Spread the Light!

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes, 21 seconds

Everyday is Beautiful, and We Need to Cherish Life!

“Watch out, Maggie!” Joe exclaimed as his energetic dog jumped on my leg, threatening to muddy my clothes. Despite the interruption, I couldn’t help but smile at Maggie’s playful antics. I gently petted her head, feeling her soft fur beneath my fingertips, and told Joe that today was laundry day.

As we chatted, I asked Joe how he was doing. We had first met last November after Thanksgiving. While our initial conversation was brief, we both opened up about our aspirations to become the best versions of ourselves. The ongoing COVID pandemic has forced us to reconsider many aspects of our lives, from career paths to relationships.

Of course, for me, over the past year, I had made progress despite having lost my beloved wife three years ago, and the grief at times was still fresh in my heart but more often in the rearview mirror. For Joe, it was a realization that the path he had been on was no longer fulfilling, and he was seeking new opportunities and experiences. Despite our different struggles, we shared a sense of camaraderie in facing these uncertain times together.

Joe shared with me his experience of reading self-help books and how they have benefited him. However, he expressed frustration with people who try to offload their issues onto him. I could relate to what Joe was saying as I, too, had gone through a similar experience in February.

I empathized with Joe when he said, “They are pulling me into their rabbit holes. I already have a lot on my plate trying to avoid distractions, and I don’t need additional problems.”

We talked for a while to support and encourage each other, sharing our experiences and strategies for staying focused on our goals. By the end of our chat, we both felt more robust and more determined to keep on track.

Joe and Maggie were walking back home when Joe turned to me and said, “God bless you, Richard.” I responded to him, saying I needed as many blessings as possible this month as I had a significant birthday at the end of the month. Joe wished me a happy birthday, and I corrected him, saying it was still a few weeks away.

As we walked, another couple we had seen in Nomehegan Park passed us and greeted us warmly. They wished me a happy birthday, and I reminded them it was still later in the month. However, the woman in the couple spoke and said I had so much wisdom to share with everyone.

I considered joking about it being all BS, but I didn’t want to offend anyone.

Have a Nice Day!

As I made my way home, I decided to take a different route to avoid the flooded paths in the park. As I walked, I couldn’t help but dwell on the comment someone had made about my wisdom. It left me wondering what exactly they meant. If they had referred to me as friendly, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought.

I noticed a woman walking her dog as I approached the high school. Without thinking, I greeted her with a friendly “have a nice day“. She replied by saying, “It’s better than yesterday”. Although the sun was shining and the high temperature would reach the sixties, I couldn’t help but question her words. I responded that every day is beautiful, regardless of the weather. The woman agreed, and we both acknowledged the importance of making the best of what we have and helping others.

Spread the Light!

The crisp morning air brushed against my cheeks as I strolled through the desolate streets of Cranford’s downtown. Lost in thought, I reflected on the experiences that had shaped my recent past. Since the passing of my beloved wife, Jan, attending the Friday night services at Temple Sha’arey Shalom has become an essential part of my life. The comforting words of Rabbi Renee and, more recently, Rav Uri had helped me to let go of the painful memories that haunted me and embrace the peace of Shabbat.

As we gathered to light the Shabbat candles on Friday night, I felt the warmth of the flames enveloping my soul, filling me with hope. I couldn’t help but think of the Genesis commandment, “Let there be light,” which separated the day from the night. The light from the candles seemed to shine across the world, bringing a sense of peace and tranquility I had been yearning for so long.

As I traveled across North Union, something dawned on me: my simple greetings and reminders to enjoy life are more than empty words. They reflect the warm and uplifting light I experienced during Shabbat, a light that we are commanded to share with everyone we meet. Some people have criticized my cheerful phrases for years, dismissing them as mere silliness. However, I now realize that my words are not just meaningless platitudes; they are sage advice on living a joyful and fulfilling life while supporting and uplifting one another.

As I reached mile seven, my watch beeped, and I felt energized—with only half a mile left to meet this month’s exercise goal. With gratitude for the wisdom and peace I found during my daily walk, I danced like a butterfly, feeling alive and invigorated.


It has been almost three years since my wife passed away. As her caregiver, I lost my ability to greet people enthusiastically and encourage them to have a good day. Even though it may seem strange, I still believe that every day is beautiful despite the immense loss I have experienced. Moving forward one day at a time has been a significant challenge, but I have been making progress. My simple greetings may seem insignificant, but they are my way of spreading the light, being positive, and making a small contribution to repairing the world. I will continue to say have a nice day to those I meet. This small gesture has helped me when I felt like I couldn’t go on, and it has also helped others by sharing the light.


The Jan Lilien Education Fund sponsors ongoing sustainability and environmental awareness programs. All donations are tax-deductible.


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Wild Dark Shore

Read: March 2025

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Wild Dark Shore

by Charlotte McConaghy

Today, I dove into “Wild Dark Shore” by Charlotte McConaghy, a captivating novel that The New York Times hailed as one of the must-reads for this spring. The story unfolds on a remote island, where a family’s tranquil life changes with the arrival of a mysterious woman who washes ashore just as a tempest brews on the horizon. With secrets and storms looming, I can already feel the tension building—this promises to be a thrilling read!

Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world’s largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers, but with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants. Until, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman mysteriously washes ashore.

Isolation has taken its toll on the Salts, but as they nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, it begins to feel like she might just be what they need. Long accustomed to protecting herself, Rowan starts imagining a future where she could belong to someone again.

But Rowan isn’t telling the truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realizes Dominic is keeping his secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, they all must decide if they can trust each other enough to protect the precious seeds in their care before it’s too late—and if they can finally put the tragedies of the past behind them to create something new together.

Wild Dark Shore is a novel of breathtaking twists, dizzying beauty, and ferocious love about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world disappears.


Charlotte McConaghy is a New York Times bestselling author of the novels Wild Dark Shore, Once There Were Wolves, and Migrations, which have been translated into over twenty languages. She is currently based in Sydney, Australia.



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Life After Life

Read: August 2024

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Life After Life

by Kate Atkinson

Today, I embarked on the journey of Kate Atkinson‘s ‘Life After Life,’ a novel that has secured its place among The New York Times 100 Best Books of the Century. The book presents a unique and thought-provoking premise: What if you could live multiple lives until you found the perfect one? With its darkly comic, startlingly poignant, and utterly original narrative, it’s a testament to Kate Atkinson‘s unparalleled storytelling prowess.

The story unfolds in a unique narrative structure, beginning on a cold and snowy night in 1910 when Ursula Todd is born to an English banker and his wife. She dies before drawing her first breath. However, on that same night, Ursula Todd is born again, lets out a loud cry, and starts a life that will be pretty unusual. As she grows up, she also dies repeatedly in various ways while the young century moves inexorably toward its second cataclysmic world war.

Could Ursula’s seemingly endless life be the key to altering the world’s inevitable destiny? The prospect is both thrilling and hopeful. Yet, the question lingers – if she possesses this power, will she choose to wield it?

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The Book of V

Read: October 2021

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The Book of V

by Anna Solomon

The Book of V by Anna Solomon is a book that I may not have read at another time in my life, and I did find it to be a book that I could not stop reading.

Goodreads summarizes its plot.

Anna Solomon’s kaleidoscopic novel intertwines the lives of a Brooklyn mother in 2016, a senator’s wife in 1970s Washington, D.C., and the Bible’s Queen Esther, whose stories of sex, power and desire overlap and ultimately converge—showing how women’s roles have and have not changed over thousands of years.

Being Jewish, I knew the story of Queen Esther, although this version added new layers of the story that I did not know. The book’s illumination that women’s roles have not changed over thousands of years was something I knew but did not fully understand.

The three characters are very vivid and weave a story that is worth reading.

Lily is a mother and a daughter. And a second wife. And a writer, maybe? Or she was going to be, before she had children. Now, in her rented Brooklyn apartment, she’s grappling with her sexual and intellectual desires while also trying to manage her roles as a mother and a wife.

Vivian Barr seems to be the perfect political wife, dedicated to helping her charismatic and ambitious husband find success in Watergate-era Washington D.C. But one night he demands a humiliating favor, and her refusal to obey changes the course of her life—along with the lives of others.

Esther is a fiercely independent young woman in ancient Persia, where she and her uncle’s tribe live a tenuous existence outside the palace walls. When an innocent mistake results in devastating consequences for her people, she is offered up as a sacrifice to please the king, in the hopes that she will save them all.

I recommend this book.

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The City We Became

Read: October 2021

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The City We Became: A Novel

by N. K. Jemisin

The City We Became: A Novel by N. K. Jemisin is my first science fiction and urban fantasy novel in quite some time. It is a story of culture, identity, magic, and myths in contemporary New York City. Jan and I had lived in New York City, and the book brought back fond memories.

Every great city has a soul. Some are ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children.

But every City also has a dark side. A roiling, ancient evil stirs beneath the earth, threatening to destroy the City and her five protectors unless they can come together and stop it once and for all.

As Jemisin writes:

A city is never alone, not really — and this city seems less solitary than most. More like a family: many parts, frequently squabbling … but in the end, against enemies, they come together to protect one another. They must, or die.

The challenge is when evil forces threaten the City; the entire community needs to unite, and the City’s avatars for each of the five boroughs.

Initially, this is supposed to be one for each borough and one for the entire City. In the end, one of the avatars for the five boroughs chooses not to unite with the others. Without all six, they stand no chance to defeat the forces of evil.

How do they solve this? By adding the sixth borough – Jersey City.

I recommend this book without reservation.

When you buy a book or product using a link on this page, I receive a commission. Thank you for supporting Sharing Jan’s Love blog.

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A Gentleman in Moscow

Read: November 2022

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A Gentleman in Moscow

by Amor Towles

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles is a transporting novel about a man sentenced by the government to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel. In 1922, a Bolshevik tribunal deemed Count Alexander Rostov an unrepentant aristocrat. His house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors.

During my grief journey, I have on occasion felt as if I was a prisoner in my apartment, so I found this novel to be one that provided me an alternative to understanding what it would have been like to be under house arrest as Count Rostov was.

A Gentleman in Moscow was a page-turner. The plot captures a unique historical time and how Count Rostov makes the best of a bad situation. I highly recommend this novel.

The Goodreads summary provides an overview.

With his breakout debut novel, Rules of Civility, Amor Towles established himself as a master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction, bringing late 1930s Manhattan to life with a splendid atmosphere and an excellent command of style. As NPR commented, readers and critics were enchanted, “Towles writes with grace and verve about the mores and manners of a society on the cusp of radical change.”

A Gentleman in Moscow immerses us in another elegantly drawn era with the story of Count Alexander Rostov. When, in 1922, he is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the count is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day. He must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him a doorway into a much larger world of emotional discovery.

Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates to the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.


The Jan Lilien Education Fund sponsors ongoing sustainability and environmental awareness programs. Gifts made this month; I will match dollar-for-dollar. All donations are tax-deductible.

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All Fours: A Novel

Read: May 2024

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All Fours: A Novel

by Miranda July

Today, I started reading All Fours: A Novel by Miranda July. A semi-famous artist announces her plan to drive cross-country from LA to NY. Thirty minutes after leaving her husband and child at home, she spontaneously exits the freeway, checks into a nondescript motel, and immerses herself in an entirely different journey.

Miranda July’s second novel, a testament to her unique approach to fiction, confirms the brilliance of her storytelling. With July’s wry voice, perfect comic timing, unabashed curiosity about human intimacy, and palpable delight in pushing boundaries, All Fours tells the story of one woman’s quest for a new kind of freedom. Part absurd entertainment, part tender reinvention of the sexual, romantic, and domestic life of a forty-five-year-old female artist, All Fours transcends expectation while excavating our beliefs about life as a woman. Once again, July hijacks the familiar and turns it into something new and thrillingly, profoundly alive.



When you purchase a book through one of my links, I earn a small commission that helps support my passion for reading. This contribution allows me to buy even more books to share with you, creating an incredible cycle of discovering great reads together! Your support truly makes a difference!


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