Hello gentlemen.

As the title says, I'm 47yo, recently divorced and since I'm in uncharted territory, I'm looking for wisdom from anyone with more experience than me. Please, share whatever advice, warnings, encouragement or admonitions you might have regarding divorce in middle age.

A little about me . . .

She was my first marriage and we were together for seven years. No kids, just a dog we both love very much and will be sharing. The divorce was amicable. I've got a decent circle of friends where I live, but my closest friends are out of town. Some of my current friends are the husbands of my ex's girlfriends and I don't know if I'll maintain those relationships.

I've got a job I mostly enjoy (thank goodness) that pays well, but I still expect the sky-high housing costs in my city will force me to downgrade my lifestyle since I'm no longer sharing expenses. I'm a little stressed about that.

I'm healthy, active (though not like I was before) and have interests/hobbies, but the dissolution of my relationship has definitely taken away some of my energy and passion for life over the last year as things went from bad to worse. I'm hoping to rediscover my lust for life.

Getting divorced was for the best and though I'm excited for whatever the next chapter is, I'm also scared to be starting over.

What's the best path forward?

Thanks.