• Don’t be scared of being on your own to think. Use the time to think about YOU. One tip I was given was to write the speech you would want someone to make at your funeral, then create an action plan that brings that speech to reality.
• Write down 5 of your strengths and think of how you can build your new life around them.
• Write down 3 things you have always wanted to do and didn’t have the chance. Then make a promise that you will achieve them before it is too late.
• Review what is important to you and ensure the balance of work, family and you represents the right mix of your time.
• Use social networking sites such as Facebook to find those friends that you lost touch with over the years.
• Start a new hobby – remember how my mum started to play bowls, something she had never done with Dad. She was creating new memories rather than living in a world haunted by his loss.

You can find yourself again. I can tell you that every person, during bereavement, feels as though they will not cope, that they cannot or don’t want to live on. However, you as a human being was such a special person when you were single that your spouse chose you, your spouse saw an  individual with wonderful qualities….this time is about remembering what made you special to your spouse and starting to remember what made you that special person that deserved to be loved so intently.

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Post from: Widows Quest

Yes, I am another year older..yes, I would love to be surrounded by those people I have loved and lost..yes, I  sense the loneliness.

Yet today it is strange because of social networks like Twitter, Facebook and here at Widows Quest I have had so many messages. It just shows that there are friends out there that   care, people who mind whether you feel part of this world or lonely.

We often think we are alone, when if we look round there are so many people who do care about our grief. People who want to help us find that happiness again. It should not need a birthday for us all to realise that, and if you are in any doubt this blogger cares about YOU!

Post from: Widows Quest

1. Blogging:- I love this blog, I love the fact that I can share my feelings and that in some small way I can reach out to others, hopefully helping them through the bereavement process.
2. Twitter:- This is a really great way of seeing what other people are doing and also sharing tips with each other. It is what they call microblogging…which is a posh term for writing no more than 140 characters each time. So they are quick snippets….
3. Facebook:- This is a social networking tool which allows you to find friends, join groups, message people….and have a little fun on line. I have connected again with friends that I had lost touch with, which has been fantastic.
4. Podcasting:- I produce a podcast on business twice a week but I also produce a podcast with someone that I met online and this is about us losing weight – we have lost over 70lbs in weight…I would not have achieved my part without weighing in each week on line.
5. Google Reader:- This allows me to subscribe to blogs that are of interest to me and allows me to learn about new areas. When people post something new then I get it automatically….it makes me feel connected.

One of the joys of the world we live in is that we can have friends all over the world…that we can join communities that interest us, that we never need to feel alone……(of course we both know we still do!)

Post from: Widows Quest