What We're Exploring Together This Year

the questions shaping WAGO in the year ahead

WAGO is a continuing conversation about who we are becoming and the lives we are unfolding as we get older.

Photo by Thomas Kinto

This project has evolved quite a bit since I started it in 2023. Initially, it was all about the midlife experience — what to make out of this time in our lives and how to live with intention and joy.

I figured that by exploring these things, I’d find answers for myself, which would hopefully resonate with you. Funny thing was, while I did find answers, I also came up with more questions. Writing here was like acquiring a powerful telescope. There’s more and more to see.

There came a point when even I had a hard time describing what this was about! WAGO was going through a “growth spurt”, and it kept outgrowing the words I was using to pin it down.

Finally, sometime in the Fall last year, I landed on a way to describe what we’re doing here: “Conversations about who we are becoming as we get older.”

Between the weekly letters, the profiled stories, and the neighborhood chats, we’re asking and taking note of what makes life interesting and meaningful — and slowly but surely, unfolding the parts that truly matter as we get older.

This is how I describe WAGO these days. I think it gives us the breathing room we need to continue growing, right?

The start of 2026 found me circling around three topics that, for different reasons, are pulling on my curiosity. These will likely form the spine of my inquiries this year.

Ambition vs Enoughness:

For many of us, our younger years were about striving. I continue to be ambitious in midlife — just about different things. But some questions keep bouncing around in my head: What does it mean to feel like what we have, who we are, what we’ve done, is enough? And if enough doesn’t mean the end of growth, what does it mean instead? This year, I’d like to sit with what satisfaction looks like and how ambition shows up when it’s lost its sharp edges.

Creative Life:

My curiosity about this started with a run of episodes on the Sustainable Ambition podcast¹ exploring creativity in work and life. Something in those conversations stuck with me. I began wondering what a creative life actually looks like — especially for those of us who never claimed that identity out loud. Is creativity a skill? A temperament? A way of moving through the day? I’m not sure yet, but we’re going to see where these questions lead us.

Hope and Resilient Thinking:

I read these words from musician Nick Cave² in late 2023:

“Unlike cynicism, hopefulness is hard-earned, makes demands upon us, and can often feel like the most indefensible and lonely place on Earth. Hopefulness is not a neutral position, either. It is adversarial. It is the warrior emotion that can lay waste to cynicism.”

His words come back to me, especially on the mornings when my chest feels heavy. I’m curious about how we hold both fear and possibility at the same time. How do we keep going, especially when the ground feels wobbly?

Okay. So, this is by no means a syllabus, and I’m not limiting myself to these themes for twelve months!

I’ll still follow sparks, and write about whatever shows up. But since I’ll be reading and thinking a lot about these three areas, they will likely seep into the work, the way anything we’re curious about inevitably does.

What to expect in 2026:

Some of you may know that I started a second Substack project a few months ago. Although The Filtered has a different purpose and vibe, I initially thought splitting my attention might mean I’d want to write less here.

But surprise, surprise. It’s done the exact opposite! As they say, writing begets more writing.

I’ll keep the weekly Sunday publishing cadence for WAGO. With the reflection essays, the monthly profiles will remain, as well as the occasional neighborhood chats.

I’m also thinking of holding some Zoom chats sometime during the year. This is something I’ve long wanted to do, but have been a bit gun-shy. Perhaps this year, I’ll be brave enough! 😉

Your support of this work

Most everything I publish here is free, and I expect this will remain the same this year. I’m still figuring out what — if anything — belongs behind a paywall, and none of my past attempts felt quite right.

I’m deeply grateful to those who’ve chosen a paid subscription anyway. No one gets rich doing this 😊 but your support genuinely fuels the work and keeps this little neighborhood going.

If you can and would like to support WAGO, I would be so grateful.

I’m excited to be walking this next stretch with you. Thank you so much for being part of WAGO.

Here’s wishing you all the best for the new year.

Warmly,
Lou Blaser

1. The Sustainable Ambition podcast is hosted by Kathy Oneto. You can find it anywhere you listen to podcasts.

2. Nick Cave writes The Red Hand Files, and he writes here to a father who was worried about passing to his young son his own cynicism and loss of faith in humanity.

---

Lou Blaser writes We’re All Getting Older, a weekly essay series about change, meaning, and the lives we’re unfolding. She also maintains The Filtered, a digital library for reading, learning, and thinking better.