“Forever is comprised of nows."—Emily Dickinson

As I sit down here to write this initial post–a summary of which will appear on the About page–the obvious question returns to mind. It’s the question I’ve been asking myself for months as I contemplated starting this project—why another blog?

I already have a blog, and it, like this one, is connected to my BlueSky and Mastodon presences. But that blog is deeply rooted in my fiction writing. I do occasionally post observations about the world, tributes to music and musicians I love, book reviews, and what-have-you on there, but it serves a purpose as an outlet for my fiction and a source of news for my readers, and I have no desire to disrupt that.

What I want from Good Journey is a place apart; somewhere that I can write about more personal topics that the world can choose to read or ignore as is the inclination of each individual reader. Though they may come up from time to time here, if you are only interested in my fantasy stories, this is not the blog for you. Go here instead.

If, instead, you want to hear some personal stories, about my path to Unitarian Universalism, my thoughts on current events, or the trevails of my recent struggles with cancer, then this is where you’ll find those.

My intent, here at the outset, is to try to update this blog regularly, but as anyone with a serious illness likely knows, daily reserves of physical, mental, and emotional energy can vary tremendously. I also can’t deny that I’m still coming to terms with what and how much I want to share about my condition. I found reading Chris Breen’s chronicles of his journey fighting cancer to be immensely comforting; if I can give anyone out there even a tiny slice of that same comfort, then that’s something I want to do.

The past two years have led me down some unexpected paths; being diagnosed with cancer, watching my country crumble into a fascist state, and finding the first faith I have ever felt at home in, were not visions in my crystal ball—but here we are. But it’s also been an opportunity for me to look back at various points of my life that were markers at the side of the road along the way. Perhaps some of those markers will be of interest to you; perhaps others will help you find your own. All I know is that these are my stories and I want to get them down—for myself and whomever else can find value or comfort in them.

These have been difficult times for me and even darker ones for the world. I need a place to take stock of that darkness, but also to find and remember the joy, the light, and the love of this journey.