Hi there.
What serendipitous occasion it is that you somehow landed here!
If you’re new to me or Shaping Life, I think a brief introduction is apropos here. (If we’re already acquainted, well, this will be a refresher of sorts!)
I write Shaping Life, a weekly conversation about ideas we encounter through books and films, and where they lead us.
There’s a boat load of things competing for our attention on the daily. I’m interested in the ones that stick around and shape our thinking. Maybe it’s something a character says in a novel. A scene in a film. The way the author ended a story. Something that makes me stop and wonder about something I hadn’t wondered about before.
I follow those things here.
• • •
Most of my life, my attention was focused on one thing: building a career. I left that career in search of something else. I didn’t really know it then, but what I was really after was a different way of living.
After fumbling around for a bit, I eventually realized that changing how I live starts with changing what I paid attention to. Somewhere along the way, I ran into this quote by American psychologist and philosopher William James:
“My experience is what I agree to attend to. Only those items which I notice shape my mind.”
That idea has stayed with me ever since.
When I look back, I can trace who I’ve become through the books I’ve read, the films I’ve watched, and the conversations and experiences I’ve had. The things that took space in my mind. Together, they’ve (re)shaped how I think about work, relationships, purpose, and what makes for a good life.
Which, come to think of it, is probably why I’m so interested in the things that stick!
• • •
In our noisy world, there are a variety of people, events and things that catch our attention, of course. For this project however, the main starting points are books and films. There may occasionally be other things — podcasts, videos, conversations, etc. But mainly books and films.
Each essay begins there but these aren’t reviews. I’m less interested in whether a book was good or a film was worth watching than I am in whatever idea got stuck and followed me around.
Each week, I take one of those ideas and follow it to see where it leads.
Maybe something that catches mine will catch yours too. And maybe following it will spark an idea or question of your own!
• • •
I publish new essays most Sundays. Most are free to read.
Paid subscribers also receive access to the complete archive, the monthly What Stayed With Me (a curated collection of ideas and references to revisit), as well as occasional invitations to small gatherings with fellow readers.
I’m glad you’re here. Whether you’ve been reading for years or just wandered in, thank you for joining me.
Talk soon,
Lou Blaser
P.S. You may notice older posts referring to We’re All Getting Older. That was this publication’s previous name. In July 2026, I renamed it Shaping Life to better reflect the broader conversations you’ll find here.
Lou Blaser exchanged PowerPoint decks for essays and has yet to regret the trade. She writes Shaping Life, where she follows her curiosity through books, conversations, films, and whatever else refuses to leave her alone.
Glad to see you back, Lou, and excited to see where your work takes you (and us)!
Welcome back!