Fruitful Life

Fruitful Work

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

How Paper Girl’s World Unlocks the Secret to Lasting Happiness

Posted by Steve Blaising2 Comments

The 2025 Book of the Year, Paper Girl’s World, is lighting up happiness everywhere.

Paper Girl's World book
Paper Girl’s World named Book of the Year in September 2025 by ENTREE

Crack open Judy Williamson’s 396-page masterpiece, and joy pours out like sunshine through a window you didn’t know was there. One page sends you off to a Mach 2 happy hour on the Concorde. Next, you’re face-to-face with the mist of Iguazu Falls. Then, romance drifts in at three miles an hour on a French canal barge, where even the clocks seem to take a break.

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How Paper Girl’s World Unlocks the Secret to Lasting Happiness

How Grief Unlocks Hidden Doors to Peace and Growth

Posted by Steve Blaising2 Comments

I never expected grief to open the door to such magical visitations after I buried my parents.

I’m not superstitious.  But, I believe the supernatural pokes into the everyday world in a wide variety of forms and places.

An unexpected visitor surprised me at my mother’s grave nine years ago.

Grief and magical places
Grief can land us in magical places/Steve Blaising/Parents’ gravestone, December 2016

But a very different visitor appeared to me days after my father died, the one whose image you see to the left on my parents’ gravestone.

I captured this moment on video.

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How Grief Unlocks Hidden Doors to Peace and Growth

OK, time is short: How to use it for the most satisfying life

Posted by Steve Blaising4 Comments

With age 71 just ahead, I’m running after time like Forrest Gump chasing that pickup.

Time pressed Forest Gump

According to the chart below, time’s not exactly on my side, even if I make it to 90.

Time left in life

So the real question is: how can I use the time I have left to live the most satisfying life?

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OK, time is short: How to use it for the most satisfying life

How Purpose Is Your Secret Key to Living Rich and Long

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A new way of rethinking your purpose could be the boost needed for a rich and long life.

Rich life with purpose
The secret for living a rich life is in a well defined purpose/Steve Blaising/Lake Athens, TX

That’s what Gordon Christensen taught as a Harvard professor.

He knew that money and acclaim were not the most important metrics for success in life even though he was named the world’s most influential business thinker in 2011 by Thinkers50.

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How Purpose Is Your Secret Key to Living Rich and Long

Find Peace in the Midst of Fear: A Step-by-Step Guide

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Gardens exude peace while growing through storms.

Thunder scares us. But not flowers. They soak in water from the same storms.

Thunderstorm fear and peace
Flowers ready for thunderstorm/Juliasha/Dreamstime.com

Their beauty is not achieved without disorder.

Neither is ours if we see through the chaos.

Whether the storm is in the body or the mind, three treasures bloom for those who look.

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Find Peace in the Midst of Fear: A Step-by-Step Guide