If you are grieving, I want you to go ahead. Go ahead and do whatever brings you peace in this moment. Go ahead and venture to wherever your heart beckons you.

Go ahead and get outside. Take a walk and breathe in all that nature has to offer you.  Sit on the ground.  Put your feet in a lake.  Get mud on your shoes.

Go ahead and stay inside. Even if it’s a beautiful day, you should lay on the couch.  You could even stay in bed.  Stay in your pajamas and watch Netflix. Read a book. Stare at the ceiling.

Go ahead and be with people. Surround yourself with noise and conversation. Find people who will smother you with love and attention. Invite yourself to go anywhere with anyone who shares your need for company.

Go ahead and isolate yourself. Wrap yourself in a blanket and turn off your phone. Ignore your email. Pretend that no one else exists but you.

Go ahead and feel grateful. Write lists of everything that makes you happy. Pay it forward with random acts of kindness. Say thank you for all the little things others do for you. Smile.

Go ahead and be angry. Rage against all that has been taken from you. Be miserable and stay miserable. Ask why for all the pain you have experienced. Cry.

Go ahead. Do whatever you need to do. Ask yourself what you need in this very moment. Then, I want you to go ahead and do just that.

Grief is difficult and heartbreaking work. It will follow you throughout your life. There will be days when it will be hard to remember why you’re still here. But you are still here.

So, I want you to go ahead. Move forward. Go ahead and love yourself.