welcome back.
This episode today is a littledifferent.
I feel like I've been sayingthat a lot lately, and there's a
reason for that.
Normally, by the time I sitdown to record, I have had a
chance to let the lessonsmarinate, but today the insights

(01:14):
are still unfolding and I wantto bring you right into the
moment with me, even if it'smessy, because sometimes I think
that is where the best bits are, and the reason why I think
that is because sometimes theuniverse flips your plans upside
down and what you thought wouldbe a headwind becomes a

(01:36):
tailwind.
What looks like disruptionbecomes a gift and what you get
instead is wind at your back.
Let me explain.
Let me bring you back into thiswith me.
So if you are listening in realtime, yesterday was Sunday,
september 21st 2025.
And I had the privilege ofrunning the 45th anniversary

(01:57):
Terry Fox Marathon of Hope.
Now, I did not run the marathon.
I ran the 13K across theConfederation Bridge, which is
the longest bridge in Canada,and it spans from New Brunswick
to Prince Edward Island, and Iwant to invite you, if I can,

(02:18):
into this story with me.
So just picture this it's 5.45in the morning, the air is cool,
the sky is still dark, thereare seven humans, beautiful
humans, who are tumbling intotwo cars buzzing with nervous
energy, and the plan was we hadan hour drive and we're going to

(02:41):
park on the New Brunswick side,get a shuttle to Prince Edward
Island and then run back to NewBrunswick, which would then give
us the ability to hop in ourcars, get back to the hotel, get
a shower, have a beautifulafternoon lunch and then head
back home, and that's not whathappened.
So, with this sheer volume ofcars, they were anticipated

(03:01):
almost 10,000 people there andall I can say is the universe
had another story in mind,another ending.
So we parked in a field, weboarded the shuttle and we
started the run from NewBrunswick to PEI instead.
Now, at first that felt like alittle bit of a disruption, and

(03:27):
the moment that my feet hit thebridge, the moment that my
running shoes hit the pavement,the moment that the air started
to fill my lungs, I realized thegift that we had been given.
Instead of the wind in ourfaces, the universe gave us the

(03:51):
wind at our backs, and with eachand every step across the
bridge, gratitude grew.
Now there were six of us thatran the full 13 kilometers, and
my dear husband, if he'slistening, he listens to my
episodes.
He took on the 5k, and alongthe way there were survivors,

(04:12):
there were supporters, therewere families, there was an army
team with rucksacks, there wasmusic here and there, and as we
got closer to Prince EdwardIsland, it was drifting across
the water to us.
The entire time.
There were stories that werebeing shared, there was laughter
ringing out and there was somuch goodness.
And the bridge stretched whatseemed to be endlessly ahead of

(04:39):
us and the water just glitteredlike the most magical, sparkly
beauty that you could everimagine.
And as the sun rose, higher andhigher, the smiles got wider
and wider.
And, of course, all of us werethere to run in Terry's honor,

(05:01):
which was such a beautifulreminder of resilience and
courage and vision that he had.
That still moves millions,millions of people Now.
I remember myself doing the veryfirst, my very first Terry Fox
run back in high school.
Back then every kilometer feltso hard, it felt almost

(05:30):
impossible to me, literallytruly.
And yesterday, as I wascrossing that bridge, I couldn't
help but reflect on how muchhas changed.
And that comes down to a fewthings like training.
And that comes down to a fewthings like training.
It's showing up, it's puttingin the reps, and that is what

(05:50):
transforms what once feltimpossible into something that
feels today not only doable butdownright joyful.
And I have been I'm not sure,actually, if I've mentioned this
on the podcast, but I have beendoing half marathon training as

(06:10):
well, and I've been doing thathere in Fredericton.
And that is echoing this lessonfor me, because for almost
seven years where I was living,where I used to live, I ran
alone for the most part, andthis time I was inviting other
people to join me.
And community has changedeverything.

(06:30):
I have people.
I have an individual who'smatching my stride literally
like kilometer for kilometer,and we went out for a long run
on Friday and we have friendsthat they help us do the early
kilometers together for a longrun on Friday.
And we have friends that theyhelp us do the early kilometers
together.
Someone else joins you halfway,which brings fresh energy and

(06:53):
laughter and different stories.
And my husband joins and waitsat the cafe with you know, a
warm shirt, and brings me myfavorite snack and we all have
coffee together and that makesrecovery joyful instead of
shivering.
And that is the beauty ofcommunity, because support,

(07:14):
however you give it or howeverit looks like it, doesn't have
to.
It doesn't have to look thesame to matter.
Every role counts.
Every presence changes thejourney, and the runs themselves
have taught me that detourshold hidden gifts.
What feels like disruption mayactually be grace in disguise.

(07:37):
Community multiplies joy inways that going it alone never
will.
We aren't meant to do the bigstretches of life alone or races
.
Bananas, cavendish, frenchfries, potato chips, which is
the fuel we had at the end ofthe run yesterday hardly perfect
fuel, but good enough, andsometimes in life, enough is

(08:02):
exactly what sustains us.
Training changes what feelspossible.
Practice builds ease.
Companions make the hard mileslighter.
And as I'm saying this in realtime, I'm reminded.
Yes, and all of this applies toour brains.
And so it struck me, it'sstriking me.

(08:24):
The universe isn't justshifting our route across the
bridge, it was shiftingsomething in me, our route
across the bridge, it wasshifting something in me.
This run happened on a day ofcosmic invitation a solar
eclipse in Virgo and the fallequinox.

(08:45):
Now, I'm not an astrologer, buthere's what I do know Eclipses
invite us to release, and thisparticular eclipse is in Virgo,
which is inviting us to releaseperfectionism and the illusion
that life must be right.
Equinoxes remind us to returnto balance, where night equals

(09:09):
day, shadow equals light, and sothere's two simple lessons here
that are rising up which isreleasing the illusion of
perfection.
Life isn't about that flawlessexecution, that perfection at
all, even though our brains tryto tell us that it is.
Instead, it's about presence.
It's about being present in themoment and enjoying that moment

(09:32):
.
That is the one that you haveright here right now, because
that is the only one that ispromised.
We are not guaranteed anothermoment after this very one, even
whenever you're listening tothis, like this very moment.
That is the moment, and that iswhat you're choosing to do with
your moment.
And the second piece to this isbalance.

(09:54):
Balance is not a permanentstate.
It is a rhythm that we get toreturn to again and again, and
this is echoing through me as myfeet are hitting the pavement
on the bridge.
Balance comes in cycles and, asif that wasn't enough, the

(10:20):
timing of this run is such thatit is landing right here right
now, as I step into a newchapter myself.
As of today, monday, september22nd if you're listening, in
real time, I begin a year-longjourney to become a spiritual
director.
Now you might be asking wellnd,if you're listening in real
time, I begin a year-longjourney to become a spiritual
director.
Now you might be asking well,why, cynthia?
Why would you be doing that?
And what I would say as aresponse is my work just isn't

(10:43):
about coaching leaders.
It's about living what I teach.
It's about embodying what itmeans to release fear and live
from love instead, and this wasa commitment and an intention
that I set at the beginning of2025 for myself.
And to do that, I have neededto, and will continue to need to
, shed grief and release partsof me and my ego that no longer

(11:09):
serve.
And this is where it gets real.
Real because right here, rightnow, my brain, all day today,
has been throwing me everyautomatic thought you could
imagine.
I've stepped into fear, doubt,urgency.
My brain has been inviting allof these things and, just like
on that bridge yesterday, I keepcoming back to the truth.
The wind is at my back, love ishere, love is present and

(11:35):
gratitude is here and gratitudeis here and gratitude is present
, and love and gratitude areboth louder than fear.
And I'm just being reminded.
This morning, my husband and Iwere out for a walk and I shared
a line from this book that I'mreading, which is by an author I
probably won't say their lastname correctly, so I'll spell it
, but their name is Jesse AyaniA-Y-A-N-I and the title of the

(12:00):
book is the Lineage of the Codesof Light, and I'm reading this
in preparation for thiscoursework, and the line that I
shared with him is intent movesthe cogs of the universe that
shapes reality that I sharedwith him is intent moves the
cogs of the universe that shapesreality.
And if we shift our perceptionand align our intent with divine

(12:20):
love, we will create a newreality.
And there is actually in mymind the way that I'm thinking
about it right here, right now,although it might change later.
No matter what we're facing,there is always another
perspective, there is alwaysanother shift in our perception
that we can make, that can shifthow we look at things if we are

(12:47):
open and willing to do that.
And that is exactly what I feltyesterday.
I felt the intent of TerryFox's legacy.
I felt the love of the people,of my friends, of the running
community, whether they werepart of our group or not, of the

(13:08):
people that were walking, ofthe people that were there with
their loved ones.
I could feel the trust thatthey had placed in themselves,
in their family, in the process,shaping reality in real time.
And I noticed even more lessonsLeading with intent shapes

(13:34):
reality.
Resilience built on love, notfear, and we always know it I
always say this on the podcast,we always know it by how it
feels, because fear tightens thegrip and it feels so
constricting, and love loosensit and it feels expansive and it
carries you forward.

(13:54):
And that's what it felt likeyesterday on the bridge.
Leadership means asking forhelp, like my husband securing a
late checkout for all of uswhile we ran Because he was
doing the 5k.
He was going back to the carand he's like actually I think

(14:18):
it would be a really great ideaif I went back and secured a
late checkout for all of us andthat was such an incredible gift
and he even had coffee from twoplaces waiting for us when we
returned.
And that is leadership inaction.
And, sweetheart, if you'relistening which I know that you

(14:40):
do I just want to say thank youon behalf of everyone that made
everyone's arrival even thatmuch more joyous.
Which brings me to anotherlesson, which is legacy.
Legacy is built in the long run.
Just as Terry's couragecontinues to ripple through

(15:01):
millions of lives 45 years later, the question I have for us is
what small act of courage willripple beyond you?
And so, with that today, Ileave you with this what bridge
are you crossing right now?
Where in your life do you needto loosen your grip?

(15:25):
Where do you need to lift yourface to the wind and let it
carry you forward.
Now, as I mentioned, I'm notdone receiving the lessons from
this run, this eclipse, or thisequinox, that is for sure, or
this new chapter, but I do knowthis I am ready to let
everything that needs to go goand to let everything that needs

(15:47):
to come come, and I thank TashaSilver for that quote.
It is that prayer, it beautiful.
I have been leading myselfthrough this phase with that as
a mantra, and if you are longingto make that same shift from

(16:10):
fear to love, from control totrust, I invite you to join us
inside.
Be the Light.
I'll leave all the details inthe show notes.
It is a space where we walkthis path together and if you
feel called to do this work withme, all the details are on my

(16:31):
website.
So until next time next week.
So until next time next week,may you keep crossing your
bridges, feel the wind at yourback and remember that you are
never alone on this journey.
I hope that you're walking awayfeeling more aligned with your
true self, more confident in thechoices ahead and ready to

(16:54):
leave the safe path behind,knowing you've got everything
you need within.
Remember, the journey to youisn't about finding one perfect
direction.
It's about trusting yourselfenough to explore all of it.
If you're ready to dive deeper,join me for the next episode,
and don't forget to subscribe sothat you never miss the next
step on your path.

(17:15):
I invite you to join my mailinglist at
wwwcynthiajamesoncoachca, wherewe'll deepen our relationship
and you can claim your copy ofyour Inner Compass, a guide to
charting your course toauthenticity.
Until next time, stayunfiltered, stay true and, most
importantly, stay you.
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