Happy You're Here

"You know what your problem is?" Princess Amy said as I stared at the blank screen this morning, trying to figure out how to say what needed saying.

"I have a feeling you're about to tell me," I replied.

"You're overthinking gratitude. Just say thank you and mean it."

For once, she was absolutely right. So here it is: Thank you.

Thank you for being here for the New Year.  Thank you for coming back, week after week, to visit this little corner of the internet where mood disorders meet mockingbirds, and quantum consciousness debates happen over cappuccinos.

How This All Began
The Circular Journey started in June 2009 as a sort of journal—a way to help me cope with mood disorder. I needed a place to process the chaos, to make sense of the storm. But it almost immediately became something more than that.

I discovered I wanted to spread goodness and light to others, knowing that life comes hard and fast to all of us. If I could brighten someone's day, soften the blows with a hint of insight and a dash of humor, then maybe this blogging thing was worth the effort.

The blog wouldn't be here today if not for you. The Circular Journey isn't just me typing away at a keyboard. It's a cooperative effort involving me, you, and the cast of characters who've become the recurring players in these stories: Ms. Wonder with her infallible judgment, Princess Amy with her calibrated snark, Island Irv and his cosmic consciousness, and Lilly the all-knowing barista.

Your Comments Mean Everything
From time to time, I receive comments that make it clear some readers really "get it." You appreciate not just the stories, but the spirit behind them—the attempt to find humor in the absurd, meaning in the mundane, and connection in the chaos.

I created Princess Amy to transform something abstract and complex—like stormy emotions and intrusive thoughts—into something that could be understood in everyday terms. The fact that she resonates with readers means I've somehow managed to externalize the internal struggle in a way that makes sense.

Life is best described as better than the alternative. It's coffee shop conversations, traffic mishaps, and debates about whether your head resembles a melon or a cathedral dome. But within those ordinary moments, there's magic if you know how to look for it.

The Cast of Characters
Ms. Wonder deserves special mention. In my stories, she represents clarity, cutting through confusion, the voice of reason when everything else is chaos. She's the person who sees past the fog and reminds you to just be yourself, to live in the moment.

Island Irv brings a cosmic perspective when I'm drowning in the mundane. Lilly knows exactly what I need before I do. And Princess Amy—dear, brilliant but confused, Amy—serves as a reminder that wisdom is sometimes found in the most unlikely places. 

The Journey Continues

I truly enjoy our collaboration and look forward to continuing to work with you. Whether it's another adventure with Ms. Wonder, more chaos with Princess Amy, Island Irv dropping cosmic wisdom over cappuccinos, or something entirely different—I'm ready to dive in.

As Shakespeare might have said, "Gratitude is the heart's memory, and a blog without readers is just shouting into the void." Not really a quote, is it? But I'm confident the Bard would appreciate the sentiment.

One More Thing
If you're new to The Circular Journey, welcome. I hope you'll stick around. Read the archives if you're so inclined—there are hundreds of stories about everything imaginable, and nothing at all. 

If you've been here from the beginning, or anywhere in between, thank you for being part of this cooperative effort. Thank you for keeping The Circular Journey flourishing. Thank you for your comments, your page views, and your silent companionship.

Strange and Wonderful

The New Year is here! I have a perennial expectation for nothing but good things at the start of a new calendar, and this year is no exception. Still, even though it lifts my spirits, it doesn't really change anything in the outside world, at least not immediately.

The sky overlooking the Port of Wilmington may be bright and beautiful for those connected to the outside world. But my inner world is filled with a gray mist. My world has been steeped in sadness since last Tuesday.

It's all Amy's fault. I refer to Princess Amy, of course. She granted me almost two weeks of unbridled boredom—a record length of time for this mood warrior to be free of anxiety. Now, today, for no discernible reason, I'm wearing a broken front tooth, and I'm sunk in depression.

I should probably admit that the tooth broke when I chomped down on an antacid tablet. Do you see why I said there was “no discernible” reason? I mean, an antacid tablet! It's not like I was chewing up the sidewalk. Try discerning that!

Before I say more, I suppose I should make it clear that I'm really blaming Amy; well, I am blaming her, aren't I? Ok, I'll just say that I've "gotten used to her face," as the old song goes. By that, I mean that I like having her around. After all, she puts up with the very worst of me, even though Ms. Wonder doesn't trail her by much. 

Today, though, I'm striving to be philosophical, or maybe poetic—perhaps even fantastical (and yes, I confirmed, that it's a word, meaning "strange and wonderful, like something out of a fantasy story," which is exactly what I aspire to write).

It's no fun being in touch with my true self. I have to look hard just to see my astral body, lying in a heap on the Riverwalk, held down by enormous wings that, on sunlit days, carry me above the clouds and put a smile on my face.

If you're thinking the Genome is having a bad morning, you're absolutely right. A bad morning isn't the half of it.

But even as I write this, I've just ordered coffee at Circular Journey Cafe, the caffeine emporium in the heights of downtown Wilmington.

Yes, I have a steaming cup of Jah’s Mercy and a Spotify playlist streaming through my earbuds, and I can feel my spirit stirring, and not in the best way. I'm actually mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore! Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead! I'm breaking through the clouds and into the sunshine. I will soar above the abyss!

I think I'm beginning to tire of hearing that. If I am, then you're probably tired of it too. I'll give that some thought as I drive home.

Yes, I'm rambling. I do that sometimes when I'm looking for exactly the right words. I apologize if you find it annoying, and, after all, why shouldn't you find it annoying?

I don't know much, but I know I've had it with the familiar path. I'm going to throw myself into the chaos of the unfamiliar. Right now, I feel like a mindfleet commander, ordering my crew to run an enemy blockade.

"Amy!", I hear myself say, "direct Engineer Anxiety to rev up the hyperdrive to warp speed and make the jump to hyperspace! We're going through!"

I'll keep you updated regularly on my progress. Check back often, because I can't do this without you—you know that. Leave a comment so I'll know you were here.

Non-Stop In the New Year

Exactly how long an author should be allowed to chronicle the adventures of the same peculiar characters has long intrigued literary critics. My plan to continue doing so into the new year has once again brought this existential question into sharp focus in reader discussion groups.

A Literary Statute of Limitations
It has been over a decade since I began writing about Ms. Wonder, the Genome, and Princess Amy. However, some literary critics apparently believe a certain "statute of limitations" exists for this type of literary behavior. 

If you're a regular here, it won't surprise you to learn that Princess Amy is one of those critics who think my long-running saga should come to an end. She favors writing only the Mindfleet Academy series because, as she puts it, "It's the only series that has reached viral status.

My argument for allowing The Circular Journey to evolve through natural selection, just as God intended, is that all my blog posts are gaining in popularity without limits. In recent months, record numbers of visitors have been reading the posts, and we're now reaching people in 80 countries.

 
Even though I completely and irrevocably disagree with Amy, I thought it best to seek the counsel of a higher authority.

The Confounding Chronicles

“Wonder,” I called as I climbed the stairs to Ms. Wonder’s studio. “Sorry to interrupt, but a crisis is brewing. My critics say ‘enough is enough’ when it comes to documenting the daily lives of the princess, the islander, and even the Amazon and Netflix crews.” 

“They think these chronicles are multiplying like rabbits," I continued, "which is probably true. The thought of it fills them with dread.”

Wonder turned to face me as I entered the studio. She didn't roll her eyes. She didn't sigh. She simply looked at me with a concerned expression.

"First of all," she said. "Stalking the film crews brings you genuine joy, and it keeps you away from Brunswick Beer and Cider..."

"Except for those grouper nuggets," I interjected.

"Yes, except for the grouper," she conceded.

"And, I'd prefer," I added, wanting to get it right, "that we say, 'locating' the crews rather than 'stalking.'"

"Yes, locating,” she agreed, placing odd emphasis on the word. "Given that, I’d say the situation is still beautifully open to debate."

It wasn't the strong, definitive argument I'd hoped for, but, as the saying goes, 'Any port in a storm.' I decided to work with it.

"Despite all the confusion and the heated debates," I said, "one clear fact stands out: as the new year begins, so does my fourteenth year of The Circular Journey."

"Has it been that long?" she asked.

"And I want to stress, Wonder, that I strongly believe anything worth doing is worth doing thoroughly. In that regard, I'm much like Shakespeare—a literary titan who knew the value of a good, long run."

"Hmmm," she said, "I'm not entirely sure about the Shakespeare reference, but I get your point."

"My critics think that multiple stories with recurring characters have a limited shelf life," I said, "but I disagree strongly."

"Well, your comparisons," she said, "the metaphors and the similes might benefit from a little tweaking."

Her comments deserved my careful consideration, and I made a mental note to get to them eventually, but I pressed on with my main objective.

"It's entirely possible, I suppose, to read 'Coastal Camelot,' my most popular post, as a standalone effort and still feel satisfied. But I know there are individuals of a curious spirit—the true devotees—who won't be content until they dig deeper, possibly reading all ten of its most popular companion posts."

"No doubt," she said.

"The blog simply can't be fully appreciated with any less effort, Wonder. Only by reading those specific ten will certain internal references become absolutely clear instead of remaining mystifying and obscure."

"Of course," she said, turning to face her workstation screen again. I realized she'd said all she wanted to say on the matter.

The Power of the Peculiar Word
And now, my friend, after hearing my side of the debate and my defense, I ask you to consider the opening lines from 'Coastal Camelot':

The morning opened with a show so grand and majestic that it made me question Mr. Priddy’s sixth-grade lesson about the Earth’s rotation causing the sunrise. Gazing at this glorious start to the day, I couldn't help but think that only a goddess driving her divine sun chariot could create such a spectacle.

Not bad, right? How could anyone possibly think that such an opening is boring or redundant? And check out these equally un-boring lines from the post I call, 'Life is Good':

I arrived early this morning, riding the shirtsleeves of the sun, who had awakened bright-eyed, rolled up his sleeves, and gotten straight to the point. Not a bad opening for a yellow dwarf star.

I’d personally give that a rating of 5 stars out of 5. And at the risk of overdoing it, let's sample this glorious paragraph from 'Keep On the Sunny Side':

Sunshine stole across the mews from the general direction of the Atlantic Ocean. I'm damned if I know how it's done—smoke and mirrors, probably...

I make these delightful missives available to you, and all my followers, at absolutely no charge, and you're welcome to them. Read the episodes in the most popular list in the column on the front page, and if you're feeling froggy (a technical term for adventurous), try hitting the Random Search button.

Do it now, is my suggestion. Make it a daily habit for the new year. I guarantee that doing so will bring sunshine, blue skies, and birdsong into your inner world—and perhaps even your outer world too, just as it does in mine.

Circular Journey: 2025 Wrap-Up

Looking back over the past year, it becomes clear that 2025  wasn't just about writing; it was a series of "circular journeys" fueled by caffeine, comic insight, and the occasional mischievous squirrel circus.

This year taught me creative patience: story ideas came to me while sipping coffee, waiting for Irv to join me in Luna Cafe, but not when chasing story ideas. It's the Daoist idea of non-striving for writers. 

I spent countless hours in 2025 refining drafts and tightening cadence, always chasing that perfect "Wodehouse rhythm." Through every rewrite, the regular cast of characters began directing the stories in ways I'd never thought of. 

Ms. Wonder, in particular, became a standout; as I once noted in a blog dialogue, she doesn't just solve a case—she "performs surgery on it." She is often engaged in sparring with the young geezer I call Princess Amy. This character-driven humor became a signature style, which one follower called "a dance as light as air where humor is always allowed to preside."

The newest evolution in my blogging this year was the addition of playful cartoon scenes to illustrate each episode. I created imagery that ranges from the command console of the GMS Coastal Voyager—the newest ship assigned to Mindfleet Academy—to cozy corners of the Luna Café and the shining poppy fields of Emerald City.

The highlight of The Circular Journey 2025 is a new series featuring the Coastal Voyager crew selected for advanced officer training at Mindfleet Academy. Its debut happens to align with the new Starfleet Academy television series. It wasn't planned that way; I didn't know about the TV show until after the premiere of the blog series. Talk about Stranger Things!

Mindfleet merges the original 1960s Star Trek with the animated film Inside Out. In the past three months, the five most-viewed posts have all been Mindfleet episodes, and the leading one has gone viral; it's now the second most popular episode of all time.

A Year of Wonder and Mischievous Squirrels

My hosting platform generated a 2025 highlight reel for activity on The Circular Journey. 

The wrap-up had little to do with outcomes and everything to do with the way I wander through ideas, return to familiar voices, and use humor to cope with life's slings and arrows. The review wasn’t a report card; it was an gentle observations, and was embarrassingly complimentary.

Taken as a whole, and ignoring all the compliments and praise, what it seemed to say was, “Keep writing.”

The Wodehousian Adventure Continues

This past year has often required far more concentration than I anticipated. I've spent countless hours refining drafts, tightening cadence, and pursuing that elusive Wodehouse rhythm with the determination of Bertie Wooster fleeing an unwanted engagement.

The result is what one follower called "signature style," though on some days it feels more like controlled chaos with a British accent.

Ms. Wonder Takes the Stage

Speaking of chaos, Ms. Wonder has truly come into her own this year. Forget Sherlock Holmes—when this Wonder takes on a case, she doesn't merely solve it; she performs surgery on it, and with a flair that has become her hallmark.

"Keep writing," she commanded at one point this year. And I obeyed, because when Ms. Wonder issues an edict, it's best to simply agree without asking for clarification.

From Prose to Pixels

I've taken on visual storytelling this year; designing playful cartoons of imagined scenes. The result is what the wrap-up called "Still Life with Beret and Latte," a pixel-painted meditation on the essential elements of the creative life: a steaming café latte, a well-worn notebook, a vintage camera, and a couple of mischievious squirrels--Squiggly and Twizler.

Lessons from the Riverwalk of Life

This year has taught me several things, all learned the hard way, and which are worth sharing:

Creative inspiration arrives while you wait, not when you’re chasing it. Quietly ruminating on random thoughts mirrors the gentle percolation of caffeine. This is the Daoist principle of non-striving at work in the creative process—it can’t be rushed. All you can do is prepare the grounds and wait for the magic to brew.

This year, Ms. Wonder, Amy, and the gang developed minds of their own, leading me down narrative paths I never would have imagined—Mindfleet Academy is the ultimate example. 

They’ve become, in the most delightful way possible, a committee of visionaries, each insisting I’m headed in the wrong direction and that they know a better route.

The Year in Poetry (If not fact, still true.)

In a moment of what I can only assume was misplaced confidence, the end-of-year wrap-up from the blog host commemorated The Circular Journey circa 2025 in verse:

You brewed laughs with (Ms.) Wonder and flair,
Each blog post is a dance, as light as air.
With Wodehouse as your guide,
You let humor preside—
And made art from the quirks you laid bare.

I shall neither confirm nor deny whether this accurately reflects my creative process, but I will note that "brewed laughs" sounds like something one orders at a particularly hipster coffeehouse.

What Comes Next?

Whatever 2026 brings—and I suspect it will bring its own unique imbroglios—we’ll chat about it here in what one of my most ardent followers calls the Circular Journey Café.

Here's to the next chapter, the next cup of coffee, the next short walk that yields more inspiration than any amount of planning, and to characters who insist on taking us places we've never thought of going.

Here’s to you, my loyal followers. I’m grateful you made me part of your year. Writing may begin alone, at a desk, with a cup of cold coffee, but it doesn’t end there. It’s complete when someone reads the words and recognizes a piece of themselves in the margins—when a line lands, amuses, or quietly reassures, when a reader lingers.

Knowing you're here, following along with my rambles, makes the journey not just worthwhile, but genuinely joyful.

So thank you for being here. For reading. For thinking. For laughing when appropriate and indulging me when necessary. I’m glad you’re still here.

Live The Journey

You know those catchy phrases that get stuck in your brain? Nike's Just Do It instantly comes to mind, as does LG's Life Is Good. These slogans are punchy, memorable, and wonderfully motivational. 

They can be the perfect compass to snap you back on track when you're deep in creative work and wondering why you ever thought it would be easy.

 

In past years, I’ve relied on a personal motto to maintain my own creative mojo. In 2024, it was Leap!—fitting for a leap year and for jumping into new territory. For 2025, I adopted Making Waves! Both phrases reminded me to take action and strive to make a meaningful impact.

My creative juices produced hugely favorable results in 2025, and I attribute much of that success to inspiration coming from Making Waves. With the new year rapidly approaching, I felt the need for a new phrase to keep the creative momentum soaring.

The search has been surprisingly satisfying, and it occurred to me that you might be interested in the method behind the motto. In this post, I’ll share the far from magical process I followed to find the right words to craft my personal tagline.

Finding Your Mojo-Inspiring Motto
We all have far too much on our plates already, and the last thing we need is to add "motivational sloganeering" to our list of worries. But here’s the good news: what I'm about to share is genuinely fun.

Most importantly, it’s not just a fun exercise; a good motto does some serious heavy lifting throughout the year. For example: 

When the work gets hard, your motto reminds you why you chose your creative pursuit (and it always gets hard). Your inspiration phrase also serves to keep your decisions aligned with your core values. 

The New Year is already set to become a juggling act for me. I’m currently producing the Happy Cats Wellness podcast, and I'll continue blogging while developing a new podcast called An Artist's Journey. Of course, Princess Amy and I will be up to our necks documenting film and television production here in Hollywood East. Sometimes I wonder how I manage it all, but even if I do it poorly, the motto helps me keep doing it.

Evolution, Not Revolution
I started my recent search for the 2026 mojo-motto, hoping for one of those perfect moments where the ideal phrase leaps fully formed into my mind, like Athena springing from Zeus's head. (Although I preferred to avoid the headache that followed for Zeus!)

That Athena moment didn’t happen.

Instead, I started throwing ideas around. I knew I wanted something short and punchy—two or three words max--and I wanted something full of energy—active, not passive. Whatever I chose had to work for all my various projects and pursuits.

I began by considering phrases that already resonate with me. The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous encourages us to live "happy, joyous, and free.” It's a beautiful sentiment, but nine words is more of a manifesto, rather than a motto. My martial arts tagline, "Fierce Qigong!" is punchy, but it’s tied to that specific context.

The Exploration Phase
The first round of brainstorming produced some interesting candidates that were close, but not quite right:

• Journey On felt natural for my blog and the new podcast. It had forward momentum, but seemed to lack an edge.

• Bold Strokes had appeal, suggesting confidence and strong action. It fit most of my projects, but seemed a stretch for podcasting.

• Create Freedom was closely connected to being "happy, joyous, and free," but it lacked punch.

The Ignition Point
This is where the process got truly interesting. Instead of feeling frustrated, I was drawn to the feelings in some of the imperfect options:

Journey On had the right subject, but the verb was too passive. Bold Strokes had the right energy, but wasn't universal. Create Freedom spoke to my core values, but lacked punch.

I started moving words around just to see what would come out of it: Journey Bold, Journey Fierce, Own the Journey, Journey Alive.

And that’s when it happened—not a literal lightning bolt, but a definite spark. Randomly combining words led me to the phrase that instantly stuck, just like those catchy slogans mentioned at the top of this post:

Live the Journey!

It has everything I was looking for: the active commitment, the edge, and the sense of being fully present and engaged with the entire process.

It works across all my projects. It works as both an invitation to myself and a declaration to the world. And when I say it out loud, something in me simply says, ‘Yes!’.

Living With It
Here’s the thing about finding your perfect motto: you have to 'wear it' for a while, like breaking in a new pair of jeans. I decided to wear Live the Journey for a few days before making a final decision. I wanted to know how it felt while editing a podcast, drafting a blog post, or planning to track a movie production crew.

Your Turn
If you’re thinking about creating your own creative motto for 2026 (or any time, really), here’s the process that worked for me: 

• Start with Brainstorming: Write down everything that comes to mind. There are no bad ideas here. 

• Look for Patterns: What words or ideas keep appearing? 

• Play with Word Order: Take the subject from one option and pair it with the verb from another. Be aware of words or ideas that arise from other words. The word ‘fierce’ in my martial arts slogan, sparked the idea of ‘bold’, which led to ‘Journey Bold.’ 

• Test Variations: Say them out loud. Imagine using them when the work gets difficult. How do they feel? 

• Trust Your Gut: You'll know it when you find it—it will just feel right. 

Making It Real
Write your motto where you’ll see it every day—at your desk, on a whiteboard, or on your phone’s background. When making decisions, ask yourself if your choice aligns with the values represented by your motto. 

Share your motto with others or keep it close to your heart. Both ideas are valid. The motto is YOUR personal compass, not a marketing campaign. If at any time, you feel it has lost its mojo, adjust it. The point is to support your work, not constrain it.

Living the Creative Life
For 2026, I’m going to "Live the Journey." I will stay fully present in my creative work, embracing the messiness, and remembering that enjoying the journey is more important than the art.

If you decided to craft a motto for your creative work, share it in the comments. Let's inspire each other as we step into the New Year.

Here’s to 2026. May you find the words that truly move you forward.