Fruitful Life

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Welcome to the Blaising View blog, where I share treasures I find to enrich your life now.

Dump Everyday Doldrums With a New Song for Joy

Posted by Steve Blaising8 Comments

Add joy to your soul with a new music venue.

I ordered a Jean Paul alto saxophone a week before Thanksgiving, wondering if I would remember the keys, let alone read and play music.

But, the spark to play was ignited by a desire to do something new and fresh for myself, my family, and my friends.

Through an app called Tomplay, I found terrific music and accompaniment for a holiday playlist.

  • What a Wonderful World
  • Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
  • Never My Love
  • Swan Lake-Tchaikovsky

Merriment surrounded us before Thanksgiving dinner.

My 18-month-old grandnephew was swaying while family and friends were smiling.

Then, I started thinking about how joy is launched by playing a new song.

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Dump Everyday Doldrums With a New Song for Joy

Draw Near: Two Words That Can Change Your Life

Posted by Steve Blaising4 Comments

Two words can strengthen the most important parts of your life: draw near.

Draw near to what gives your life creativity, connection, and meaning.

Morning Glory Natural Bridge
Under the Morning Glory Natural Bridge near Moab, Utah. Photo by Bridget Guthrie.

Two words build bridges into the richest resources.

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Draw Near: Two Words That Can Change Your Life

Before you quit: Remember the three keys to breakthrough

Posted by Steve BlaisingLeave a comment

Face it. Sometimes you wanna quit.

Ever feel like you’ve solved a problem, and it pops right up again?

survivors don't quit

Bob Wieland’s disability is obvious.

But he doesn’t quit.

Mine is not so obvious. A nerve issue.

Two years ago, I had a neuropathy flare-up, and I thought, “What else can I do?”

Reminds me of the three keys for triggering breakthroughs.

We need them so we don’t lose heart.

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Before you quit: Remember the three keys to breakthrough

Golden advice hiding at your great-great-grandparent’s grave

Posted by Steve Blaising8 Comments

Imagine your great-great-grandparent’s ghost giving advice at their grave.

Advice like . . .

  • cheating chaos
  • capturing happiness

Walking up to my great-great-grandad’s tombstone, I imagined the Civil War veteran whispering.

A time travel tour ensued in Austin’s oldest cemetery.

His tombstone nudged me to Google his name, Alpheus B. Nuckols, Austin, TX.

One search shows he . . .

  • was a confederate veteran from Virginia
  • moved to Texas in 1891 and opened a photography studio
  • bought a house on Eighth Street in 1898

How do you go from defeat as a Virginia confederate soldier in 1865 and grow a photography business in Texas a few years later?

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Golden advice hiding at your great-great-grandparent’s grave

Like Tom Brady, Answer 7 Questions Before You Die

Posted by Steve Blaising4 Comments

Tom Brady just answered seven questions anyone should before they die.

Tom Brady answers questions
Tom Brady Super Bowl LV/Mike Ehrman/Getty Images

In a Wall Street Journal Magazine interview (9/29/2021), Tom Brady mused over life’s biggest questions.

Here’s my take next to his condensed answers.

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Like Tom Brady, Answer 7 Questions Before You Die