Better Place Project with Steve Norris

Simon Drew is an Australian poet, author, musician, photographer, and philosophical mentor. He has a Bachelor of Music from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music and is currently studying for a Master of Divinity.

He is most well known for his work with the Practical Stoic Podcast, which has since evolved into The Walled Garden — a podcast and online community where he, Kai Whiting (philosopher), and Sharon Lebell (writer) explore a wide range of topics regarding philosophy, beliefs, ideas, and creativity.

Simon's poetry, music, and writings often play in the realms of mysticism, prophecy, mythology, and wisdom, bringing the deepest insights of his consciousness to light in search of answers to life's most fundamental questions.

His first book, The Poet & The Sage, was released in November 2021

For more info, please visit:
https://www.simonjedrew.com/ and https://thewalledgarden.com/
 
To become a Better Place Project Member (and receive free BPP Merch) and support our show, please visit:
https://www.patreon.com/Betterplaceproject
 
To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:
 
Website: BetterPlaceProject.org
(Leave us a voice message directly from the home page of our website)

Instagram: @BetterPlaceProj
  
  To follow Steve & Erin on Instagram:
 @SteveNorrisOfficial
  @Erinorris

To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:

Website:
https://www.betterplaceproject.org/

Instagram: @BetterPlaceProj

To follow Steve on Instagram
@SteveNorrisOfficial

Facebook: Facebook.com/BetterPlaceProjectPodcast
Twitter: @BetterPlaceProj
Email: [email protected]

Simon Drew is an Australian poet, author, musician, photographer, and philosophical mentor. He has a Bachelor of Music from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music and is currently studying for a Master of Divinity.

He is most well known for his work with the Practical Stoic Podcast, which has since evolved into The Walled Garden — a podcast and online community where he, Kai Whiting (philosopher), and Sharon Lebell (writer) explore a wide range of topics regarding philosophy, beliefs, ideas, and creativity.

Simon's poetry, music, and writings often play in the realms of mysticism, prophecy, mythology, and wisdom, bringing the deepest insights of his consciousness to light in search of answers to life's most fundamental questions.

His first book, The Poet & The Sage, was released in November 2021

For more info, please visit: 
https://www.simonjedrew.com/

To become a Better Place Project Member (and receive free BPP Merch) and support our show, please visit:
https://www.patreon.com/Betterplaceproject

To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:
 
Website: BetterPlaceProject.org
(Leave us a voice message directly from the home page of our website)

Instagram: @BetterPlaceProj
 
 To follow Steve & Erin on Instagram:
@SteveNorrisOfficial
 @Erinorris

Fascinated by nature since her earliest memories, Tigrilla Gardenia turned that passion into her vocation.
 
Her journey began in a polyethnic childhood. She earned a degree in music and electrical engineering, entering the high-tech corporate world via RealNetworks and Microsoft in the early days of the internet. 
 
The desire to escape the confines of the corporate world proved too strong, and Tigrilla soon began following her own spiritual path. She co-owned a circus, produced intentional dance events, taught Kabbalah, and even toured with Cirque du Soleil. 
 
Today, she works as a Nature-Inspired Mentor, Leadership Coach, and studies Plant Intelligence and the Effects of Plant Music on Human Health. 
 
Tigrilla has the honor of being a Damanhur citizen in Italy — one of the largest spiritual eco-communities in the world. 
 
Her roots are firmly planted in the arts, communication, and the avant-garde. Tigrilla uses her expertise to empower mission-driven leaders to achieve personal and professional success by integrating nature-inspired innovation in order to bring meaning to Life and make an impact with work. She is an influential speaker and mentor, running courses and workshops on reconnection with the plant kingdom.
 
Always eager to learn, she studied with some of the greatest minds in bio-inspired sciences, gaining a masters degree in Futuro Vegetale (Vegetal Future): plants, social innovation, design under Stefano Mancuso, University of Florence. She has also studied Biomimicry for Social Innovation and Product Development. 
 
Tigrilla is a World Ambassador for Plant Intelligence and champions connection to nature as the basis for long-term health, happiness, and success.

To become a Better Place Project Member (and receive free BPP Merch) and support our show, please visit:
https://www.patreon.com/Betterplaceproject

To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:
 
Website: BetterPlaceProject.org
(Leave us a voice message directly from the home page of our website)

Instagram: @BetterPlaceProj
 
 To follow Steve & Erin on Instagram:
@SteveNorrisOfficial
 @Erinorris

To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:

Website:
https://www.betterplaceproject.org/

Instagram: @BetterPlaceProj

To follow Steve on Instagram
@SteveNorrisOfficial

Facebook: Facebook.com/BetterPlaceProjectPodcast
Twitter: @BetterPlaceProj
Email: [email protected]

This week's story is about the San Francisco Giants baseball player Drew Robinson's battle with mental illness, which drove him to the point of shooting himself in the head in an attempted suicide.  Against all odds, Robinson survived and is now on a mission to help others who may feel like they have nothing to live for.

To become a Better Place Project Member (and receive free BPP Merch) and support our show, please visit:
https://www.patreon.com/Betterplaceproject

To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:
 
Website: BetterPlaceProject.org
(Leave us a voice message directly from the home page of our website)

Instagram: @BetterPlaceProj
 
 To follow Steve & Erin on Instagram:
@SteveNorrisOfficial
 @Erinorris

To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:

Website:
https://www.betterplaceproject.org/

Instagram: @BetterPlaceProj

To follow Steve on Instagram
@SteveNorrisOfficial

Facebook: Facebook.com/BetterPlaceProjectPodcast
Twitter: @BetterPlaceProj
Email: [email protected]

Zach Skow, Marley’s Mutts Founder rescued Marley, a Rottweiler-Pit Bull  from the Mojave Shelter in 2002 at eight weeks old. He used to carry him around in a backpack with just his head poking out.

​When Zach was diagnosed with end-stage liver disease, it was Marley who helped pull him from despair and into the fight. It was his relentless love, omnipresent affection, and “today can be the best day of our life” mentality which helped Zach live again.

​When Zach contemplated suicide, Marley looked at him with a blinding affection that just couldn’t be ignored.  He forced Zach to love himself by giving unconditional love.

Zach founded Marley’s Mutts in 2009 and nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status was granted in 2010. Growing from a nonprofit about dog rescue providing second chances and  rescuing the unrescuable dogs, was the Pawsitive Change® Prison Program and Miracle Mutts® Therapy Dog Program.  

Sadly, Marley was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 15 and fought a courageous battle. He crossed over the Rainbow Bridge in 2016 Marley’s Mutts and the Mutt Militia are his legacy.

To learn more, of go make a donation, please visit:
Marleysmutts.com

To become a Better Place Project Member (and receive free BPP Merch) and support our show, please visit:
https://www.patreon.com/Betterplaceproject

To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:
 
Website: BetterPlaceProject.org
(Leave us a voice message directly from the home page of our website)

Instagram: @BetterPlaceProj
 
 To follow Steve & Erin on Instagram:
@SteveNorrisOfficial
 @Erinorris

Facebook: Facebook.com/BetterPlaceProjectPodcast

To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:

Website:
https://www.betterplaceproject.org/

Instagram: @BetterPlaceProj

To follow Steve on Instagram
@SteveNorrisOfficial

Facebook: Facebook.com/BetterPlaceProjectPodcast
Twitter: @BetterPlaceProj
Email: [email protected]

For this week's feel-good story, we go half way around the world to the democratic republic of Congo to shine a light on a man named Jay Nash and the organization he founded called StandProud.

Mr. Nash first began assisting disabled people in the developing world when serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  He resumed spare-time work with disabled Congolese youth upon returning to the Congo in 1998 to work for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and in 1999 helped them to organize themselves into a charity (ACDF) designed to assist other poor, disabled young people to obtain free orthopedic equipment. In 2000, he founded StandProud in the United States to serve as a funding source for the Congolese organization.

Here in America, we are fortunate that polio has been all but eradicated.  However, in other parts of the world, it is still a sad reality, and it leaves many destined to a life of dragging themselves down dirty streets in shame and humiliation as they are subjected to ridicule from their community and sometimes even their own family.   Stand Proud builds and provides braces for these young men and women.  They are a non-profit organization that has helped more than 5000 people stand up and walk.

 For more information, or to make a donation, please visit:
https://www.standproud.org/

To become a Better Place Project Member (and receive free BPP Merch) and support our show, please visit:
https://www.patreon.com/Betterplaceproject

To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:
 
Website: BetterPlaceProject.org
(Leave us a voice message directly from the home page of our website)

Instagram: @BetterPlaceProj
 
 To follow Steve & Erin on Instagram:
@SteveNorrisOfficial
 @Erinorris

Facebook: Facebook.com/BetterPlaceProjectPodcast

To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:

Website:
https://www.betterplaceproject.org/

Instagram: @BetterPlaceProj

To follow Steve on Instagram
@SteveNorrisOfficial

Facebook: Facebook.com/BetterPlaceProjectPodcast
Twitter: @BetterPlaceProj
Email: [email protected]

After experiencing the devastating loss of his father and best friend, Dan Fischer turned to surfing to heal through the transformative power of the ocean. 

After one faithful salt water session on January 4, 2022, he decided to throw out an open invitation on Tiktok to others who may be struggling with loss. He invited them to share the stories and names of loved ones who they'd lost and promised to etch them onto his board, as a way to forever memorialize them in the place they so deeply loved. 

That inaugural board has now become a beacon of hope, which has turned a simple idea into a global movement.

https://www.onelastwaveproject.com/

To become a Better Place Project Member (and receive free BPP Merch) and support our show, please visit:
https://www.patreon.com/Betterplaceproject

To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:
 
Website: BetterPlaceProject.org
(Leave us a voice message directly from the home page of our website)

Instagram: @BetterPlaceProj
 
 To follow Steve & Erin on Instagram:
@SteveNorrisOfficial
 @Erinorris

Facebook: Facebook.com/BetterPlaceProjectPodcast

/

To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:

Website:
https://www.betterplaceproject.org/

Instagram: @BetterPlaceProj

To follow Steve on Instagram
@SteveNorrisOfficial

Facebook: Facebook.com/BetterPlaceProjectPodcast
Twitter: @BetterPlaceProj
Email: [email protected]

Today’s story shines a light on Dan Blevins, who after walking his daughter down the aisle in 2018 said that just the thought of someone not having a parent at their wedding or in their life, was just heartbreaking to him.  So, what did Dan do? He uploaded a video to Tiktok where he invited anyone from the LGBTQ community to ask him to stand in as a parent at their wedding if their own parents were not supportive of their relationship.

No one should have to say “I do” alone.

Dan's TikTok video has now gone viral with so many people commenting on emotional experiences of their parents or families members rejecting them for their sexuality or gender identity.

In an interview with Today, Blevins, of Tennessee, said the response inspired him to start a Facebook group where community members and stand-ins could meet each other. The group, "TikTok Stand In Families," is fast approaching 40,000 members as of this  writing.

To become a Better Place Project Member (and receive free BPP Merch) and support our show, please visit:
https://www.patreon.com/Betterplaceproject

To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:
 
Website: BetterPlaceProject.org
(Leave us a voice message directly from the home page of our website)

Instagram: @BetterPlaceProj
 
 To follow Steve & Erin on Instagram:
@SteveNorrisOfficial
 @Erinorris

Facebook: Facebook.com/BetterPlaceProjectPodcast

To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:

Website:
https://www.betterplaceproject.org/

Instagram: @BetterPlaceProj

To follow Steve on Instagram
@SteveNorrisOfficial

Facebook: Facebook.com/BetterPlaceProjectPodcast
Twitter: @BetterPlaceProj
Email: [email protected]

Melissa and Chris Bruntlett are Canadian authors and urban mobility advocates who strive to communicate the benefits of sustainable transport and inspire happier, healthier, more human-scale cities. Their first book, Building the Cycling City: The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality, explored the urban and transport planning decisions that established the Netherlands as a bicycle paradise, and how North American communities are translating these ideas to build their own cycling cities. 

In 2019, Melissa and Chris, along with their children Coralie and Etienne, relocated from Vancouver, Canada, to Delft, the Netherlands. Melissa now works with Mobycon—a bicontinental mobility consultancy—supporting the promotion of Dutch transport knowledge, policy, and design principles in countries across Europe and North America. As communications manager for the Dutch Cycling Embassy, Chris uses his knowledge and passion to share practical lessons for global cities wishing to learn from the Netherlands’ extraordinary success. Together they continue to be inspired by their new home, watching their children (and countless others) enjoy a quality of life only possible in an environment that puts people first.

To learn more about Melissa and Chris and/or to order their books, please visit:
http://www.modacitylife.com/

To become a Better Place Project Member (and receive free BPP Merch) and support our show, please visit:
https://www.patreon.com/Betterplaceproject

To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:
 
Website: BetterPlaceProject.org
(Leave us a voice message directly from the home page of our website)

Instagram: @BetterPlaceProj
 
 To follow Steve & Erin on Instagram:
@SteveNorrisOfficial
 @Erinorris

Facebook: Facebook.com/BetterPlaceProjectPodcast

To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:

Website:
https://www.betterplaceproject.org/

Instagram: @BetterPlaceProj

To follow Steve on Instagram
@SteveNorrisOfficial

Facebook: Facebook.com/BetterPlaceProjectPodcast
Twitter: @BetterPlaceProj
Email: [email protected]

In this episode, Steve shares some good news about things we humans are doing right as a species.

Credit and Special thanks to Johan Norberg and Tony Morley for their article "Reasons to be optimistic in 2022" which was the resource for this episode.

To stay connected with Better Place Project and for updates and behind the scenes info, please follow us on social media:

Website:
https://www.betterplaceproject.org/

Instagram: @BetterPlaceProj

To follow Steve on Instagram
@SteveNorrisOfficial

Facebook: Facebook.com/BetterPlaceProjectPodcast
Twitter: @BetterPlaceProj
Email: [email protected]