Matt James is clearly trying to look on the positive side of life despite his recent split ... smiling through his difficult breakup with Rachael Kirkconnell on a trip to Nashville.

TMZ has obtained pictures of the reality television star out in the popular Southern City Sunday ... walking through the streets in a bowler cap with a couple of pals.

James looks like he's talking amiably with friends in the photos ... though eyewitnesses say he seemed like he wanted to keep to himself.

We're told James was walking down Broadway -- the big main street in the city -- and, his pals appeared to be giving him a tour of the city ... pointing out different landmarks to the former 'Bachelor' star.

It looks like Matt's avoiding NYC for now -- where he lived with Rachael until the two broke up last month.

As we previously reported ... Matt announced the breakup in a social media post -- writing a message to God to give both him and Rachael strength in the wake of their breakup.

James' public post took Kirkconnell off-guard ... 'cause she says she found out about it just before hopping on a 12-hour flight -- a pretty stressful experience.

Despite their split, Rachael has denied all rumors of infidelity ... saying it just felt like Matt was never going to be ready to commit -- so they had to call it quits.

Matt's clearly working his way through the tough situation too ... using a new environment to heal old wounds.