You know you can still remain friends, right? It sounds like that’s the part of the marriage you still miss…
There’s literally zero reason to cut off all contact unless that’s what she has explicitly stated (or that you want). I’m still very good friends with my former wife, for example, and we split over 14 years ago now and still talk at least once a week.
The only caveat I would give is that you are both firmly in each others friend zone’s here. You both have to be OK with each other dating - no jealousy. If you cannot handle that, then yes, stay away.
It also means any new partner you get will have to be OK with that, too. They will have a right to be jealous and discuss that with you, but it’s not ok for them to say you cannot see your ex, if that’s what you want.
You’re putting a lot of faith in other people’s opinions. Divorce doesn’t mean you never have to see her again, despite what anyone else tells you.
Yes, it most cases, it’s a good idea - mainly as the divorce is acrimonious. It sounds like yours was not.
I can guess at a few reasons your family may say this:
You know how you feel - it sounds like, after seven months, you want to reach out to your ex-wife and ask her how she is. This is a natural thing for a friend to do. If I were you I’d do it as it’s better to regret what you did that didn’t. You should also tell her that, if she doesn’t want contact with you, all she has to do is say and that you’ll respect it.
At this point, it sounds no more complicated than that