I totally love what you wrote
I think living a life without a loved one is one of the most difficult things to do, but, anyway the feeling that comes with the lost is actually very selfish, because we miss the person and the way she or he used to make us feel.
I listen one time to the words of an old men when i lost a close family member. He said to me: "live normal kid, imagine that there is an after life, then what would this person feel watching you crying?", in that moment i did not give those words the importance that i am giving right now. It does not matter if you believe in one or another religion, even if you do not believe in any, just make a toast time to time to pay respects to the memory of your beloved one and remember the good times, stay focused in all the good things that those persons teached us, things that we can use to face the life with joy