Negative talk can also be a signal that you are more traumatized than you realize. Let it be a signal for the call for care. Whatever that care looks like for you.

Dating is best done when we lead with joy, not when driven by a desperate void to fill.

Are you projecting onto these strangers with absolutely no qualifications the ability to be as amazing as the person you lost?

Jerry McGuire wasn’t that cool. You want to feel complete first; and again, the person you date, or don’t, is a cherry on top of the fabulous sundae that you already are.

What I found was that the people wanted to participate in my rituals. People wanted to be part of the process of honoring, of remembering, of comforting. Rituals built community. Brene Brown says it’s really important to go to funerals. As important as it is to go to weddings. And I agree.

Never forget that the pain that you feel in mourning is in part because of how deeply you loved someone, something, some time, some state of being. Celebrate that love. Never forget it.