Well, welcome back. I hope you’ve been surviving as we have been a part. I’m Heidi and this is the Surviving Changes Podcast. As you know I've been chasing down the usual suspects and I had hoped to do some interviews with fabulous people I’ve met from all over the world that I have met in my travels. I had naturally assumed they were surviving the changes they were facing in this ever changing world regardless of where or what those challenges were. 

I told you a few months ago that I believe loyalty is key to any relationship, including ours. In order to stay loyal to our purpose I have no choice but to tell you I haven't found any of the people I’d hoped to interview in the condition I expected except Mark. Mark was in Cabo over my birthday and we did remember to turn on the mic a couple of times but we didn’t make it a priority to so you’re stuck with me until he gets back to Cabo. Don’t worry, he will be back plenty to talk about his journey moving forward from an 11% chance of surviving cancer to beating that sum bitch. He will be key to our surviving using healing energy episodes. You get plenty of Mark then.

For now, there is no plan to interview anyone who I can’t in good conscience tell you is surviving this crap to school you on it.I did, however, interact quite closely with people who were literally in isolation. I promise the skills they used surviving a year of never going outside at Snohomish County jail will be useful to you. The time I spent roaming this earth alone using nothing more than my hands, feet and brain taught me a few things too. Regardless of circumstance there are some common themes and patterns that I have found when dealing with people who survive isolation well. 

My friend Terry Lutz got 46 years on some bs charges about the same time I had been assaulted and he was the third driving factor of why I continued with law school and became a lawyer. I was going to get him free after I could. It was about three years into practice. I was licensed up to the 9th circuit and could help him but by the time I said Terry it’s time to work on your case he told me not to. He said that he couldn’t make it in the world because he had never seen something like a cell phone or use the internet or anything like that. He pretty much ran the prison at that time, love Terry, he taught me a lot! But he also wanted to stay isolated from the outside world and that shocked me. I knew how much he loved his Harley. He made a chain to wear his exhaust pipe around his neck like a chain necklace. I learned so much about the world from Terry and even though he isn’t here with us now I’m positive if you stick around you’ll find some useful stuff that you can apply in your part of the world. We will see how this thing goes as it goes. 

My dad didn’t give me a lot of advice but the advice he gave me was pretty accurate. I can hear him say, “Heidi, the only plan you can plan is that the plan will change. Plan on that.” So, at least for now the plan is to wing like we are on day three of a five day trial and pray like hell it all works out. Stick around, this is one cut stuff but I’ll try to make it fun cut stuff that you find useful. I’m Heidi and this is the beginning of Season 2 of the surviving changes podcast. Get your friends and I’ll meet you back here soon.

In this episode we talk about the many kinds of isolation that we sometimes find ourselves in. These include physical isolation, mental isolation and financial isolation. Spend 15 minutes learning how to adapt to these kinds of isolation from real people who have been there.

GUESTS- Mark with his mom in nursing home, Jamie Ray in Puerto Rico hurricane, a few people who have done time, DJ Doughboy, and special guests.