165: When the Universe Flips Your Plans (And It's Actually Better)

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. 🧡

Transcript

Welcome to Uncharted and Unfiltered

Cynthia 0:06

Welcome to Unchartered and Unfiltered the journey back to you.

Cynthia 0:10

I am Cynthia Jameson, your host, and this is where we break free from the noise and dive deep into what truly matters you. If you're tired of the shoulds, the expectations and the pressures to fit into a mold that doesn't serve you, you're in the right place. This isn't a podcast about easy answers or sugar-coated advice. This is your invitation to reclaim 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 back to Uncharted and Unfiltered a journey back to you. I am your host, cynthia Jamieson, and if you are new to me and my work, welcome welcome. And if you have been here since the beginning or any time in between, welcome back.

The Unexpected Bridge Run Journey

Cynthia 0:59

This episode today is a little different. I feel like I've been saying that a lot lately, and there's a reason for that. Normally, by the time I sit down to record, I have had a chance to let the lessons marinate, but today the insights are still unfolding and I want to bring you right into the moment with me, even if it's messy, because sometimes I think that is where the best bits are, and the reason why I think that is because sometimes the universe flips your plans upside down and what you thought would be a headwind becomes a tailwind. What looks like disruption becomes a gift and what you get instead is wind at your back. Let me explain. Let me bring you back into this with me. So if you are listening in real time, yesterday was Sunday, september 21st 2025. And I had the privilege of running the 45th anniversary Terry Fox Marathon of Hope.

Cynthia 2:00

Now, I did not run the marathon. I ran the 13K across the Confederation Bridge, which is the longest bridge in Canada, and it spans from New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island, and I want to invite you, if I can, into this story with me. So just picture this it's 5.45 in the morning, the air is cool, the sky is still dark, there are seven humans, beautiful humans, who are tumbling into two cars buzzing with nervous energy, and the plan was we had an hour drive and we're going to park on the New Brunswick side, get a shuttle to Prince Edward Island and then run back to New Brunswick, which would then give us the ability to hop in our cars, get back to the hotel, get a shower, have a beautiful afternoon lunch and then head back home, and that's not what happened. So, with this sheer volume of cars, they were anticipated almost 10,000 people there and all I can say is the universe had another story in mind, another ending. So we parked in a field, we boarded the shuttle and we started the run from New Brunswick to PEI instead.

Community Changes Everything

Cynthia 3:19

Now, at first that felt like a little bit of a disruption, and the moment that my feet hit the bridge, the moment that my running shoes hit the pavement, the moment that the air started to fill my lungs, I realized the gift that we had been given. Instead of the wind in our faces, the universe gave us the wind at our backs, and with each and every step across the bridge, gratitude grew. Now there were six of us that ran the full 13 kilometers, and my dear husband, if he's listening, he listens to my episodes. He took on the 5k, and along the way there were survivors, there were supporters, there were families, there was an army team with rucksacks, there was music here and there, and as we got closer to Prince Edward Island, it was drifting across the water to us. The entire time. There were stories that were being shared, there was laughter ringing out and there was so much goodness. And the bridge stretched what seemed to be endlessly ahead of us and the water just glittered like the most magical, sparkly beauty that you could ever imagine. And as the sun rose, higher and higher, the smiles got wider and wider. And, of course, all of us were there to run in Terry's honor, which was such a beautiful reminder of resilience and courage and vision that he had. That still moves millions, millions of people Now.

Cynthia 5:16

I remember myself doing the very first, my very first Terry Fox run back in high school. Back then every kilometer felt so hard, it felt almost impossible to me, literally truly. And yesterday, as I was crossing that bridge, I couldn't help but reflect on how much has changed. And that comes down to a few things like training. And that comes down to a few things like training. It's showing up, it's putting in the reps, and that is what transforms what once felt impossible into something that feels today not only doable but downright joyful. And I have been I'm not sure, actually, if I've mentioned this on the podcast, but I have been doing half marathon training as well, and I've been doing that here in Fredericton. And that is echoing this lesson for me, because for almost seven years where I was living, where I used to live, I ran alone for the most part, and this time I was inviting other people to join me.

Cynthia 6:27

And community has changed everything. I have people. I have an individual who's matching my stride literally like kilometer for kilometer, and we went out for a long run on Friday and we have friends that they help us do the early kilometers together for a long run on Friday. And we have friends that they help us do the early kilometers together. Someone else joins you halfway, which brings fresh energy and laughter and different stories. And my husband joins and waits at the cafe with you know, a warm shirt, and brings me my favorite snack and we all have coffee together and that makes recovery joyful instead of shivering.

Cynthia 7:06

And that is the beauty of community, because support, however you give it or however it looks like it, doesn't have to. It doesn't have to look the same to matter. Every role counts. Every presence changes the journey, and the runs themselves have taught me that detours hold hidden gifts. What feels like disruption may actually be grace in disguise. Community multiplies joy in ways that going it alone never will. We aren't meant to do the big stretches of life alone or races. Bananas, cavendish, french fries, potato chips, which is the fuel we had at the end of the run yesterday hardly perfect fuel, but good enough, and sometimes in life, enough is exactly what sustains us. Training changes what feels possible. Practice builds ease. Companions make the hard miles lighter. And as I'm saying this in real time, I'm reminded. Yes, and all of this applies to our brains. And so it struck me, it's striking me. The universe isn't just shifting our route across the bridge, it was shifting something in me, our route across the bridge, it was shifting something in me.

Cynthia 8:43

This run happened on a day of cosmic invitation a solar eclipse in Virgo and the fall equinox. Now, I'm not an astrologer, but here's what I do know Eclipses invite us to release, and this particular eclipse is in Virgo, which is inviting us to release perfectionism and the illusion that life must be right. Equinoxes remind us to return to balance, where night equals day, shadow equals light, and so there's two simple lessons here that are rising up which is releasing the illusion of perfection. Life isn't about that flawless execution, that perfection at all, even though our brains try to tell us that it is. Instead, it's about presence. It's about being present in the moment and enjoying that moment. That is the one that you have right here right now, because that is the only one that is promised. We are not guaranteed another moment after this very one, even whenever you're listening to this, like this very moment. That is the moment, and that is what you're choosing to do with your moment. And the second piece to this is balance. Balance is not a permanent state. It is a rhythm that we get to return to again and again, and this is echoing through me as my feet are hitting the pavement on the bridge. Balance comes in cycles and, as if that wasn't enough, the timing of this run is such that it is landing right here right now, as I step into a new chapter myself.

Leadership, Legacy and Looking Forward

Cynthia 10:27

As of today, monday, september 22nd if you're listening, in real time, I begin a year-long journey to become a spiritual director. Now you might be asking wellnd, if you're listening in real time, I begin a year-long journey 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 a response is my work just isn't about coaching leaders. It's about living what I teach. It's about embodying what it means to release fear and live from love instead, and this was a commitment and an intention that I set at the beginning of 2025 for myself. And to do that, I have needed to, and will continue to need to, shed grief and release parts of me and my ego that no longer serve. And this is where it gets real. Real because right here, right now, my brain, all day today, has been throwing me every automatic thought you could imagine. I've stepped into fear, doubt, urgency. My brain has been inviting all of these things and, just like on that bridge yesterday, I keep coming back to the truth. The wind is at my back, love is here, love is present and gratitude is here and gratitude is here and gratitude is present, and love and gratitude are both louder than fear. And I'm just being reminded.

Cynthia 11:44

This morning, my husband and I were out for a walk and I shared a line from this book that I'm reading, which is by an author I probably won't say their last name correctly, so I'll spell it, but their name is Jesse Ayani A-Y-A-N-I and the title of the book is the Lineage of the Codes of Light, and I'm reading this in preparation for this coursework, and the line that I shared with him is intent moves the cogs of the universe that shapes reality that I shared with him is intent moves the cogs of the universe that shapes reality. And if we shift our perception and align our intent with divine love, we will create a new reality. And there is actually in my mind 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 always another shift in our perception that we can make, that can shift how we look at things if we are open and willing to do that. And that is exactly what I felt yesterday. I felt the intent of Terry Fox's legacy. I felt the love of the people, of my friends, of the running community, whether they were part of our group or not, of the people that were walking, of the people that were there with their loved ones. I could feel the trust that they had placed in themselves, in their family, in the process, shaping reality in real time. And I noticed even more lessons Leading with intent shapes reality.

Cynthia 13:36

Resilience built on love, not fear, and we always know it I always say this on the podcast, we always know it by how it feels, because fear tightens the grip and it feels so constricting, and love loosens it and it feels expansive and it carries you forward. And that's what it felt like yesterday on the bridge. Leadership means asking for help, like my husband securing a late checkout for all of us while we ran Because he was doing the 5k. He was going back to the car and he's like actually I think it would be a really great idea if I went back and secured a late checkout for all of us and that was such an incredible gift and he even had coffee from two places waiting for us when we returned. And that is leadership in action. And, sweetheart, if you're listening which I know that you do I just want to say thank you on behalf of everyone that made everyone's arrival even that much more joyous. Which brings me to another lesson, which is legacy. Legacy is built in the long run.

Cynthia 14:57

Just as Terry's courage continues to ripple through millions of lives 45 years later, the question I have for us is what small act of courage will ripple beyond you? And so, with that today, I leave you with this what bridge are you crossing right now? Where in your life do you need to loosen your grip? Where do you need to lift your face to the wind and let it carry you forward. Now, as I mentioned, I'm not done receiving the lessons from this run, this eclipse, or this equinox, that is for sure, or this new chapter, but I do know this I am ready to let everything that needs to go go and to let everything that needs to come come, and I thank Tasha Silver for that quote. It is that prayer, it beautiful.

Invitation and Episode Closing

Cynthia 15:57

I have been leading myself through this phase with that as a mantra, and if you are longing to make that same shift from fear to love, from control to trust, I invite you to join us inside. Be the Light. I'll leave all the details in the show notes. It is a space where we walk this path together and if you feel called to do this work with me, all the details are on my website. So until next time next week.

Cynthia 16:39

So until next time next week, may you keep crossing your bridges, feel the wind at your back and remember that you are never alone on this journey. I hope that you're walking away feeling more aligned with your true self, more confident in the choices ahead and ready to leave the safe path behind, knowing you've got everything you need within. Remember, the journey to you isn't about finding one perfect direction. It's about trusting yourself enough to explore all of it. If you're ready to dive deeper, join me for the next episode, and don't forget to subscribe so that you never miss the next step on your path. I invite you to join my mailing list at wwwcynthiajamesoncoachca, where we'll deepen our relationship and you can claim your copy of your Inner Compass, a guide to charting your course to authenticity. Until next time, stay unfiltered, stay true and, most importantly, stay you.