Handling Depression and Grief in Healthy Ways

     I think realizing that I was grieving about Alan, made me able to cry and realize there was cause for my depression.  It is OK to miss someone, to love someone.  
     I think a person can try to be strong for too long, and not allow oneself to feel anything, for fear they might fall apart, that there would be no safety net.  But, I am my own safety net.  It is OK to embrace my own feelings.
     The way I handled it was I threw the I Ching for guidance, which guided me to do nothing aggressive as usual, because that is the way of the Sage.  And, like the Dalai Lama says, if you raise your consciousness, you raise the world's consciousness collectively.
     I cried and listened to music and silence as well as doing yoga and journaling.  I guess what really helped me was a child in the neighborhood needed help.  I answered the door without my glasses and did not recognize him, because I had my glasses off.
But, of course then I did.
     My younger son received a beautiful picture of himself with his father when he was so cute, and his father was handsome as well.  I found a little photo album he could use to put pictures in, because I could not find the right frame.
     I cleaned the house.  I did not give in to the depression.  I got out of self.  If I do not make everything about me, all around me falls into place and I can feel useful, even in small ways.